Overview
The problem
SpotmyEnergy is a fast-growing startup offering smart energy management solutions. It operates a partner portal designed to help solar installers and energy consultants streamline their workflows. These partners play a key role in selling and installing SpotmyEnergy’s products. However, the portal wasn’t user-friendly. Partners often needed one-on-one training or onboarding sessions just to use it, which made it harder for the company to scale efficiently as it grew. To save time and resources, the team decided to redesign the portal with a focus on better usability and a more intuitive experience.
My role and project scope
I was responsible for delivering development-ready designs for the portal redesign within a tight deadline of two and a half weeks. The team had already gathered feedback from partners and had some initial concepts that I needed to turn into user-friendly designs. But as the project unfolded, things turned out to be more dynamic than expected.
Discovering new opportunities
While working on the project, I identified several areas for UX improvements. Despite the limited time frame, the team was open to discussing these new ideas. These discussions were highly focused, allowing us to make quick decisions and stay on schedule. This collaborative and agile process was particularly rewarding, highlighting how startups can move much faster than larger organizations. In the end, we implemented major changes, including a complete overhaul of the progress tracking system, architectual changes and other enhancements across the portal.
Design
SpotMyEnergy’s product portfolio consists of three core sub-products: the smart electricity meter, the energy management system, and the dynamic system. While only the smart electricity meter is mandatory, the other sub-products are optional. To reflect this modularity, I integrated the product structure into various sections of the portal, enabling partners to quickly comprehend the offerings they would be selling to customers.
Project overview
Within the partner journey, various statuses can be reached for each sub-product. The partners must perform actions at specific stages in the portal. To highlight these actions, I replaced status indicators in tables with action prompts, drawing attention in blue tags to pending tasks. This change made it immediately clear where partners have something to do and where not.
The portal also includes filters to help users narrow down their view, such as showing only projects with actions waiting to be completed.
Detail Page
The page was divided again into 3 sections for the sub-products, with general project data displayed at the top and related documents at the bottom. Partners can see completed steps in their journey and prominent buttons for required actions, while secondary actions are tucked into a "More" menu. This dynamic design adapts to different user flows and error scenarios.
To accommodate experienced users, a collapsible view was implemented, minimizing repeating information like the progress steps and focusing on action buttons.
Adding a new project
In the previous version, creating a project involved numerous inputs on one page, and it was unclear why certain information was required. The redesigned process is a straightforward, three-step flow:
1. Basic customer data: Collect essential information.
2. Savings calculator: Help partners calculate the annual cost savings for customers.
3. Project information: Project relevant data next to a clear overview of the three sub-products, explaining the process to help users better understand the offerings.
Hardware ordering and storage management
One of the business requirements was the pre-ordering of components three months in advance, while partners needed the flexibility to send products to various addresses, reflecting the common practice of working with subcontractors.
The solution involved storing ordered components at SpotMyEnergy’s warehouse, with partners managing inventory and dispatching items via the portal. The original concept combined these functionalities on a single page, which led to confusion due to unclear wording. The redesigned approach separated these into two distinct sections:
Shop: An interface for ordering the 3 hardware products, focusing on fast and effective orderings, but also explaning the unusual process and products for new partners. Explanation and visuals of the products are designed as users without deep industry knowledge can also manage the portal.
Storage: An inventory management system where partners can monitor stock levels, receive low-stock alerts, and ship products to various addresses. To address partner feedback, the storage section also includes a comprehensive overview of products dispatched to subcontractors, ensuring full transparency and effective tracking of shipments.
Recap and outlook
A key challenge was balancing the needs of experienced daily users with those of new and industry knowledge lacking users, ensuring a smooth onboarding experience. To address this, we implemented a strategic information architecture reflecting the product setup across different sections. This approach not only facilitated intuitive learning for new users but also streamlined daily workflows for regular users.
Due to tight deadlines, we prioritized the highest-value features based on user needs. While usability testing wasn't feasible within the project timeframe, it's planned for future iterations.
Collaborating with this team was a highly rewarding experience. The focused and efficient workflow, combined with a positive team dynamic, contributed to a productive and enjoyable project.
