Simplifying mobile experience for 2M+ Vodafone users
Senior product designer
8 months
Mobile app
10+ person cross-functional team
MY ROLE
Leading initial discovery research to understand user needs and business challenges.
Co-defining the product strategy, prioritising features and validating hypotheses.
Conducting end-to-end usability testing, data analysis and iterative UX research.
Facilitating team workshops and aligning cross-functional stakeholders.
Prototyping, wireframing and designing final UI components.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Companion Plans were designed to give Vodafone users a simple way to manage additional plans online, without needing to visit a store or call support.
The project went through several phases, starting as a discovery and growing into a fully integrated solution. Along the way, we relied on user research, data insights and continuous improvements to make sure it met both customer needs and business goals.
THE PROBLEM
How might we enable plan sharing through self-service?
Vodafone customers can’t manage or add companions through the My Vodafone app The only way to access this feature is by visiting a store or calling customer support.
EXISTING CHALLENGES
No digital access
Users could only manage their plans by visiting a store or calling support, leading to unnecessary friction.
Feature awareness
Many customers weren't aware that plan sharing was already available or how they could benefit from it.
Self-Service flow
There was no in-app journey for users to independently manage and share their plans.
Support dependency
The absence of a digital option led to increased pressure on customer service channels.
THE SOLUTION
Easily add friends & family to your plan — all in one place
Easily add friends & family to your plan — all in one place
Companion Plan lets Vodafone customers to add and manage additional people on their mobile plans directly through the My Vodafone app without needing to call support or visit a store. It streamlines the experience, empowers users to self-serve and increases plan adoption by making shared plans more accessible and visible.
Companion Plan lets Vodafone customers to add and manage additional people on their mobile plans directly through the My Vodafone app without needing to call support or visit a store. It streamlines the experience, empowers users to self-serve and increases plan adoption by making shared plans more accessible and visible.
THE RESEARCH
Turning challenges into measurable outcomes
Through stakeholders discussions, I gained a clear understanding of their challenges and the key outcomes they aimed to achieve, then I aligned these with user needs by analysing tNPS scores and insights from help centre calls.
BUSINESS & USER GOALS
Adoption
Increase adoption of Companion Plans, driving more views & purchases.
Adoption
Increase adoption of Companion Plans, driving more views & purchases.
Self-service
Reduce the number of support calls and in-store visits.
Self-service
Reduce the number of support calls and in-store visits.
Ease of use
Easily add a family member to an existing or new plan.
Ease of use
Easily add a family member to an existing or new plan.
Convenience
Manage plans independently within the app, at their convenience.
Convenience
Manage plans independently within the app, at their convenience.
WORKING WITH CONSTRAINTS
Process limitations
A traditional project mindset often led to long development cycles, where documentation was prioritised over rapid learning and iteration, creating risks in delivering a user-centred solution efficiently.
Timeline changes
The urgency to launch the feature quickly added pressure to the design process, requiring a careful balance between speed, quality and stakeholder alignment.
Technical constraints
The existing technology was outdated and not built for innovation. A poorly designed architecture, unreliable backend and unmaintainable code limited our ability to implement forward-thinking solutions.
UX METRICS
Engagement
Time on task: Total time spent managing plans and adding new companions
Engagement: Frequency of app usage
Success rate: Number of users successfully adding Companion Plans
Distribution
Organic growth: Increase in adoption without promotion
• Feature discovery: More users exploring Companion Plans
• Plan sharing: Rise in users adding others to their plans
Conversion
• Purchase uplift: Increase in Companion Plan purchases
• Journey success: Reduction in drop-offs during the upgrade process
• Feature adoption: Growth in users completing the add-a-companion flow
FLOW MAPPING
Mapping out the current journeys revealed areas to pay attention to when validating through research and form the MVP.
THE IDEATION
Companion Plans for everyday connection
In this phase I created sketches, wireframes and prototypes, then refined them based on usability feedback. I also introduced new components to support the feature within our existing design system.
SKETCHING
USABILITY TESTING
I conducted usability testing with five participants. The goal was to identify pain points, evaluate user understanding, confidence, and ease of completing the Companion Plan journey, including visibility, navigation, guidance, and error handling.
IMPROVED USER JOURNEY
After analysing usability testing findings and conducting affinity mapping, I redesigned the user journey to make it easier for people to discover and navigate Companion Plans. By introducing clear entry points and improving visual hierarchy, users could find plans faster, understand their options and stay engaged without needing to leave the platform.
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Simplifying mobile experience for 2M+ Vodafone users
Designing a simpler mobile experience for 2M+ Vodafone users
Senior product designer
8 months
Mobile app
10+ person cross-functional team
MY ROLE
Leading initial discovery research to understand user needs and business challenges.
Co-defining the product strategy, prioritising features and validating hypotheses.
Conducting end-to-end usability testing, data analysis and iterative UX research.
Facilitating team workshops and aligning cross-functional stakeholders.
Prototyping, wireframing and designing final UI components.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Companion Plans were designed to give Vodafone users a simple way to manage additional plans online, without needing to visit a store or call support.
The project went through several phases, starting as a discovery and growing into a fully integrated solution. Along the way, we relied on user research, data insights and continuous improvements to make sure it met both customer needs and business goals.
