From a complex system to a clear and guided experience
This project focuses on redesigning a self-service portal used in the energy sector.
The platform allows users to manage contracts, submit meter readings, and access billing information. However, the existing version had several usability and accessibility issues that made these tasks harder than they should be.
Users struggled with navigation, unclear structure, and inconsistent interactions.
The goal of this project was to analyze these issues and redesign the experience to make it clearer, more structured, and easier to use.
Role: UX/UI Designer, UX Researcher
Scope : Research · UX Design · UI Design · Usability Testing
Type: Self Service Portal (Website)
Company: Thüga SmartService GmbH
Date: 2025
When looking at the existing portal, the issues were consistent across different areas.
Users struggled to understand where to go, what to do, and how to complete tasks.
The system lacked:
What this really means is users had to figure the system out instead of being guided by it.
To understand where the issues came from, I analyzed the existing portal using a mix of evaluation methods and user-centered approaches.
This included usability reviews, accessibility checks, and observing how users interacted with the system.
Systematic audit against Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics
BITV 2.0 checklist against WCAG 2.2 AA/AAA levels.
3 persona types, scenario narratives, and customer journey maps
Across all methods, the same patterns kept showing up.
Users struggled not because the tasks were complex, but because the interface made them hard to follow.
The system relied on users to figure things out, instead of guiding them.
The first step was to rethink how information and tasks were structured.
Instead of presenting everything at once, I explored breaking tasks into smaller, more manageable steps.
Instead of dense pages, tasks were broken into step-by-step processes to make them easier to follow.
Clear navigation patterns and consistent terminology helped users understand where they were and what to do next.
Error messages and feedback were redesigned to be clearer and more actionable.
Accessibility wasn’t treated as an add-on, but built into the design through clear contrast, readable typography, and inclusive interaction patterns.
Clear structure and visual hierarchy help users quickly understand available actions.
Step-by-step interaction reduces confusion and guides users through tasks.
Improved messages make system responses easier to understand.
The token-based architecture allows the entire portal to re-skin to a new brand in minutes — without touching structure, interaction patterns, or accessibility compliance. All colour decisions are isolated in a single token layer.
To evaluate the new design, usability tests were conducted with users completing key tasks.
The goal was to understand how easily users could navigate the system and complete actions.
Participants tested moderated usability sessions
The final version significantly improved the overall experience.
Users were able to navigate more easily, understand tasks more clearly, and complete actions with less effort.
The redesign led to:
This project taught me how to work with limited data and still derive meaningful insights for design decisions. It also helped me understand how to balance personalization, accessibility (BFSG/WCAG), and system consistency when redesigning a large-scale platform.
The next step is to integrate real usage data and continue improving the system based on actual user behavior.