Key problems Smart Assistant solves

BML (Build, Measure and Learn) session

The purpose of getting the team together for a BML session was to encourage; user centred design, encourage creative thinking, have a broader insight and ensure the project team was aligned. It was also an opportunity to start thinking about the problem we were trying to solve through this project.

Ideation session and crazy 8 session

Creative workshop where the team generated a wide range of ideas and solutions for the Smart Assistant project. Smart Assistant was a highly complex project. By organising an ideation and crazy 8 session, as a team we were able to quickly generate and visualise multiple ways to simplify the journey.

I looked at data for common frustrations that EE customers have when trying to resolve their broadbands issues over the phone. I explained what these were before starting the sessions. So all involved in the sessions could think about the common problems and how they can be reduced by bringing smart assistant into the EE app.

The sessions were very beneficial as it allowed the team to tackle the current problem from different angles, utilising the other designers, product owners, customer support and engineers, who sketched ideas from their perspective.

Key session takeaways: 

The crazy 8 session encouraged bolder, modern design ideas, like a chat-based help flow, which I then used as a second option, once I got to the prototyping stage. This idea would make the resolution of EE’s customers broadband issue feel more conversational.

Competitor analysis takeaways

Conducting a competitor analysis was an important step in the project. This helped me to understand how competitors handle similar features, where they fall short and how EE can differentiate and lead in this customer experience. 

EE’s opportunities:

• Add automatic diagnostics
• Use clearer language, better UX and real-time detection
• Keep experience in-app with real-time availability
• Integrate live outage status and personalised app alerts
• Enable in app router restarts and resets
• Simplify a complicated journey
• Use rich media to keep users engaged
• Provide personalised support

User journey flow

Creating a user flow for EE’s new feature of resolving their customer’s broadband issues within the EE app was essential for building a frictionless, user-friendly experience that meets customer expectations and stands out from the competition. It also helped to ensure design, development and the product team was all aligned.

Due to their being 100+ possible diagnostic outcomes, the user flow created was logical and created a smooth path for the user.

Based on the outcome of the crazy 8 session, where an interesting idea of a chat based flow was drawn, I came up with two prototype designs, to see what worked best.

Ethnography user research

Both design options were taken into user research. The objectives of the user research session was:

• To understand how users interact with the Smart Assistant journeys/designs.
• To identify any high level usability issues or points of friction with the Smart Assistant design variants.
• To understand which variant. (timeline or chat flow) is easier for users to use and understand.

Users preferred the timeline approach. They were open to troubleshooting online before contacting their provider as they need their broadband issue resolved quickly.

Timeline prototype

100 plus screens designed in Figma, with designs in dark mode and landscape.

Rich media and moments of delight

I worked with the animation team to create some animations for the project. Broadband issues involve technical concepts (like router placement, slow speed or device congestion) that can be confusing when explained with text alone. From the competitor research I undertook, I could see this is where the competitor designs fell short. The use of animations helped to:

• Visualise invisible problems (e.g. weak WiFi signal areas).
• Break down step-by-step troubleshooting processes clearly.
• Use visual metaphors to explain abstract technical ideas.

Layout and design methodology

12 point grid system used for consistent padding, spacing and margins across all UI elements. Using this system helped to ensure visual harmony and alignment across different screen sizes.

Atomic design methodology I structured UI components from small elements (buttons, icons) to larger patterns (cards, sections). This helped to create scalable and reusable components for efficiency.

UI consistency maintained uniform radius, spacing and proportions for buttons, cards and icons, which ensured clean, structured and accessible layouts.

Delivering the designs to development

Before delivering the designs to development, several review sessions were undertaken with the projects stakeholders, engineers, accessibiity team and management. These review sessions helped to ensure that the work could be handed over with minimal changes after delivery. By establishing any issues such as, engineers highlighting potential API errors and the screens that would be needed.

Figma link was sent to the devs before delivery, so they could take a look and see what stage design were at.

EE Smart Assistant delivered measurable improvements across key customer and business metrics. EE Smart Assistant helped EE deliver a more efficient self-serve, digital service experience, while also cutting operational costs.