Problem
Making energy solutions approachable for wider audience
Solution
A modular design approach that enables a product vision tailored to diverse market priorities
Outcomes
10
Months from blank canvas to launch
3
Continents launched
700+
Pull requests
Making powerful functionality anyone can use
As the solar energy market experienced unprecedented growth, it began attracting new target groups beyond expert and enthusiast users. This necessitated customer touchpoints that addressed new needs and made complex energy ecosystems accessible: Captivating for everyone while still retaining powerful functionality to ensure the loyalty of the existing user base.
“The Edenspiekermann team partnered with us on a completely new and revolutionary digital customer experience to access our digital ecosystem on various devices. We were aiming to attract an international audience that also reflects the broader appeal of energy solutions, that’s why we established a solution that is informative and enjoyable at the same time.”
Deriving insights from global research
To define and prioritize hypotheses, we adopted a co-creational approach and conducted three intense full-day workshops. We interviewed users in four core markets — Germany, Italy, USA & Australia to develop a detailed user typology which focused on behavior, motivations, and concerns regarding energy production and consumption.
The interviews revealed that self-sufficiency is a common goal driven by diverse motivations. We also discovered that energy had become an emotional topic, with people yearning to be part of a greater energy movement. Furthermore, a market analysis and benchmarking exercise highlighted the lack of differentiation in core features which often cater to expert users.
“We are excited about the close cooperation with the sonnen team: From research to product strategy and implementation, we accompanied all steps of the launch of the new app – to make the energy transition more accessible.”
Striking the balance between information and emotion
In the design phase, we explored visual directions for a wide consumer base with emotionally engaging language. Through iterative qualitative and quantitative validation, we struck the right balance between information and emotion, ensuring desirability and usability.
Our unique design pattern enabled users to switch between rich data visualizations for analysis and simplified insights for daily use. Additionally, we integrated a rewarding achievements feature for meaningful engagement that conveys a positive emotional product experience. To support scalability, we implemented an atomic design system derived from brand guidelines, featuring rich illustrations.
Implementing agile development with a focus on quality
During development, we employed an agile sprint approach with close collaboration and fast iterations. We made roadmap adjustments based on estimations, capacity, and progress. Our tech stack included React Native, GraphQL, and TypeScript, with a focus on reusable components using Storybook. Compiler checks were used for bug prevention and quick refactoring. Testing and compiler checks ensured bug prevention, quick refactoring and stability. Overall, our process prioritized agility, communication, and quality assurance for a high-performing application.
