2degrees Mobile

Telco and internet provider 2degrees needed a cutting edge app for its customers so they could solve simple questions like “am I connected” and “have I got enough data” in seconds, to allow them to get on with life. Despite many complex design variables, 2degrees and its customers are delighted.

Given the complexity and variations of data, the design and development team needed to understand how to map a wide range of data models into one user experience. They worked closely with 2degrees to learn this, which they were then able to roll through into the design concepts. Using samples of real world 2degrees customer activity data the team were able to bring the needs of the customers into the designs which was complemented by listening in to contact centre calls from customers, and running focus groups directly with users.

2degrees customers involved in the testing praised the new app. Complex data was easily understood, and all new features were simple, intuitive, and thoroughly tested before going to market. Special mention was made of the colloquial tone of voice offering friendly advice about data or minute levels, and the playful illustrations and dynamic interactions used, created an enjoyable experience for users.

The customer requirements underpinning telco apps are deceptively simple. 'Keep me connected, tell me where I am at, optimise my plans'. The business goal is to make it easy for the customer to do this without having to call the contact centre. This is more than a 'reduce cost to serve' business requirement. Customers are not happy about spending time in call queues. And 2degrees puts the customer needs at the heart of their business. The reality of handling the extraordinary number of variations of rules and data across accounts, products, user profiles and SIMs means that many telco apps are anything but simple to use or understand. During user testing one customer was discovered to have four accounts attached to his profile (himself, his wife, and two teenage daughters), each with completely different plans and product mixes - and a total of 10 SIM cards across all users and devices in the household. The design goal was to provide him with the same simplicity and consistency of experience to both view and manage his products as a customer with a single prepaid plan - coupled with an gorgeous brand experience.