Case Study LibraryEnergy Star Integration
Energy Star
Integration
lead product designer
data platform linking the built world to the connected world
Problem
Property Managers are extremely busy. Providing data that lives in multiple systems to Energy Star Portfolio Manager wastes valuable time, and cause uncertainty under the pressure of new regulations.
New laws require properties submit an Energy Star Benchmark to meet compliance regulations. Buildings with Energy Star accounts are out of date or maintained by external sustainability consultants. The process to bring those accounts up to date and connect real time data to Energy Star is time consuming and complex, causing property teams to spend weeks finding the right data to maintain an Energy Star account or provide to external consultants.
Currently, Backpack connects to Energy Star Portfolio Manager accounts to provide a view of the state of data in their account. This is only part of the solution, to upcoming compliance regulations.
Existing State
Business Objectives
understanding
In discovery we identified user pain points and potential touchpoints from existing observations, mapped user journeys to add an Energy Star account to Backpack, and conducted a Energy Star application user journey study in order to discover risks, gaps, and pain points within the Energy Star Portfolio Manager process.
User Personas
- Manages 1-3 buildings
- Oversees day to day operations of the building
- Reports to Asset Manager about building performance and needs
- Property Manager's point of contact when onboarding with Backpack
- Communicates through email and phone calls
- Point of contact for 100-120 Backpacks at various stages of onboarding
Energy Star Applicant Journey
What we learned
The Energy Star application process is highly nuanced. There are varying types of data that is not easily understood without expertise in sustainability. There is a learning curve to understanding how to properly enter data to reflect a accurate representation of the building. Property Managers outsource Energy Star tasks in order to save time, but still have to track down the required data for consultants once a year. Ownership of the Energy Star account is key to managing the data.
user outcomes
ideation
Using what we learned in Discovery, I began exploring ways to ingest existing accounts and transfer Energy Star management to a Backpack. Through this process, we tested comparisons early and found a lack of confidence in data when asking users to choose between two accounts. We then pivoted to a solution that leaned on internal services and expertise, in order to remove the pain point of choosing between granular pieces of technical data.
In this stage we began to understand the complexities of the data connection process, and were able to begin to group the work as new questions arose around pain points.
fIRST iTERATION wIREFRAMES
First round of feedback
On this iteration, we learned that comparing two accounts and asking property teams to choose did not instill confidence in complex data. We learned that many teams follow an outdated process when completing their existing Energy Star Portfolio Manager accounts. This caused skewed benchmarking scores that impacted buildings by 5-10 points below the Backpack managed accounts. After speaking with Property Teams, we learned most teams would prefer Backpack manage their Energy Star Accounts, but were most concerned with losing historical data from the existing accounts. We then pivoted to ideating a solution that supported both accounts without asking users to validate and verify granular pieces of outdated data.
Understanding multiple energy star accounts
Back to the Figjam Board....
Card DiagramMing
Validation
Methodology
- A/B Test of black and white prototype
- 4 participants
- Understand which approach is best for quickly identifying multiple accounts, ability to switch between accounts, and the differences.
research artifact
What we learned
Although users were able to switch between accounts, we were unsuccessful with gaining confidence between the accounts due to differences between legacy account data and updated data provided by Backpack. Explaining historical data, ultimately, will not be in our control. From this information, the business decided to ingest legacy accounts in order to eliminate uncertainty, and focus ingestion on communicating management and performance of Backpack managed Energy Star accounts.
final design
In order to ensure confidence, we focused on positive messaging and clearer updates about the current state of an Energy Star Score. Many questions were still outstanding at this point leading to roadmap reorganization and focused discovery work to uncover potential improvements later on.
After implementation, we saw 15% more activity on the Energy Star page, and were able to convert 85% of Backpacks to a Backpack managed Energy Star Account.
Connected Energy Star Account
Historical data
Onboarding Question
Onboarding Messaging
UI Card States
Learnings & Next Steps
- Most Portfolio Managers are looking for a tool to help incrementally manage the Energy Star Process
- Establish a way for Onboarding Coordinators to connect and map many Backpacks to the correct Portfolio Manager building in one flow
- How might we push data to Portfolio Manager monthly in order to eliminate the need to stop once a year and gather data for submission?