THE SOLUTION
Easily add friends & family to your plan — all in one place
Companion Plan lets Vodafone customers to add and manage additional people on their mobile plans directly through the My Vodafone app without needing to call support or visit a store. It streamlines the experience, empowers users to self-serve and increases plan adoption by making shared plans more accessible and visible.
THE PROBLEM
How might we enable plan sharing through self-service?
How might we enable plan sharing through self-service?
Vodafone customers can’t manage or add companions through the My Vodafone app The only way to access this feature is by visiting a store or calling customer support.
Vodafone customers can’t manage or add companions through
the My Vodafone app The only way to access this feature is by visiting
a store or calling customer support.
EXISTING CHALLENGES
No digital access
Users could only manage their plans by visiting a store or calling support, leading to unnecessary friction.
Feature awareness
Many customers weren't aware that plan sharing was already available or how they could benefit from it.
Self-Service flow
There was no in-app journey for users to independently manage and share their plans.
Support dependency
The absence of a digital option led to increased pressure on customer service channels.
THE SOLUTION
Easily add friends & family to your plan — all in one place
Companion Plan lets Vodafone customers to add and manage additional people on their mobile plans directly through
the My Vodafone app without needing to call support or visit a store. It streamlines the experience, empowers users to self-serve
and increases plan adoption by making shared plans more accessible and visible.
QUICK access
Users can easily access the Companion Plan right from the My Vodafone app homepage
Users can easily access the Companion Plan right from the My Vodafone app homepage
PREPARE
Before starting the journey, users are guided through a short pre-checklist to help them prepare the required information
Before starting the journey, users are guided through a short pre-checklist to help them prepare the required information
REVIEW
Users can review and edit the companion details to ensure everything is correct
Users can review and edit the companion details to ensure everything is correct
WHAT's NEXT
Once confirmed, users are shown a clear summary and next steps, so they know exactly what to expect next
Once confirmed, users are shown a clear summary and next steps, so they know exactly what to expect next
THE RESEARCH
Turning challenges into measurable outcomes
Turning challenges into
measurable outcomes
Through stakeholders discussions, I gained a clear understanding of their challenges and the key outcomes they aimed to achieve, then I aligned these with user needs by analysing tNPS scores and insights from help centre calls.
Through stakeholders discussions, I gained a clear understanding of their challenges and the key outcomes they aimed to achieve, then I aligned these with user needs by analysing tNPS scores and insights from help centre calls.
BUSINESS & USER GOALS
Adoption
Increase adoption of Companion Plans, driving more views & purchases.
Adoption
Increase adoption of Companion Plans, driving more views & purchases.
Self-service
Reduce the number of support calls and in-store visits.
Self-service
Reduce the number of support calls and in-store visits.
Ease of use
Easily add a family member to an existing or new plan.
Ease of use
Easily add a family member to an existing or new plan.
Convenience
Manage plans independently within the app, at their convenience.
Convenience
Manage plans independently within the app, at their convenience.
WORKING WITH CONSTRAINTS
Process limitations
A traditional project mindset often led to long development cycles, where documentation was prioritised over rapid learning and iteration, creating risks in delivering a user-centred solution efficiently.
Timeline changes
The urgency to launch the feature quickly added pressure to the design process, requiring a careful balance between speed, quality and stakeholder alignment.
Technical constraints
The existing technology was outdated and not built for innovation. A poorly designed architecture, unreliable backend and unmaintainable code limited our ability to implement forward-thinking solutions.
UX METRICS
Engagement
Time on task: Total time spent managing plans and adding new companions
Engagement: Frequency of app usage
Success rate: Number of users successfully adding Companion Plans
Distribution
Organic growth: Increase in adoption without promotion
• Feature discovery: More users exploring Companion Plans
• Plan sharing: Rise in users adding others to their plans
Conversion
• Purchase uplift: Increase in Companion Plan purchases
• Journey success: Reduction in drop-offs during the upgrade process
• Feature adoption: Growth in users completing the add-a-companion flow
FLOW MAPPING
Mapping out the current journeys revealed areas to pay attention to when validating through research and form the MVP.
THE IDEATION
Companion Plans for everyday connection
Companion Plans for
everyday connection
In this phase I created sketches, wireframes and prototypes, then refined them based on usability feedback. I also introduced new components to support the feature within our existing design system.
In this phase I created sketches, wireframes and prototypes, then refined them based on usability feedback. I also introduced new components to support the feature within our existing design system.
SKETCHING
USABILITY TESTING
I conducted usability testing with five participants. The goal was to identify pain points, evaluate user understanding, confidence, and ease of completing the Companion Plan journey, including visibility, navigation, guidance, and error handling.
IMPROVED USER JOURNEY
After analysing usability testing findings and conducting affinity mapping, I redesigned the user journey to make it easier for people to discover and navigate Companion Plans. By introducing clear entry points and improving visual hierarchy, users could find plans faster, understand their options and stay engaged without needing to leave the platform.
THE MVP
Making shared plans simple from day one
Making shared plans simple from day one
We launched a focused MVP for Companion Plans that delivered immediate value by enabling users to easily add and manage others, built with scalability in mind to support future iterations and evolving user needs
