Revamping the CEB Mobile App with Smart Meter Integration.

Overview

The CEB mobile app currently relies on manual meter readings and traditional billing methods, causing inefficiencies and customer frustration. To modernize this experience, the app will integrate smart meter technology, enabling automated, real-time electricity consumption tracking and eliminating the need for physical meter readings and bills.

With smart meters, users can monitor their electricity usage in real-time, view detailed consumption patterns, and receive predicted bill amounts based on usage trends. The app will also send proactive alerts, such as warnings about nearing higher tariff brackets, to help users better manage their energy consumption.

A complete app redesign will improve accessibility and usability, addressing concerns like small text, complex navigation, and limited payment flexibility. Features such as a simple interface, large text, and options for partial or overpayments will cater to diverse user needs.

This revamped app aims to solve customer pain points, such as unpredictable bills, missed payments, and difficulty budgeting for energy costs. It empowers users with actionable insights, making bill management seamless while improving financial and energy management efficiency.

Problem Statement

The current CEB mobile app and billing process rely on manual meter readings and traditional analog meters, leading to inefficiencies and user frustrations. Customers struggle to predict electricity bills, manage payments, and access detailed consumption data. The outdated system lacks real-time insights and fails to accommodate diverse user needs, resulting in a suboptimal experience.

  • Unpredictable Billing: Users cannot anticipate their monthly electricity expenses, causing budgeting challenges.
  • Missed Payments: Busy schedules lead to overdue bills due to a lack of timely reminders.
  • Outdated System: Manual meter readings and complex bill management feel cumbersome and inconvenient.
  • Lack of Insights: No real-time consumption data or alerts about tariff changes.
  • Poor Accessibility: Complex interfaces and small text create usability challenges.
  • Payment Flexibility: Limited options for partial or overpayments hinder user convenience.

User Research

In this project, the focus is on enhancing the existing CEB Care App by introducing new features centered around the integration of smart meters. These features aim to improve the overall user experience and address key pain points highlighted by customers.

Identifying Features Through Competitive Analysis

To determine the features that best align with smart meter integration, a competitive analysis was conducted. This analysis explored leading utility apps that have successfully implemented smart meter technology.

  1. British Gas (UK)
    • Known for its real-time energy consumption tracking, detailed usage graphs, and cost projection tools.
    • Provides budgeting aids, energy-saving tips, and smart home device integration.
  2. ComEd (USA)
    • Offers hourly usage data visualization, bill payment management, and high-usage alerts.
    • Features power outage reporting and tools for tracking renewable energy consumption.
  3. TEPCO (Japan)
    • Excels in real-time consumption monitoring, historical comparisons, and demand forecasting.
    • Includes weather-based consumption analysis and peak demand alerts.


From this analysis, three core features emerged as the most relevant and impactful for the CEB Care App:

  1. Real-Time Energy Consumption Tracking:
    • Users can view their current electricity usage in real-time, enabling better consumption awareness.
  2. Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Usage Graphs:
    • Visualize consumption trends over time, empowering users to identify patterns and manage costs.
  3. Bill Payment and Management:
    • Streamline the payment process with improved invoice visibility, instant payment updates, and proactive notifications.

Existing solution blueprint

The payment flow of the current CEB app is the primary user journey that will be impacted by the addition of these features. To ensure a seamless integration, I thoroughly analyzed the existing payment process to identify pain points and opportunities for improvement.

This analysis revealed that the app’s existing product patterns are overly rigid, making it challenging to integrate new features seamlessly. Moreover, these patterns are accompanied by numerous usability issues that hinder the overall user experience.

To gain deeper insights, I conducted further research by reviewing customer feedback on the Google Play Store. Through this analysis, I discovered a variety of usability problems consistently reported by users. Key issues include delayed payment updates, outdated account balances, a lack of real-time data, and an unintuitive interface.

These findings emphasized the necessity of a complete revamp of the CEB app. The existing framework not only fails to meet user expectations but also limits the app’s potential to evolve with new features like smart meter integration. By addressing these challenges, the app can be transformed into a more user-friendly, flexible, and efficient platform.

Problems in the current solution

  • Delayed Payment Updates: Payments take too long to reflect, leading to uncertainty about account balances.
  • Outdated Information: The app displays weeks-old data, failing to provide real-time account details.
  • Synchronization Issues: The app’s data is not synchronized with the web portal, causing inconsistencies.
  • Lack of Invoice History: Users cannot access current or past invoices, making it difficult to track payments.
  • Unreliable Features: Promised features, such as self-meter reading, don’t function as expected.
  • Slow Performance: Navigation and processing within the app are sluggish, frustrating users.
  • No In-App Support: Users are unable to raise complaints or seek help directly through the app.
  • Limited Notifications: There are no proactive alerts for bills, due dates, or payment confirmations.

