Designing a B2C insurance companion amid a business transition
Lead Product Designer
Chief Executive Officer
Product Manager
Engineering Manager
Product Designer
Content Designer
Front-end Engineer
Image — High fidelity screens from across the mobile app
Between a rock and a hard place
By 2022, Ghana was two years into one of the worst recoveries in the world from the pandemic.
As a (then) 4-year-old startup, Omni Strategies was a young entrant in a difficult market reliant on software development contracts, which leadership identified as unsustainable for the mid-long term.
So, we pivoted to consumer software development to build both B2B and B2C software.
A critical first step was establishing a clear identity and value proposition for MyPolicy.market. We were entering a competitive insurance market, and differentiation was essential.
Why this solution?
Excel amidst competition
To create a unique selling point to differentiate the product in an already crowded space.
Minimise business risk
To reduce the risk of market failure with our flagship product release.
What I did
Competitor analysis
I analysed the competing landscape and the emphasised value propositions to determine how our product can stand out.
How did it go?
Cohesive brand identity
We established an identity that defined the personality, values and visual language.
Compelling value proposition
Our research and analysis informed the development of a clear value proposition.
Foundation for success
The identity and value proposition were a foundation for design consistency and a people-centred approach.
Given our limited resources, adopting an agile development approach was crucial. Agile methodologies allowed us to efficiently manage our time and budget while minimizing risk.
Why this solution?
Accommodate resource constraints
A common practice in small-scale teams and resource-strapped projects, we employed this to maintain efficient use of our limited time and budget.
Minimise risk
To reduce the cost of course correction in case of feedback from stakeholders and internal testing.
Follow company shift
As part of the company's strategic pivot, I was updating our product development process for efficiency (As seen in my Omni case study ↗) and MyPolicy.market would be one of the first products to adopt the new process.
What I did
Adapted our process
I collaborated closely with the Product manager to update our development process for this project in line with the new agile standards we were implementing across the company.
Leveraged Lean UX for Rapid Iteration
To maximize efficiency within our resource constraints, I spearheaded a Lean UX approach. This involved:
Rapid User Feedback: We conducted guerrilla and hallway testing to gather quick insights on design decisions, informing rapid iteration cycles.
Data-Driven Design: We used competitor research and existing user research to inform design decisions, focusing on best practices and user needs.
Iterative Prototyping: We employed iterative design, continuously refining prototypes based on feedback and testing results, maximizing our design efforts.
How did it go?
Reduced risk and early wins
Breaking down our process into sprints reduced the risk of major restructuring and allowed for early wins with stakeholders.
Continuously user-centred
Iterating by being agile allowed us to adapt to feedback from our internal user-testing quickly, maintaining our user-centred approach.
End-to-end efficiency
We built core functionality and iterated almost 2x faster than initially scoped on the design side, contributing to overall quicker development and turnaround times.
Creating a seamless and frictionless user journey was paramount for MyPolicy.market.
A streamlined buying experience would not only build trust with users but also encourage them to adopt the platform.
Why this solution?
Frictionless user journey
To build trust, a streamlined buying experience is a priority for the product.
Focus on clarity and security
To align with our market positioning, the product requires clear communication and a focus on user understanding.
Mobile-first design
Redesigning the experience from the desktop web prototype with familiar design patterns is essential for easy access to features in the mobile app.
What I did
Simplified Insurance purchasing – Content strategy
I collaborated closely with the content designer to ensure brand alignment and an enhanced experience through clearer purchase forms.
Despite industry constraints, we adapted and simplified where possible to streamline the process.
I led the design of user-friendly forms using clear language, minimal input fields and a focus on contextual navigation.
While the web app's navigation performed well in internal usability testing, the mobile version of the web prototype failed.
This valuable feedback allowed us to completely rethink the navigation for the mobile app, ensuring a user-friendly experience optimized for mobile design patterns.
How did it go?
Smoother buying process
Internal testing validated the simplified forms and clear content contributing to a more frictionless insurance purchasing experience, especially when compared to the prototype.
Usable app navigation
The iterative design resulted in a well-structured navigation, significantly improved compared to the initial web app. This ensures people can easily access features and information within the app.
Targeting an 85% user satisfaction score, we designed MyPolicy.market to disrupt the B2C insurance market with a user-friendly experience for a mobile-first generation.
This included a clear brand, strong value proposition, and strategic partnerships to increase accessibility and potentially become the new standard.
Key takeaways
Data-driven design is scalable
Even with our constraints and at our scale, we leveraged existing research and competitor analysis to develop a product informed by user and market needs.
Tailored Development
Instead of a one-size-fits-all framework, we evaluate resources and constraints to create customized development processes for each team.
