Telia
Self-service for Telia customers
My Telia was Telia’s self-service app, where customers could get an overview of their subscription, data usage, invoices and services. The work was about developing an existing solution further, simplifying key user flows and improving the visual design. At the same time, we had to balance different user needs and avoid new features making the app more complex.
We developed My Telia further around the most important tasks customers had. The home page gave an overview of the subscription and access to settings, while data usage got a central place as one of the most important features. We also worked on buying data, cost control, changing subscription, invoices and SIM information, among other things, to make self-service easier.
We ran regular user interviews and user tests to understand needs around data usage, subscriptions and cost control, among other things. New solutions were developed through sketches and prototypes, tested with users and refined in close collaboration with the developers. The insight was used both to improve existing features and to prioritise which problems were most important to solve.
An important design choice was to prioritise needs that were relevant to many, without making the app more complex for others. Accessibility and a consistent interface were also important. My Telia had no shared style guide, so I developed guidelines for grid, spacing, typography and components, among other things, to create more consistency across the app.
Background and role
Telia Norway is the second biggest telecom company in Norway, with mobile subscription customers and a webshop. My Telia is an app that lets customers manage their subscription and control their data usage.
When I joined this project, the app already existed. My job was to simplify the processes and make it easier and more intuitive to use. I also wanted to improve the visual feel of the app.
Process
Since Telia has an established presence in Norway, we were able to recruit many customers to in-depth user interviews and usability tests regularly. This gave us insight into their needs, motivations and frustrations around mobile usage and related themes – the basis of the design and the core customer needs below.
Insight
It’s important for our customers to have control over how much data they have used, so they don’t run out. The app therefore needs to show an overview of data usage.
Many customers run out of data before the month is over, and want to be able to buy more when that happens. The app needs to provide a way of buying data.
For complete control over the subscription, users need a way of changing price plan, seeing their PIN and PUK codes and other settings for the subscription.
For many parents, it’s important to control how much money their kids can spend on their mobile subscriptions. Many have experienced their invoice getting unexpectedly big at some point.
Challenges
My Telia has over 300,000 users with different needs and goals, so it has been important to think about which problems are worth solving. Solving something for some users could make the experience more complex for others without that need. The challenge has been finding which problems most users face.
With so many users, many have special needs. It has therefore been important to have big enough font sizes, a consistent interface and other accessibility features. Making the app very accessible can affect its visual feel, and that balance has been a challenge.
When I started as UX lead on the Telia app, it had no style guide, so I had to create one. It was challenging to create rules for grids, margins, padding, font sizes, when to use which modal and so on. Over time I found that it’s important to follow the style guide, but it’s a guide, not rules. Sometimes the ready-made styles just don’t fit, and you need to go outside them.
Solution
Here are the most important parts of the app. Usage and cost control answer the core customer needs directly, so I show them first – then the rest of the app.
My Telia
This is the most used page, with a detailed view of data usage. The green ring shows how much data is left, and turns red when less than 20% remains. What kind of data is left can be seen in the details screen. The graph shows daily and monthly data usage.
The home page gives a complete overview of the subscription, and users can reach all the functions for managing it from here.
Buying data packages and data boosts is easy: users choose the package that suits them, and the cost is added to the monthly invoice.
All functions for managing the subscription are on the home page, in a horizontal list.
Users can add barrings on services that cost extra, such as voting services, extra data and calls to other countries. This is especially relevant for families, where parents can avoid unexpected costs on their kids’ subscriptions.
Users can change to another price plan at any time. The app clearly shows the difference between the current and the new price plan.
Streaming services can be bought in the app. Music Freedom, for instance, lets users listen to as much music as they want without using their included data.
Showing the PIN and PUK codes is an important feature of the app. Users often forget them, so they are clearly visible on the home page.
To contact Telia, users can chat with Telia’s chatbot Otelia or contact customer care. The nearest Telia store can also be found on this page.
Here users see all their invoices and whether they are paid, and can open the details of each invoice or download it as a PDF.
Contact information, notifications and security settings can be found in the profile.
Telia sends users important notifications now and then, such as a new invoice, a receipt for a purchase or other important messages. When there are no notifications, Otelia, Telia’s chatbot, is shown.
Project
One of the projects I worked on in the app was Data Sharing – a feature that lets users share their data with friends and family.
Many of Telia’s customers don’t use all of their included data. We wanted to find out whether sharing data solves a problem for our customers, and how to design it.
Process
We recruited many customers to in-depth user interviews and usability tests, mainly customers with families.
We gained insight into their needs, motivations and frustrations around receiving, giving and sharing, and around mobile usage. We used these insights to create a prototype.
Insight
Family members have different data usage. Often someone runs out while others have data left, and they have to buy extra data each month. Many customers said they wished they could share data with each other – especially parents, who want to share with their kids.
Parents don’t want their kids to have too much screen time, and worry that it can be harmful. But they do want their kids to have data when they need it, for bus tickets or similar, which requires data every day.
Giving gifts or sharing with friends feels good, especially if it’s appreciated. Receiving gifts can be a bit stressful for some, because they feel they need to repay the gift.
They spend much of their screen time on social media, streaming and music, but didn’t seem to understand how much data (GB) each of these requires – or how much “social media” they would give away or receive.
Concept
After the first round of interviews, it was clear that sharing data solves a user problem. So we ideated on different solutions and usability tested them.
We wanted to test a solution that showed users how much social media and streaming they gave away or received when sharing data. We thought this would make the experience more enjoyable and more tangible. It was perceived as a limitation, though, and we decided not to pursue it.
Solution
Data sharing is reached from the usage page. Since you’re sharing from your own data, it’s intuitive to place it there.
Data Sharing
Users can share with any Telia customer in Norway. The app has access to the contact list, and users can search for contacts to share with. If a contact isn’t a Telia customer, the app lets the user know when they tap that contact.
Data Sharing
Users can share in intervals of 0.5 GB. The purple ring shrinks as the user adds GB to share, showing how much data is left.
Data Sharing
We wanted to build on the good feeling of giving something away, and added the text “You are amazing!” on the last page. Users wanted to add a message because it feels more personal. The page also reminds users who the recipient is and how much data is shared, and works as a confirmation.
Data Sharing
The recipient gets a notification and a popup showing how much data they received and who it’s from. If the sender added a message, it’s shown here. The recipient can choose to say thank you.
