Designing the Product Selection Tool: Simplifying Business Energy Choices
The Product Selection Tool is a simple quiz designed to help users discover energy products and services tailored to their business needs. By answering a few quick questions, users are provided with a list of recommended products, ranked by how well they align with their responses.
Prior to my role at DEB, focus groups conducted by the marketing team revealed a critical issue: customers didn’t understand DEB’s product offerings due to unclear categorization and confusing language. This was especially true for energy management solutions, DEB’s high-margin service-oriented products. Many customers couldn’t identify which services matched their business needs. The Product Selection Tool was developed to address this problem by simplifying product discovery.
Challenges and Solutions
Scoring System Development
The challenge was determining how to match user responses to specific products. Inspired by Netflix’s recommendation approach, I designed a scoring system where each response assigns points to one or more products. At the end of the quiz, the product with the highest score is displayed as the top recommendation. This straightforward system ensured accuracy while remaining easy to implement.User-Friendly Design
I created interactive wireframes for two quiz formats: a single-page wizard and a multiple-page wizard. Usability testing revealed that the multiple-page design offered a smoother experience by breaking the process into manageable steps. This version was selected for its clarity and ease of use.
The final Product Selection Tool made it easier for users to navigate DEB’s offerings, helping them identify the right solutions for their business while emphasizing high-value services. This project demonstrates how thoughtful design and a simple scoring mechanism can drive better user engagement and align with business goals.
Product Selection Tool: Simplifying Energy Decisions
This gallery showcases the Product Selection Tool, which streamlines how users identify the right energy products and services for their needs.
Questions: Key examples, such as "How important is energy efficiency to your business?" collect input to guide recommendations.
Results Page: Displays top product recommendations based on user responses, with clear descriptions and actions to explore further.
Points Allocation Diagram: Shows how user responses are assigned points across product categories to determine the best matches.
Previously, users had to read lengthy articles or download PDFs to understand available offerings, often creating their own mental structure of energy knowledge. The tool embeds this structure directly into its design, making the process intuitive and eliminating the need for years of accumulated expertise. It provides immediate, actionable insights to guide informed decisions.
