1Bill
The ultimate app to manage bills and save money.
My Role
UX Audit / Branding Design / Ideation
Sketching / Hi-fi Prototype
Methods
Feature prioritisation
Visual design
Team and Duration
2 UX/UI consultants
2.5 week sprint
Deliverables
Hi-fi App Prototype
Design System
Wireframes
Responsive Marketing Web Design
Client
1Bill
Nov/Dec 2020
Tools
Figma
1Bill
Managing bills is something that is really important yet no one wants to spend time doing it. The essence of the 1Bill app is to provide convenience to the users in some different ways:
• Organising the utility bill in one place.
• Sending reminders when due dates are coming soon.
• Pay bills automatically.
• Analise the utility bills and show better rates in the market.
• Start the process to switch to a new utility provider.
• Keep track of user's Credit Score.
Understanding the product
As part of the strategy, we interviewed the client and conducted a UX audit to really understand the product features and what they have to offer. After that, we could already point out some problems that the project would have to tackle in order to improve the experience.
UX Audit
The problem
The initial phase of the project helped us to identify five main areas that we needed to work on in order to come up with solutions to tackle the problems that we identified.
1
Poor
Branding
1Bill visual identity lacks personality and it has to be visually aligned with Compare & Connect which is a service that compares utility companies' rates and is part of the same group as 1Bill.
Matching brand values and size of business
Current and potential users find that is important to match with a brand that is aligned with their brand values/ethics and according to the business size.
2
Lack of engagement
In order to offer great features like, compare utility rates and switch to a cheaper provider, 1Bill needs the users to complete their profile and verify some information which can be a bit of a pain for some users.
So how can we get these verification actions done smoothly and painless?
3
Too functional
and boring
1Bill app is very functional, so the user doesn't interact with the app if they don't have a bill to pay.
The 1Bill team want to make the experience more fun to make users come back to the app.
4
UX
problems
There are lots of flows and interactions that need some attention in some areas like the IA, hierarchy of information and visual elements, provide further explanation about features and provide guidance to improve the overall
experience.
5
Poor
UI design
The app has a very poor UI design and it needs a complete design system that covers the design complexity of the app and allows easier implementation.
Feature prioritisation
With all those problems and challenges in mind, we started generating ideas for the MVP. The list below summarises the tactics and features we want to implement to create a great and effective experience.
Ideation
With new branding and the Compare & Connect design system in mind, we set to create the screens for 1Bill with 3 mains goals: generate engagement, focus on convenience, and overall simplicity to use.
Making bill management simple and fun
Gamification was heavily used as part of our tactics to get the users to complete painful tasks and generate overall engagement across the whole app.
Gamifying the sign-up process
In order to provide the best service, 1bill needs the user to input as much information when signing up for the app. To encourage the users to do so, we implemented the strategy of rewarding the users by giving Qantas points every time they completed their profile. A progress bar will help the users to keep track of the missing steps to complete their profile.
Badges and points
As part of the engagement tactic, we created a series of badges to give users the generate a sense of accomplishment and status when they achieve some milestones. These badges always come with Qantas points which makes these achievements tangible when these points are redeemed.
Generating engagement through rewards
With the introduction of a points system, users can get rewarded for every action they take. From completing the profile or paying a bill, the users will always get rewarded by 1Bill with points and access to exclusive benefits and offers.
Functionality
By designing a simple yet engaging product we were able to create a bill management tool that helps users save money and time, and on top of it, get rewarded with Qantas Points.
Organise information
We want to make things easier for the user and that includes saving the user’s time. We analysed what type of information the bills usually show and the result is a simple card that summarises what’s more important on the bill so users don’t get distracted and frustrated with too much information. If needed, the user can always find more details when selecting a specific bill.
Visualising the benefits of the app through data
Users can quickly see their bills spending over the months with the detailed charts. If the users have switched to a new provider through 1Bill, they can also see how much they have saved since switching.
Find better deals
One of the great features of this app is the capability to quickly compare the rate the user is paying against other suppliers. We decided to display that to the user through a very simple and visual card that explores colour coding to communicate this information and trigger another great feature of the app which is the ability to show better rate deal in the market.
Convenience when switching to a new provider
With gamification helping users to complete their profile, 1Bil can show better rate deal to users without having to make users input too much information. After the user chooses the new utility provider, 1Bill will take care of the switching process and keep the users updated through the progress bar.
Marketing Website
As part of the scope, we designed the marketing website to launch the new version of the app highlighting its convenient and engaging features.
Summary
After a few weeks of design sprints, we managed to get the client very happy with the result. We kept collaborating with them throughout the development phase, resolving some issues that they occasionally were facing, especially in the areas when the users have to upload a bill into the system. Unfortunately, the user test was not part of our scope. It would have been great to see how the users are enjoying the app and how much feedback they would provide to improve it further.
