Project Overview
Introduction
This case study delves into my work with US Mobile, where I was tasked with redesigning their plans page. The objective was to analyze and propose improvements to better communicate the various plans, helping users make informed decisions. I was given 1 week and the successful completion of this task led to a job offer.
To succinctly communicate plans so a user can best decide which plan is right for them.
Design Process
Discover
Understand the Goal
Secondary Research
Competitive Analysis
Usability Testing
Define
Persona
Problem Statement
Develop
List ideas
Sketching
Wireframes
Feature Prioritization
Deliver
High Fidelity Prototype
Measure Success
How would we know the solution is successful?
DISCOVER – Why
The Goal
Navigating phone plans has traditionally been a daunting and intimidating task. US Mobile’s mission is to liberate mobile users from expensive and inflexible contracts while upholding their values of transparency, affordability, and most importantly, exceptional customer service.
By refining the design of the Plans page, we mitigate the risk of users feeling overwhelmed or confused about which plan aligns best with their preferences. This helps users foster a sense of control and confidence in their decision-making.
As a result, the site would boost conversion rate, driving more users to successfully complete the task of purchasing a plan, and overall increasing US Mobile’s revenue.
Secondary Research
This study, conducted in 2023 with 552 participants, revealed that the top-reported activity on their recent carrier website visit was "Browsing Plans"
Even surpassing tasks such as searching for deals and checking bills.
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Insight
This finding aligns directly with my ongoing efforts to enhance the UX of the Plans page at US Mobile and ensuring it caters to users' primary needs and priorities.
Competitive Analysis
I identified top 3 competitors who are solving the same problem:
Market Insights
Simplicity Wins
According to a 2023 study, Mint Mobile scored the highest (99th percentile) in usability. The key takeaway? Less clutter. Other sites with lower scores bombarded users with information, making them more overwhelming.
No one offers customizable plans
None of these carriers provide the option for customizable plans, setting US Mobile apart as a distinct choice in this regard.
Usability Testing Current Plans Page
3 participants | 5 tasks | Recorded with consent
To better understand how users interact with the current website I held 3 Usability tests so that UX problems can be highlighted to me. I recorded my findings and notes here: Link
3/3 Participants Clicked on the # of Lines They Need First
The first thing participants did when told to select a plan was click on the number of lines that suited their needs, consistently clicking on “1 line” even though it was inactive.
Unfortunately, this became challenging as Annual plans were displayed first by default, and the participants were unable to discern that Annual plans were available only as individual 1-line plans.
100% Don’t Know how much data they need
Difference in GB is the greatest deciding factor between Unlimited Starter and Unlimited Premium, Yet many users don’t know if they need 1GB, 4GB, or unlimited data, or how to find out.
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Recommendation
People just want information fast and with the least effort possible. Instead, sites should translate data-plan limits in terms that users can relate to. For example, how many minutes of video streaming are supported by the plan (refer to figure 2).
Pop-up dialogs interrupt the experience.
Participants are already overwhelmed with the information the extra ads and banners where overstimulating. 2/3 participants instinctively closed these pop-ups in an effort to declutter the UI.
While the site is trying to be helpful, in reality these overlays often added to cognitive overload. They interrupted users’ efforts to learn about the plans and made it harder for them to remember what they were looking at, and caused them to have to dismiss the dialog to continue.
DEFINE – Who
Primary Persona
Kim C
Kim, a recent graduate entering the workforce, has recently separated from her parent's family plan and is in the market shopping for an affordable individual phone plan. Having previously used US Mobile's free SIM card through her university, she is familiar with the brand's reliability and customer service. She has now navigated to the Plans page and is trying to learn about her options and potentially purchasing a line.
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Goals
Seeks an affordable mobile plan as a recent graduate entering the workforce.
Values transparency and dislikes hidden fees or complicated plans.
Prefers a flexible plan that adapts to her evolving budget and needs.
Desires excellent customer service for prompt issue resolution.
Fear of making uninformed decisions due to tech jargon.
Limited budget as an entry-level professional.
Wants to avoid long-term contracts and cancellation fees.
Behaviors
Tends to make decisions after thorough research, weighing pros and cons.
Prefers texting over calling.
Spends a lot of time on social media platforms, particularly Instagram and TikTok.
Kim's Problem Statement
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Kim needs a simple and transparent mobile plan selection process, empowering her with clear information and customization options to confidently choose a plan that suits her needs and budget.
How Might We...
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How might we simplify and enhance the mobile plan selection for Kim, ensuring transparency, clear information, and customization options for a confident choice that fits her needs and budget?
DEVELOP – What
Feature Prioritization
As I entered the Develop phase, I began by brainstorming and listing a range of ideas. I then prioritized these ideas using an Effort vs. Business Impact grid to identify the concepts that offered the greatest value and should be prioritized.
1
Number of Lines as the only option at the top to get rid of confusion.
2
Data Calculator to help users figure out how much data
3
Have a grid like cricket for user to save as a downloadable pdf cheat sheet
4
Make Plan cards AAA accessible, and simplify the information
Sketch Studio
Before moving into wireframing I first started sketching my solutions out. This way I could get a better understanding of what my options are and iterate quickly before touching Figma.
DELIVER – The Final Solution
The ability for budtenders to multitask efficiently by managing multiple customers simultaneously, enhancing productivity and customer service.
Interaction Design: Ayah Said
Identify Customer Needs
Customer Profile Enhancement: A customer profile page layout, thoughtfully crafted to present key information including the customer's main complaint.
Flora Takeaways: Utilizing insights from customer intake forms to provide budtenders with the main takeaways, enabling them to swiftly offer tailored recommendations.
Cultivating Motivation
Introducing gamification aspects such as leaderboard and lifetime badges, fostering healthy competition and motivation among employees.
Equipping budtenders with personal analytics, including Click-Through Rate (CTR) and the number of customers assisted, fostering a data-driven approach to performance enhancement.
Measure Success
The final thing I would do before the launch is to make sure we define KPIs that will indicate the success of this solution and the numbers which would be considered a success. If this solution is successful we’ll see:
Track the percentage of visitors to the Plans page who complete the desired action, such as signing up for a plan or making a purchase. An increased conversion rate indicates that the page changes are effectively guiding users towards taking the intended actions.
How Many Visits Does It Take for Visitors to Convert?
When users want to shop online for an expensive, they spend more time researching their purchase beforehand. Research shows that for costly products, the actual purchase may occur many days after the initial visit to a site. Shoppers start researching, they get distracted, overwhelmed, or simply run out of time, so they stop and continue on another day.
This is also why you want to measure more than just conversion rates: Tracking the number of visits it takes to convert is an important report.
My Learnings
During our research phase, we encountered a significant challenge. We needed to conduct user interviews, and our client had promised access to budtenders from partner dispensaries for these interviews. However, obtaining their contact information proved difficult, creating a bottleneck in our process.
As we waited for updates from the client, progress stagnated. To avoid being at a standstill, I suggested designing a consumer survey to gather insights independently. This decision turned out to be a pivotal moment, providing us with invaluable insights that became a vital component of our project's success.
I learned that even the best-laid plans can encounter unexpected roadblocks. To succeed, you must be adaptable and proactive, always ready to find creative solutions when things don't go as expected.
Collaborating with an experienced designer who served as my mentor provided a unique opportunity to witness the intricate art of stakeholder communication.
The wealth of knowledge I absorbed in this context significantly enriched my understanding of effective client interactions and problem-solving.