Ask blue about water in Az
Client
Az Water Chatbot
Year
2023
The AZ Water Chatbot is a rule-based conversational assistant designed to enhance customer support for water utility services by providing instant responses to common inquiries, reducing call center volume, and improving user satisfaction. My contributions included conducting user research to identify key pain points, designing structured conversational flows, and creating high-fidelity prototypes in Figma. Through iterative usability testing, I refined interactions to ensure clarity and efficiency. Additionally, I developed a scalable design system for consistency and ensured accessibility compliance across mobile and desktop platforms. This chatbot significantly streamlined customer engagement while reducing operational workload for support teams.
My Role: UX Designer
Scope of Work
Overview
The Arizona Water Chatbot was designed to provide residents with quick access to essential water-related information, such as conservation tips, utility assistance, and emergency alerts. In the initial phase, I conducted thorough user research to understand the needs and pain points of residents, identifying that users faced challenges with navigation, accessibility, and discovering key features. To address these issues, I used usability testing as the foundation for understanding how users interacted with the chatbot and where they struggled. This feedback revealed that many users had difficulty locating critical information, especially in urgent situations, and that the chatbot’s functionality wasn’t fully catering to diverse user needs.
Based on these insights, I focused on iterating the design to improve the user experience. I implemented personalized customization to provide location-based information, ensuring that users received relevant content. Recognizing the need for more continuity, I introduced chat history so users could revisit previous conversations. To ensure broader accessibility, I added multi-language support, addressing the needs of non-English-speaking users. Lastly, I prioritized emergency assistance features, making it easier for users to access urgent resources quickly. This redesign aimed to make the chatbot more intuitive and inclusive, ensuring a seamless experience across both web and mobile platforms.
Research and Discovery
We conducted usability testing and user feedback analysis on the existing website version, identifying key pain points that hindered user experience. Through user interviews, task analysis, and surveys, we found that users struggled with complex navigation, poor accessibility due to small font sizes and text-heavy pages, and low feature discoverability, where essential functions like emergency alerts were difficult to find. This feedback provided valuable insights that directly influenced the redesign, aiming to simplify navigation, enhance accessibility, and ensure critical features were easily accessible to improve overall user engagement and satisfaction.
Problem Statement
"Users struggled with the Arizona Water Chatbot’s navigation and accessibility. Enhancements like better navigation, multi-language support, and personalization improved usability and user experience."
Design Enhancements & Solutions
User Interface & Customization
✅ Redesigned Splash Page for a more engaging first impression.
✅ Login & Chat History features for users to save and revisit past conversations.
✅ Personalized UI options to enhance user experience.
Multi-Platform Accessibility
✅ Developed both web and mobile versions for seamless use.
✅ Ensured consistent UI/UX across all devices.
Language Support and Inclusivity
✅ Added a language selection feature to serve diverse user demographics.
✅ Improved accessibility for non-English-speaking users.
Real-Time Information & Emergency Assistance
✅ News & Alerts section provides location-based updates on water conditions.
✅ Emergency Help Feature offers quick access to helpline contacts, plumbing assistance, and emergency reporting.
Enhanced Resource Accessibility
✅ Introduced a dedicated Resources tab with categorized links to government websites.
✅ Improved navigation to make resources more discoverable.
Usability Testing Outcomes
To find the app's usability problems, I mediated usability testing with 5 people. The five participants ranged in age from 20 to 35. Key insights were:
