Transforming User Experience: Innovative Customer Portal & Task Automation for a Utility Giant
Discover how a leading US energy supplier partnered with Korcomptenz to develop a cutting-edge customer portal, integrating Amazon Web Services, .NET, QuickSight BI, and Okta.
A groundbreaking solution to streamline energy management and elevate user experiences
In the Midwest, a longstanding energy supplier with over a century of service history found itself at a pivotal juncture. Serving over half a million customers across six states and Washington, DC, this utility giant sought to modernize its operations and enhance customer engagement. They turned to Korcomptenz for a transformative solution.
Our customer relies on Amazon Web Services for cloud infrastructure, Microsoft ASP.NET for custom apps, and Amazon QuickSight BI for analytics. With Microsoft Dynamics 365 CE and Power Platform in the mix, their commitment to security and data protection is unwavering, fortifying their utility business.
Our client approached us with a crucial request. They wanted a brand-new customer portal that could give their large clients access to vital energy usage data, invoices, and more. It required complex integrations with Amazon Quick Sight BI and Okta, an identity management tool.
The customer had big plans for the portal, aiming to serve a large number of clients and add more features in the future and chose Korcomptenz to lead the way. We kicked off the project with a Design Thinking phase, collaborating with end users, administrators, and the Information Security team to define the portal’s features and technical details.
With all the approvals in hand, the journey to build the new portal began. Korcomptenz’s expertise in design thinking, user experience, interface development, application development, and top-notch security practices made us the perfect solution partner.
The Design Thinking Phase
The design thinking process was conducted to ensure a fully modern architecture, user experience, and features to take an enterprise view of the application over time. The project incorporated five key focus areas for a successful project:
User experience and ease-of-use
Display of relevant data and insights specific to the end customer
Increase automation to deliver these insights
Provide Administrative features to manage accounts, relationships, and reports
Maximize performance, stability, and the pace of upgrades
Design thinking is a methodology where creativity meets problem-solving by putting users first. The goal is to approach a project by first considering the optimal solution from a given user or stakeholder’s perspective and then aligning those requirements with the technical, resourcing, and effort/timing needs of the program. This “user-first” approach helps organizations better understand the needs of users before technical aspects are finalized, expand the space of possible solutions, reduce the risk associated with large projects, and ultimately deliver faster.
Keys to Success
Comprehensive Design Thinking Methodology
An Innovative Approach
Korcomptenz delivered a breakthrough technique:
- We enabled the customer to manage analytics globally in Quick Sight BI and deliver specific reports to customers as needed. This flexible architecture ensured that each customer could access relevant reports while maintaining the appropriate data segregation.
- In addition, new reports could be added on a customer-by-customer basis without the need for additional development as more customers were onboarded.
- Administrative and security controls were in place to allow authorized users to manage access to the system and securely assign the applicable reports.
Deliverables for the design thinking phase include wireframes, use cases, user requirements, and technical specifications for the build process. The data required to support the program was complex and multi-tiered, including:
- Sophisticated account and location relationships that allow both corporate users and local facility users access to the security access information they need
- Complex Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) with associated zones and hubs to deliver information to the user based on relevant locations
- Usage and billing data for electricity and natural gas consolidated from several providers and normalized for display across locations
The phase was also used to secure relevant approvals from AEP compliance and technical teams to ensure a smooth project in the future.
Customer Portal Application Development
In the application development phase, we assembled a diverse team to handle the various aspects needed for success. We utilized Amazon Web Services for hosting, Amazon QuickSight BI for data and dashboards, Okta for Identity Management, and Docker for Containerization and Continuous Integration. Security was a top priority, so developers were given access to virtual machines within the corporate network.
We emphasized strong project management, embraced agile development, and fostered collaboration with shared responsibility for solution architecture. To top it off, our solution provider had to excel in .NET MVC, master front-end development, execute pixel-perfect designs, and employ rigorous testing, including automation.
Korcomptenz’s Project Manager, playing the role of Scrum Master, led our development meetings. Following the agile methodology, we broke the project into six sprints lasting two to three weeks each, with an additional month for quality assurance before launch. Sprint planning involved delivering new design concepts for upcoming functionality, which required a speedy HTML/CSS creation process to support both front and back-end developers. Following modern application best practices, we designed an API-first platform with separate layers for display and functionality, ensuring rapid and efficient future enhancements and features.
After each sprint, Korcomptenz’s team tested the completed work and showed it to the client during a review. Then, they handed it over to the client’s technical team for further testing. The client’s business team also did user testing and added content. They involved people from different applications to ensure everything connected well, met security standards, and had accurate information due to many third-party integrations.
Korcomptenz’s profound grasp of strategic goals, extensive technical know-how, and seamless teamwork led to an exceptionally successful project. The Customer Portal application was equipped with advanced features, perfectly aligning with the project’s overall business requirements:
The Transformative Potential of the New Customer Portal Application
Power Platform Strategic Services
Korcomptenz has been a trusted partner, offering extra services on the Power Platform throughout our customer relationship. We also helped by:
- Automation and visualization of processes and data with Power Automate and Power BI, including a low-code business rule system for billing data.
- Customer relationship and communication management via custom Power Apps and tools.
- Offering consulting, strategic advice, and technical guidance to enhance Power Platform capabilities within the organization.