ADT Solar App
An App created to bridge Salesforce project data into real-time visuals and action-items during the install project for ADT Solar homeowners.
Roll: Senior UX/UI Designer
Year: 2022-2023
Work: Stakeholder Interviews, User Interviews, User Personas, Affinity Map, User Stories, MVP Development, User Journey Maps, Sketches, Low-Fidelity Wireframes, High-Fidelity Wireframes, Prototypes, Design System and Management
Background
ADT home security needs no introduction as America's 2nd “Best Home Security Companies of 2023” rated by Forbes.com. In late 2021, ADT added ADT Solar to their polished reputation of home security expanding on the promise and commitment of becoming the whole home solution for homeowners with home security, automation and now solar power across the nation.
Starting off strong, ADT Solar is named as CNET’s #1 solar company in 2023.
As I joined ADT Solar at its conception, I immediately started to ask, “What are our short falls and how can we fix them?” Once I began to dig around and ask the questions, one common theme became apparent that needed immediate attention.
The Problem
ADT Solar is the industry expert when it comes to solar energy and technology. However, I quickly discovered a major frustration of homeowners that have “Gone Solar", a term ADT uses as soon as the homeowner signs a contract and is on their way to benefiting from the power of the sun.
Once a homeowner goes solar, our team begins the install process. Working with the electrical system to a home can be a lengthy construction process due to permits, electrical plans, install days, approvals and inspections. We worked with local government, neighborhood HOAs, energy companies and inspections offices to keep the install process moving forward.
Homeowners are also assigned a customer experience representative from the CX team as soon as they sign the contract. This team is tasked with organizing the entire install process which is identified from the contract signature to PTO (Permission To Operate). Once PTO has been approved by both the local government and the energy company, the home will then have the switch flipped to utilize their newly installed solar system. We aim to have the install process completed within 90 days of the contract signature.
Though this process can be explained as easily as I have above, this is actually where homeowner frustration began.
NO COMMUNICATION = LOST MONEY AND UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS!
Currently as a homeowner signs a contract with ADT Solar the only way to get information and updates about their install is from their CX representative via phone and email outlets. Between playing phone tag and unread emails containing important details and items needed from the customer, install time stalls drastically. As the install project gets delayed homeowners become frustrated with the perceived lack of communication and their blindness to the status of their install.
There has to be a better way!... Let’s get to it!
The Solution
Leveraging the client project data within Salesforce to automatically inform homeowners of important information and progress on their solar install project through a personal graphical user interface.
How do we get there?
It starts with the process.
The Process
I implemented the Double Diamond Theory and Lean UX process to incorporate the key phases of Discover, Define, Design and Deliver in all of our projects at ADT Solar.
Discover
Internal Stakeholder Interviews
First, I conducted internal stakeholder interviews. I selected and interviewed 3 members of the CX team that serviced different regions throughout the US. This allowed me to gain insight on our internal workings and to better understand consistency in communication and challenges within the relationship between the CX rep and homeowner so I could understand our internal needs and goals.
Homeowner Interviews
Next, I selected and conducted 5 homeowner interviews (FL, TX, CA, MO and PA). The homeowner interviews were a bit more tricky. Being that I was entering into conversations with tension from our homeowners it was imperative to sympathize and remain positive. In the end, each call ended with our homeowner thanking me for my time, when in fact they were the rock stars. The information gained from these interviews was EYE-OPENING and allowed me to further refine the problem statement.
User Personas
Utilizing our salesforce data, I was able to quickly identify the demographics of our homeowners. I created user personas that capture the essence of our target group. This helped me to always keep the needs of the users at the forefront and becoming their biggest advocate.
Define
Affinity Map
After compiling all data, I created Affinity Maps for a high level overview that organized data in a way that allowed our team to identify and prioritize the most important aspects to address.
User Stories
I then created a one-page user story to accurately represent how features should translate to the users. In other words, how do the features impact the end user and what they value?
As a homeowner, I want to easily see the status of my project, so that I am updated on progress that is being made.
We believe that creating a customer portal for our homeowners will achieve better visibility and communication towards a homeowner's install project, in return reducing the solar install timeframes that will boost customer morale while reducing the install budget.
Design
Defining the MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
Based off of the first diamond in the process, I gathered data that revealed there were commonalities in the product vision. We identified the following key MVP features.
View Project Progress: Users can see the progress of their install project on a timeline
Assign Tasks: Users can view, complete and submit assigned tasks by the CX representative. Task types included submitting images, signing documents and submitting plan text.
Project Information: Users can see specs, plans and documents associated with their project.
Direct Solar Pro Contact Information: Users can access their Solar Pro CX rep with a direct phone number and email address.
User Journey Map
In order for the engineers to begin on the architecture and a better understanding on what screens we need, I created a user journey map that mocked the full flow of the MVP features.
📄 Login
📄 Task Manager
📄 Your Project
📄 Your Solar Pro
📄 FAQs
📄 Existing Referral Program
📄 Notifications
📄 Multiple Homes
📄 Profile
Sketches
I developed sketches for rapid ideation visuals and selected “winners” with a team as to which ideas to execute.
Low-Fidelity Wires
From the “winner” sketches, I developed low-fidelity wireframes with options to better define feature visuals.
Deliver
High-Fidelity Wires
From the low-fidelity concepts I gave the product a look and feel that matches the expressed goals defined in our product. I went with a clean design approach for easy visibility and quick load times.
Design System
Create and build a design system for the new ADT Solar product. The components need to be reusable and easily accessible by the UX team as well as wider disciplines. When designing these components, the needs of the user are to be taken into careful consideration in order for the product to function effectively.This was a project within itself!
Prototyping
I created prototypes that developed full functional concepts to review. This allowed me to test and validate ideas before sharing them with stakeholders and eventually passing the final designs to engineering teams for the development process.
Project Output
With a lot of hard work, dedication and collaboration we were able to construct an impactful product for our homeowners and will boost business goals.
Next Steps & Learnings
With any product, it is never done! As our development team develops the MVP of the ADT Solar App to ship, the UX/UI team is hard at work to discover how we can push this even further!
I can not wait to see the impact this will have for ADT Solar!