Overview

E Source has a mission is to help utilities make and implement better data-driven decisions that positively impact their customers, their bottom line, and the planet.

The Challenge

Utility websites often struggled to provide clear and accessible information during power outages or other emergencies.  This creates a significant challenge for customers trying to report problems, get updates, and understand what to do.  To help address this pain points my team and I put created a report on how our utility members can effectively design the "Outages or Emergencies" features that are easy to use and navigate, especially on mobile devices and in low-bandwidth situations.  A poorly designed feature can increase customer frustration and anxiety during already stressful situations.  Therefore, we focus on identifying best practices and design recommendations to improve this critical aspect of the customer experience.

The Approach

The team tackled the problem of ineffective utility website outage features by examining the current state of 93 utility websites.  They asked real customers to try reporting outages and finding key information, observing how easily they could complete these tasks.  This user testing was combined with existing data from the E Source 2023 Website Benchmark, which compares and ranks utility websites.  From this research, the team identified standout examples of good outage and emergency design, both for desktop and mobile.  By analyzing user behavior, benchmark data, and best-in-class examples, the team developed practical recommendations for improving these critical features.

The Solution

The solution to ineffective utility outage features lies in practical design improvements, and this document provides concrete recommendations and showcases successful implementations.  A key principle is easy access to outage information, achieved through prominent homepage links, Google sitelinks, and consistent placement across the site.  Streamlined functionality is crucial, especially for mobile users. To read more detailed solutions and recommendations check out the full report here.