Design and implement a "companion in the home"

Yello Strom, a German alternative energy provider, wanted to expand their offerings to German consumers beyond supplying electricity and to capitalize on a strong established brand image.Yellow wanted to make interactive technology attractive and easy-to-use for families who have had little exposure to its benefits.  With the help of the Sapient's Launch Group, Yello developed a plan to introduce a web pad, a wireless device similar to an Internet appliance, into the market which they called the Smilo.

Role

From March 2001 - Lead Information Architect

Features I Designed

I was responsible for the interaction and content design for the majority of the applications and online content.

• Email
• Address book
• Calendar
• E-cards
• Photo album
• SMS messages
• Note PaD

project scope definition

Sapient joined the project midway. There was a lack of definition from the client and implementation team around the scope of the project making design a significant challenge.

 Using the current documentation (use case documents, storyboards and initial prototype) and interviews conducted with clients and team members, I clarified and documented the various requirements. 

This features list formed the basis of the scope matrix used throughout the project and allowed the team to prioritize and define the product requirements in detail.

global navigation

Using the features list, I conducted a series of card sorting activities with Yello Strom team members and senior consultants from the launch group.  Since the device was a webpad, we wanted to keep the navigation simple and easily accessible via the user's thumbs.

The content was ultimately organized into three main areas.

• Mein Yello - offline applications
• Themen - online content
• Marketplatz - online store