PROBLEM AREAS
FUZZY RESEARCH
This project involved what I like to call 'fuzzy research': sketch a fuzzy plan with generic goals, start with a few proven methods to get the first puzzle pieces, and define next steps as findings emerge. I defined three main axes:
Research in 7 weeks and on a limited budget
Workshops
Interviews
Testing
Desk Research
INSIGHTS
Research pinpointed two areas in severe need of a usability overhaul: the bundle configuration, and the checkout flow. Two core issues were behind most problem areas:
Design Direction
These findings led to two clear conclusions: we need to start with a clean slate, discarding almost all previous patterns; and we need to focus on creating
a simplified bundle configuration paired with
an adaptive checkout.
Adaptivity was critical given roughly two dozen distinct checkout variants depending on bundle details, product type, delivery method, and payment configuration. Our bottom-up journey map served as a blueprint: we defined the shortest simple journey, and represented the additional steps required by the more complex cases as side-loops.
Some edge cases such as fleet renewal purchases were set aside for later implementation, and were to be hidden temporarily from the front-end at (re)launch.
The Extra Mile
One nice-to-have finding also made it into scope through my push: existing customers renewing plans often felt lost and uncertain. Using testimonials and internal metrics, I convinced the stakeholders that a dedicated supporting feature here would deliver significant added value, not just a better user experience.
DESIGN WORK
Rebuilt Flows
The team reshaped bundle configuration and checkout into shorter, subtask-oriented, step‑by‑step flows with an accordion structure that also made modularity possible. User validation tests confirmed it: clearer hierarchy, continuous feedback, and a visible sense of progress. The new structure also allowed the market team to change available options on the fly, adapting them to currently available logistical capabilities.
One Surface
The new webshop and the digital self-care received a uniform UI based on consolidated UX and interaction patterns, and were seamlessly meshed based on the user’s progress in their journeys. Two more connections closed the loop:
the mobile app reached the webshop through webviews for basic purchases
flows directed users towards physical stores where genuinely necessary, keeping processes fluent and truly omni-channel
Single Source of Truth
Across the board, all visual and interaction patterns were aligned with Vodafone’s WS2.0 design system and documented in a shared design reference synced in Confluence, Sketch, and Zeplin. This enabled designers, and internal and contractor developers to work consistently from an up-to-date single source of truth.
Team Growth
Personal development within my team was also important. Work was not automatically allocated to the designer most experienced in specific areas: tasks were also assigned with individual growth goals in mind, supported by extra mentoring, joint working sessions, and tight handovers to keep quality high under very ambitious timelines.
BUSINESS WINS & USABILITY GAINS
Performance
Technological success was clear right after the launch in spring 2018. Thanks to streamlined data transfer processes, error rates and page load times dropped, the latter still to above ideal but well within the acceptable range for a portal this complex. Clear UX and information hierarchy meant that even when errors presented themselves, it was much easier for users to recover from them.
Before
After
Page load time
Browser-side errors
Business
These changes turned the webshop from a painful, desktop‑bound funnel into a mobile‑first experience that many customers were finally comfortable using. Customer care started steering existing users towards the new digital self-care for regular tasks, its usage numbers increased steadily. Digital customer satisfaction reached an all-time high and continued growing, landing Hungary in the top 3 among all Vodafone markets.
Before
After
Checkout completion rate
The Longer Arc
Beyond the numbers, Red Phoenix was a significant organizational shift forward, one of my main long-term mandates at Vodafone. It repositioned digital product design from a UI team that 'puts buttons and forms on pages' into a partner shaping the entire digital journey. The shift showed up perceivably:
it led to our earlier involvement in new initiatives, and stronger collaboration with IT and business;
it opened the door to expand UX research, service design, design-system work, and the team itself over the following years;
the Digital Team's way of working served as a de facto pilot for the company's comprehensive Agile transformation.