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Yayzy
NHS
Oakbrook Finance
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Yayzy carbon footprint tracking app
Client
Yayzy
My contribution
Research, UX design, UI design, design strategy

Context

Yayzy helps users measure, track and offset their carbon footprint using open banking data, lifestyle questionnaires and country average CO2e data.

User offsets fund climate projects which plant trees, improve biodiversity, support local communities and generate clean energy.

Problem to solve

User churn (acquisition, account deletion, drop out etc) and user offsetting (in app purchases) were both underperforming. I was tasked with researching why churn was high and offsetting low, and to run experiments around possible solutions.
Onboarding drop-out
A bar chart showing high user dropout through the onboarding steps of the Yayzy app

image Research approach

Problem clarity was low, and the risk was high, so I proposed a research heavy approach. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected in an exploratory approach, both externally with users and internally with stakeholders.
User interviews (qual)
As-is usability testing
User surveys (quant)
As-is blueprints
Analytics data review
Competition review
Research format examples

image Insights

User pains, gains (something they liked or wanted) and jobs (high and low level tasks to be done) were added to a journey map, along with 'how might we' questions. We also added drop-out analytics to be considered with non-returning user data.

With all the data in front of us we were able form granular feedback into themes, and understand where the problems were occurring.
Key insight themes
1
Unclear Yayzy proposition and story
2
No relationship built before asking too much
3
Ongoing experience is weak after first session
As-is journey map

image Design strategy

Insight themes helped focus our attention on the most pressing challenges on the map. It become clear that some were causing high volumes of users to drop out during onboarding before they experienced the rest of Yayzy, so they held a higher value to solve.

We created a project strategy that first prioritised foundational challenges (core challenges or those necessary to enable other challenges to be solved). Secondly, challenges that would lower churn, so we had an increase of users. Finally, those that would Increase offset purchases, so the increased number of users would increase sales conversions.
A diagram ordering 'how might we' questions towards the goal of the company mission

image Ideation

Ideation workshops generated initial experiment ideas, particularly on the onboarding and landing journeys. However, we didn't want to limit ideas to just scheduled workshop times, so ideas were gathered as an ongoing action via a form. Each was scored against their potential to lower churn and increase offsets, which automatically put them into prioritised order for consideration when reviewed bi-weekly.

image Prototypes & feedback

Top voted ideas were prototyped and tested with users. In addition to prototypes, to-be service blueprints were created to help all departments and stakeholders input into the solution phase.

As drop-out was so high during onboarding, we first experimented with new ways to onboard and let the user explore the app before setting up their account.
Onboarding
Users told us that being asked to connect their bank accounts to an app new to them was asking too much too soon. This was causing large drop-outs during the onboarding flow especially.

We experimented with new onboarding flows that no longer asked the user to connect a bank account or even create a Yayzy account. Instead it introduced Yayzy, the concept of carbon footprints and how to offset through climate projects that protect and save the planet. The user could tap through to more information on offsetting if they wished, as we discovered users had varying levels of understanding on this complex topic.
Feedback
User satisfaction increased with the new streamlined onboarding, with no major pain points. Dropout was expected to greatly reduce from this journey which would lay good foundations to significantly reduce overall churn.

In addition, test participants scored higher on their understanding of offsetting and the role of climate project, which was the first step in the Yayzy strategy to increase offset purchases.
Browse app without sign up
User opinion varied on what would be needed to feel comfortable connecting a bank account, purchasing offsets or creating an account, so we needed a solution that would cater for all.
‍
We moved the account set-up questions out of onboarding and into a 'personalise' section on the homepage of the app. Here, users could find cards they would explore to learn more about the benefits of each feature, including connecting bank accounts and offsetting. Users were free to explore these cards and the whole app before setting up the app in their own time, and in any way they preferred.

Only when users saved their preferences would the app ask if they would like to create an account.
Feedback
Testing revealed participants were far less likely to drop out, especially during the onboarding flow. Most participants who experienced the original journeys as well as the new prototypes, mentioned the improvement to the relationship to the app and how it was less 'pushy' when asking to input information.

image Success measures

Initial experiments around onboarding and landing journeys performed positively. Analytics data told us that churn was reduced by 10% and offsets increased by 1% after one month of data collection. This was positive news as we had only run the foundational experiments and had not moved onto the tasks specifically designed to reduce churn further and increase offset purchases.

With more users making it through to the app without dropping out, there were a greater pool of users that should help convert them into paying users in the future.
User churn
10
%
decrease
User offsets
1
%
increase

Learnings

From the outset it was assumed that all stakeholders were aware that the scope of the solution depended on  defining the problem, but that was not necessarily the case for all involved. To solve this issue I introduced the Basecamp hill model to visually represent what aspects of the project where unknown and in the process of being understood, and what aspects were known and in the process of being executed. This helped us time-box certain tasks and have meaningful discussions around deadlines, deliverables and costs.

‍Managing expectations from the outset can be hard, especially i the problem turn out to be more complicated than expected.
Basecamp hill model
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Triple diamond design framework

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Basecamp hill chart

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Clarity vs risk framework

A graph with two dimensions, clarity of problem and risk. The graph is split into four strategic design approaches.