Tendril is a cloud-based software platform that provides the infrastructure and analytics required to deliver personalized energy services. The company already had clear marketing segments, but wanted to understand true user behavior when it came to home energy usage. They wanted EchoUser to help them create defendable, research-based personas that could be used for future feature development.  

![tendril-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/tendril_body1_f170840380.jpg)

# Approach  

We conducted over 20 remote and in-person interviews across the US to gain better insights into the behavior of people around energy efficiency. This involved visiting users in their homes to observe and interpret their energy-related habits. From this massive amount of qualitative and quantitative data, we created personas to represent archetype users in terms of attitudes, motivations, and behaviors concerning their energy usage.  

# Impact  

After conducting numerous interviews, we delivered our findings — particularly the spectra of behavior — in the form of personas. The personas we developed helped to ground internal and external design and business discussions, and ensured that decisions were based on real user stories, needs, and behaviors.  

![tendril-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/tendril_body2_346d2a6f21.jpg)

![CMBPortfolio2020_Tendril-Website-Hero.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/CMB_Portfolio2020_Tendril_Website_Hero_324d8a1b8f.jpg)


Conducting contextual interviews to create personas that help an energy company understand their users. 


EchoUser helped a Tendril, and energy cloud company, create research-based personas for future feature development by conducting over 20 interviews to understand users' behavior in home energy usage. The personas ensured decisions were based on real user stories, needs, and behaviors, grounding design and business discussions.


Tendril User Research

# Understanding the what and then the why

Informatica’s data analytics showed not only the low percentage of users who converted, but when in the process most trial users dropped off - downloading an agent and successfully accomplishing a ‘task.’ With an understanding of  “what” was happening, we dove into understanding the “why” by conducting 1:1 interviews with trial users who had both converted to paid and those who had not.

![Informatica_CloudConvert_Data2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Informatica_Cloud_Convert_Data2_8ffb273e06.jpg)

# We found multiple distinct personas

After talking to users, we uncovered three unique personas that used the Informatica Cloud trial: an IT expert at a large company, a developer at a small organization, and a business analyst at a medium-sized company. More importantly, each persona’s experience was relatively distinct. The developer and business analyst personas experienced similar challenges in the earliest stages of the trial that served as substantial blockers to continuing on. They differed with the success path - when the business analyst persona was able to get past the earliest stages, they typically went on to becoming a paid user. The developer persona, on the other hand, continued to experience frustration with other aspects, even after progressing through the early stage challenges. The IT expert persona, contrary to other personas, tended to have a positive experience throughout the entire process.

![Informatica_CloudConvert_personas(transparent).png](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Informatica_Cloud_Convert_personas_transparent_2b413038fc.png)

We illustrated key differences between each persona’s experience by creating persona-specific journey maps as well as a single combined journey map that juxtaposed all three personas’ experiences. This really highlighted the differences effectively, showing how different phases of the trial created different pain points for different personas. 

![Informatica_CloudConvert_combojourney.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Informatica_Cloud_Convert_combojourney_7bb0f2a3f9.jpg)

# Analyzing the current experience

With a deeper understanding of the personas’ experiences, we conducted a detailed heuristic analysis of the current product. This enabled us to identify existing UI issues that could be fixed in the short term.

![Informatica_CloudConvert_heuristics.png](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Informatica_Cloud_Convert_heuristics_8b566762b8.png)

# Design directions going forward

To really improve the UX, however, we needed to come up with a deeper  re-thinking and redesign of the onboarding experience. We ultimately came up with four distinct design approaches to improve the trial experience, each optimizing for different combinations of needs. With four potential design directions and a much richer understanding of their potential target users, we left Informatica with promising avenues to greatly improve their trial experience.

![Informatica_CloudConvert_wires.png](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/Informatica_Cloud_Convert_wires_a74a9f8336.png)


Journey maps and heuristic analysis led to three personas and four design approaches to enrich an onboarding experience.