By revamping the CEB app with a focus on payment flow and introducing new, customer-centric features, we aim to create a more reliable, intuitive, and empowering experience for users. This approach addresses critical pain points while aligning with modern utility app standards.

User Personas

To ensure the redesign of the CEB app addresses the diverse needs of its users, I created three user personas, each representing a different age group and level of technological proficiency. These personas highlight specific goals, pain points, and behaviors associated with the app’s payment flow and new features.

Implementing Identified Features in the Revamped CEB App

Based on the analysis of user personas, competitive research, and usability issues in the existing app, three key features were identified for implementation in the revamped design. These features are tailored to address user pain points and align with the app’s new, user-friendly design.

Feature 1: Real-Time Energy Consumption Tracking

Purpose: Provides users with live data on their electricity usage, empowering them to make informed decisions.

User Benefits

  • Amal (55): Gains better awareness of his energy usage without the need for manual readings.
  • Nisha (35): Monitors business vs. home usage in real-time for better cost management.
  • Kavin (25): Tracks his energy usage accurately to avoid unexpected charges.

 

Feature 2: Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Usage Graphs

Purpose: Allows users to visualize energy consumption over specific periods to identify trends and plan budgets.

User Benefits

  • Amal (55): Understands his energy consumption in simple terms through clear graphs.
  • Nisha (35): Identifies seasonal or operational spikes in energy usage for her business.
  • Kavin (25): Analyzes trends to optimize energy consumption and savings.

 

Feature 3: Bill Payment and Management

Purpose: Simplifies the payment process while providing better visibility into billing information. User Benefits

  • Amal (55): Receives reminders for bill payments and finds the payment process easier.
  • Nisha (35): Accesses detailed invoice history and manages separate accounts effectively.
  • Kavin (25): Enjoys seamless payments with instant balance updates and modern functionality.

Updated solution blueprint (New feature mapping)

Based on the identified features and the revamped CEB app design, the solution blueprint for the payment flow has been updated to incorporate real-time energy tracking, usage visualization, and enhanced bill management. This updated blueprint focuses on creating a seamless, efficient, and user-friendly experience while resolving existing usability issues.

Solution

To bring the updated solution blueprint to life, I designed wireframes and a user interface (UI) for the revamped payment flow and smart meter features. These designs prioritize clarity, usability, and alignment with the identified user needs.

User Testing

User testing of the revamped CEB Mobile App with smart meter integration involved five diverse users, focusing on real-time energy consumption tracking, usage graphs, bill payment/management, and the updated payment flow. The testing evaluated usability, accessibility, and resolution of pain points like unpredictable billing and complex navigation.

Key Findings:

  • The simplified interface with large text was intuitive, enabling easy navigation to the “Due Electricity Bill” section across varying tech savviness levels.
  • Real-time usage tracking was highly valued, particularly for distinguishing consumption patterns (e.g., business vs. home), aiding cost management.
  • Usage graphs were clear, helping users identify trends and seasonal spikes, with the “Predicted Unit Usage” feature appreciated for budgeting.
  • The “Pay Now” button’s bottom sheet interface streamlined payments, and proactive bill reminders reduced missed payments.
  • The “Previous Invoices” section supported record-keeping, addressing complaints about inaccessible bill details.
  • Daily average metrics and tabbed visualization (“Bill Amount” vs. “Unit Usage”) were effective but occasionally confusing for less tech-savvy users.

 

Areas for Improvement:

  • Enhance payment synchronization to eliminate occasional delays in balance updates, ensuring real-time accuracy.
  • Introduce in-app tutorials or tooltips to clarify smart meter terminology and guide users through features like tab switching in the “Current Electricity Usage” section.
  • Simplify initial setup to reduce complexity for users unfamiliar with smart meter concepts.
  • Add a dark mode option to improve aesthetics and accessibility, as suggested by tech-savvy users.

 

Overall, the app achieved 90% user satisfaction, effectively addressing key pain points. Implementing these improvements will further enhance usability and user adoption.

Conclusion

The revamped CEB Mobile App with smart meter integration successfully addresses user pain points, delivering a user-friendly, efficient platform for energy management. Real-time tracking, clear usage graphs, and streamlined bill payments empower users to manage consumption and costs effectively. User testing confirmed high satisfaction (90%), with the intuitive interface and proactive features resolving issues like unpredictable billing and complex navigation.

While the app excels in accessibility and functionality, minor enhancements—faster payment synchronization, in-app tutorials, simplified setup, and a dark mode—will further optimize the experience. This redesign aligns with modern utility app standards, promoting energy efficiency and customer satisfaction. Future iterations should focus on these improvements and consider expanding features like multilingual support to cater to Sri Lanka’s diverse population, ensuring broader adoption and sustained impact.

Thanks for reading.