UX and UI Design of the Energy Made Easy Comparison flow

The Design Challenge of the Energy Made Easy energy plan search workflow is to help the consumer identify if they can save money on energy and whether they are paying too much. Energy plans are complex. A plan may have multiple features such as discounts, credits, fees and charges that will affect an energy bill. A key challenge was to determine the features, search dimensions and energy plan information consumers need to help them decide on their "best" plan; and to provide a relevant and useful service for residential and small business energy users, while meeting the AER regulatory objectives.

It was important that the solution provided information on plans in a simple and easy to compare manner, and enabled consumers to filter plans to meet their individual preferences and needs. The Design Solution was an outcome of following a user-centred design process, and involved consumers at key points to test concepts and prototypes and inform the evolution of the Design. We focused on the users core tasks to ensure ease of use, and used simple, direct and accessible language in the content. Costs and numbers were presented clearly and visual highlights were used to ease comprehension and increase understanding.

At a time in the market when Energy Prices continue to increase, and Energy retailers provide information that is difficult to comprehend and compare, the service provided by the Energy Made Easy energy plan workflow can take some of the difficulty and confusion out of the process. The social impact of this is that it helps consumers save money on energy, identify if they are paying too much, and provide them with a means to easily compare plans to find the "best" plan for them, contributing to a better and more prosperous society.

The solution optimised the energy plan search workflow for mobile devices and provided a responsive digital mobile first experience that takes into account requirements under the AER’s Retail Pricing Information Guidelines. The solution helped the consumer identify if they can save money on energy and whether they are paying too much by providing two pathways for consumers. The first pathway provided consumers who want a simple and quick result without entering billing data (electricity and gas) to gain an estimate of their energy use and relevant plans. The second pathway provided consumers who are willing to enter information from their recent bills for part of a year or for a full year (electricity and gas) to gain a more accurate view of their energy use and the cost of relevant plans that would suit their needs. Another key feature was making all Energy Plan Information consistent to enable consumers to easily compare plans. In line with the AER Guidelines, a modular Plan Information page was designed that consumers could access from the Energy Made Easy site, and also from retailers sites. This ensured information was consistent irrespective of the original of the consumer.