Research, Evaluation and Design

Informatica Cloud used a free trial model to allow potential customers to try out its full functionality with the hopes that a substantial portion would convert to full paying users. However, most did not convert to paid usage. Informatica came to EchoUser to help them understand why users weren’t converting and find ways to change the initial trial experience to increase conversions.


Informatica Cloud Conversion

# Approach  

We kicked off the project by guiding our student mentees to conduct individual interviews in order to learn about the values, needs, and pain points of those who attend music events. We helped them prepare their discussion manuals and coached them on honing strategies for collecting high quality data.  

Once the students completed 15 interviews, we then facilitated a workshop to uncover meaning and patterns from the data they collected. After affinity diagramming their interview findings, we introduced them to methods for creating personas and journey maps.  

As we identified spectra that were represented across the interview participants, the students learned to tease apart behavioral differences and de-prioritize demographic differences. After the workshop, the students continued using the methodologies they learned to construct and digitize two personas and each of their journeys.  

![rave-body2.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/rave_body2_5948cbb030.jpg)

![rave-body3.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/rave_body3_c5d42c5495.jpg)

These artifacts were used throughout the second workshop, which focused on concept ideation and prototyping. Using a range of techniques, we led our mentees through multiple cycles of idea generation and convergence.  

After sketching out about 40 high-level concepts, they collectively chose the idea with the most potential to address the problem that they wished to resolve. From there, the students began prototyping their concept with various materials.  

![rave-body4.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/rave_body4_ad466c7d83.jpg)

# Impact  

After several rounds of iteration, the students presented Trovi. It’s a wearable tracking device that guides you to find members of your group by using arrows as a navigational compass, blinking when you’re within 30 feet.  

It’s low tech and lightweight so users don’t have to worry about internet connection or having another bulky device to carry around. Trovi improves the music experience by enabling friends to separate and reconnect as they wish without the fear of getting lost.  

The students created a physical prototype that aligned with their designs and communicated their design solution through a storyboard and poster, and wrapped up the project with a presentation at the EchoUser office in San Francisco.  

We were excited and proud to see the students showcase their strengths in absorbing and executing a range of methods, creating a solution, and communicating both process and outcome.  

![rave-body1.jpg](https://echouser-api-media.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/rave_body1_ea4c475562.jpg)


Collaboration with Berkeley Innovation undergraduate team to ideate, iterate, and prototype concept designs.


Rave Experience

EchoUser partnered with Berkeley Innovation to mentor a group of five undergraduate students on a design project — from problem selection to prototyping. Our goals were to enhance their understanding of the design process, improve their research and design skills, and support them in producing a project for their portfolios.  

The students decided to explore the music festival experience and ultimately refined their scope to the problem of finding friends who get lost at these live events.


The Festival Experience

Product teams that go it alone often fall into the trap of building for the loudest customer. We’re skilled at digging **beyond easy answers to user behaviors and processes**. We’ll expose unknown gaps and give you reliable data to prioritize your next steps.

- HOVER wanted to expand their 3D property data services to homeowners for renovation aid. We collected qualitative data, analyzed the renovation journey, and prioritized product development accordingly.

- NextRoll aimed to offer automated digital marketing to small-medium businesses. Through exhaustive design research and co-design activities, we pinpointed desires and unmet needs, helping NextRoll to orchestrate a streamlined solution.


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Discovery Deep Dive

Fast-paced companies need a scrappy partner. We like to join companies for quick alignment that brings clarity and rigor to your process. We **fit engagements to specific needs**, including workshops from one day to one week and part-time UX support.

- We [co-facilitated a diversity lab](/cases/boulder-diversity-lab) to help start-ups in Boulder CO create tangible solutions for a more inclusive workplace. After an 8-hour design sprint, participants walked away with practical and holistic action plans.


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UX Alignment

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Successful products deliver real value to users by solving real user needs.

We go beyond what users say they want. We wield our UX expertise to go beneath the surface and understand what users need and translate that to tangible product goals.


Product Discovery

Successful products deliver real value to users by solving real user needs.

We delve deeper with our UX expertise, interpreting user needs into product goals.

Domains

Methods