Case Study
Gemini Energy Solutions
Accelerating and scaling energy efficiency.
Gemini, an energy audit and clean-tech company provides affordable, investment-grade energy audits for small commercial buildings with their SaaS platform, Conserve. The platform enables data collection specialists from the communities being served to deliver the highest quality-rated audits with just a few days of training.
Background
Energy audits are a major tool in kick-starting this country’s clean energy transformation. High-quality, affordable energy audits for small to medium size commercial buildings—an underserved market—are required to help utilities meet their decarbonization, resiliency, and community investment goals. Conserve enables these goals to be met affordably, at scale.
Gemini already had a digital application that helped utility companies, building owners, and workforce development partners audit their energy efficiency. However, its platform wasn’t supporting the level of accuracy needed in data collection, wasn’t meeting accessibility standards, and had no mechanism for tracking and reporting on the positive impacts it generated.
Overview
Industry
Energy
Services
UX/Product Design
Research
Stakeholder Mapping
Storyboarding
Feature Prioritization
Product Design: Maximizing Efficiency
We redesigned Conserve’s interface to enhance the core aspects of the product, making each touchpoint more accessible and tailored to the demands of users and Gemini. Guided by the predetermined themes we focused on 5 key improvements.
Key Improvements
First Impressions: We created a thoughtfully designed login experience to establish user trust and brand recognition from the start, ensuring a memorable and reassuring first interaction with the app.
Streamlined Tasks: We introduced centralized dashboards and clear workflows to make it easier for users to manage audit tasks and track their progress efficiently.
Optimized Mobile: We optimized the mobile interface with clear navigation and relevant notifications, ensuring a user-friendly experience for data collection on-the-go.
Progress Tracking: Our designs include real-time updates and structured input fields, providing users with immediate feedback on their audit completion status to aid in efficient task completion.
Visual Impact Metrics: For managers and possibly utility customers, we added high-level overviews with real-time data visualizations to enable informed decision-making and resource optimization.
Other key improvements included enhancing accessibility, simplifying the user interface, reorganizing the site structure, creating intuitive navigation, optimizing mobile experiences, strengthening brand identity, and offering contextual assistance.
Stakeholder Mapping: Aligning Interests With Success
To support ongoing relationship-building and strategic customer engagement, we created this stakeholder map including customers (organized by roles and values), expert advisors, current partners, and prospective partners. It is a living file, able to be continually updated, and is searchable by various categories assigned to each individual via tags. This map is intended to complement a Customer Relations Management tool by giving a landscape view of key relationships and identifying where network connections can be leveraged most effectively. An invaluable resource when determining targeted areas of focus in preparation for meetings of any kind.
These straightforward storyboards provide the Gemini team with distinct approaches for pitching the value of Conserve to the two types of audiences most advantageous for the company. While these boards leave room for personalization, they contain informed guidelines regarding which metrics are best highlighted for different stakeholders. This categorization reduces the decision fatigue of creating new storylines for each audience, and the visuals of the boards help to streamline the pitch preparation process, keeping the value propositions and branding of Conserve front and center.
Visualizing the Journey
We worked with the Gemini team to prioritize features for a phased development, ensuring smooth transitions without disrupting workflows.
Features were evaluated by impact and effort, then categorized into phases. Quick wins were prioritized first to build momentum with existing resources. More resource-intensive features were scheduled for later phases, allowing Gemini to improve continuously while managing resources effectively.
Prioritizing What Matters Most
Impact Beyond the Project
To capture the target market, Gemini needed features that would drive better business decisions, including short-term audit data and long-term impact tracking. Together, we developed a design concept integrating key metrics into the Conserve product, showcasing the power of strategic thinking and shared commitment to change. This collaboration was more than just tasks; it aligned with Gemini's mission to create a meaningful impact in the energy sector and the world.