Improving the User Experience of the Beam Solar Platform

As an online platform that helps businesses implement solar energy, we understand the importance of providing a user-friendly platform that makes it easy for businesses to switch to solar. This is why we are undergoing a UI/UX redesign to improve usability. 

Our first step is redesigning the Procurement process.

The Current Platform and its Limitations

Procurement on our current platform has several limitations that have made it difficult for users to effectively compare offers. One of the most significant limitations is that the current platform only allows for an initial offer round followed by a final offer round. We have been getting around this by creating multiple final offer rounds, which gets messy very quickly. Additionally, we provide a large amount of supplier information for comparison, and the cluttered user interface can be very overwhelming, making it difficult to shortlist suppliers. 

The new and redesigned platform aims to address these limitations and provide businesses with a more user-friendly and informative experience. 

The Infinite Offers System

The new Procurement platform will adopt an infinite offer system, which allows for an infinite number of offer rounds. This feature will allow users to make adjustments to their requirements, request more information, and shortlist suppliers easily.

The redesigned interface is more user-friendly, with a cleaner look making it easier for users to find the information they need. We have also incorporated new features such as a dashboard that provides users with an overview of their project and updates on the status of their offer requests.

Our Product Design Process

To improve the platform's usability, we have embarked on a product design process that will allow us to completely redesign the user interface and add new features. This is an iterative process that involves several stages.

Research: Research is a crucial step in the product design process as it helps the team understand the user's needs, preferences, and pain points. This information helps us design a product that meets their specific requirements.

Ideation: Once the team has gathered data from the research phase, we begin brainstorming ideas that could solve the identified issues. During this phase, the team generates as many ideas as possible and then narrows them down to the most viable options.

Prototyping: After the ideation phase, design mockups and interactive prototypes are created to test their functionality and usability.

Testing: These prototypes are then tested with users to gather feedback, identify flaws and make necessary changes.

Iteration: Using feedback from the testing phase, we then refine and iterate on the design. We may need to go through several rounds of prototyping and testing before arriving at a final design. Each iteration helps refine the product, ensuring that it is user-friendly, functional, and aligns with the user's needs.

The New Procurement Platform

We are still in the process of iterating and testing, but we wanted to give a quick sneak peek of our new and improved Procurement platform.

Disclaimer: Screenshots below are wireframe mock-ups and are not indicative of the final product. All data used are placeholders.

We are excited to roll out our new and improved Procurement experience in the near future!