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Joanne Liu
Joule: One-Stop Utility Management
UX Design
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Joule is a utility management app concept that aims to simplify the process of tracking and paying multiple utility bills on one platform.
Context
Academic app concept - team of 4
4 months (Aug.2023 - Dec.2023)
"Did I pay my bills?" 📆
For many college students, moving into independent living introduces a range of new responsibilities—one of the most daunting being utility management. From selecting the right providers to ensuring bills are paid on time, the process can feel overwhelming. How can we enhance the utility management experience for students?
Meet our User 🎩
RESEARCH
What is so hard about utility management? 🔦
With this question in mind, I conducted surveys and interviews with college students to understand how they currently handle utility management and where they experience the most friction, main problems include:
Tracking & Predicting Costs 💰: Students struggle to monitor real-time utility usage, leading to unexpectedly high bills.
Hassle of Manual Payments 🔌: Each utility (electric, water, internet) has different billing cycles. Juggling multiple due dates and payment methods results in missed bills and late fees.
Survey 📊
I conducted a survey of over 50 college students—both undergraduates and graduates—living independently. Half of those surveyed were responsible for paying utility bills directly through provider websites, requiring them to juggle multiple platforms with varying due dates each month.
User Interview 📑
To dive deeper into the pain points and behaviors highlighted in the survey, I conducted four in-depth structured interviews with students aged 21 to 25.
Pain points discovered from the interviews suggest that students need help with:
Keeping track of their energy usage more frequently without too much effort.
Understanding what to do with balance and usage data.
Making multi-platform payments effortlessly.
Heuristic Task Analysis (HTA) 📝
From the survey and interview data, I identified two core tasks that users frequently perform: making payments and tracking usage. To better understand these tasks, I developed Heuristic Task Analysis (HTA) diagrams for each, breaking down the steps involved.
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IDEATION
How did we make the design decisions? 🧭
My team brainstormed 10 ideas, then rated each on a scale of 1 to 5 across multiple design criteria. This process helped us narrow the focus to two top concepts:
A centralized payment platform and
A rewards-based gamification system.
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Concept 1 - Central Payment System 🎯
The centralized payment platform (mobile/web) consolidates all utility providers in one place, featuring a payment calendar with reminders, usage charts to track consumption, and autopay to avoid missed bills. By addressing both payment and tracking needs in a single interface, this concept ranked highly for its efficiency and user-friendly design among my team.
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Concept 2 - Bills Master Game 🎠
The Bills Master Game gamifies utility management by rewarding on-time payments and energy-saving habits with redeemable points. Features like personalized rewards and a friend leaderboard turn bill-paying into a fun, competitive challenge—motivating students to stay responsible while making a mundane task engaging.
We can combine them! 🖇️
Both concepts—the Central Payment System and the Bills Master Game—were highly rated by the team, but each serves different user motivations. The Central Payment System excels in simplicity and efficiency, while the Bills Master Game focuses on user engagement and motivation through gamification. These two ideas form the foundation for the next phase of design and prototyping.
DESIGN
Wireframing & Prototyping 🎨
The design of Joule outlined the user flows for both key components:
Payment Logic: Covering setup, payment tracking, and notifications.
Gamification Feature: Integrating the rewards system, leaderboard, and progress tracking.
I created detailed screens for all interactions, ensuring that both the utility management and gamification features were intuitive and easy to use.
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Joule: Take control of your energy use 💻
All-in-One Utility Payments 💳
Joule simplifies bill management by integrating electricity, water, gas, and more into a single platform. View due dates, payment history, and upcoming charges at a glance—no more juggling multiple provider apps or missed deadlines. Autopay ensures you’re always covered.
Smart Usage Tracking 📊
Real-time charts break down your energy and water consumption, highlighting spikes and waste. Set budgets, compare monthly trends, and receive alerts to avoid surprises. Knowledge is power.
Your Utility Pet 🐇
Meet your eco-companion! This virtual pet grows and thrives when you pay bills on time or reduce energy use. Unlock rewards, compete with friends, and watch your pet evolve—turning responsible habits into a game you’ll love.
Why "Joule" ⚡️
A joule is the scientific unit of energy—measuring the work needed to power everyday life, from charging phones to heating homes. The name Joule reflects our mission: to make personal energy visible and manageable, just like utilities track kilowatt-hours.
Simple, rooted in science, and subtly playful, Joule turns an abstract concept into something tangible—empowering users to take control of their energy use.
