Digital transformation that flows for Yorkshire Water

The challenge

Designed to tackle the environmental challenges caused by increasing population levels, Ofwat’s new AMP7 regulations have incentivised utility providers to deliver more customer-focused services, affordable bills and increased resiliency in the water network.

Serving millions of customers from diverse communities, Yorkshire Water needed a partner that could help them improve the delivery of their online services and design a new “genuinely customer-centric” digital platform that would reduce the number of inbound calls and ensure customer communications were as inclusive and accessible as possible.

The solution

Using a hybrid team – which included 14 specialists from CDS, four analysts from our insight team and eight in-house digital specialists from Yorkshire Water – the project was delivered in three sections: Service Design, User Experience (UX) and then User Interface (UI) Design and Development.

Our service design recommendations provided Yorkshire Water with valuable insights into their customers, which were validated using a mix of primary user research, persona development, user journey mapping, pattern analysis and experience prototyping

The research underpinned the content strategy and wireframes created by our user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) designers. We undertook a joint approach to development, testing, planning, and prioritising which ensured the new website went live on time and with more functionality than originally planned.

We have seen a substantial reduction in billing contacts in the first three months since launching the new website and, importantly, we also have a wealth of new digital data that will help us continue to make customer experiences better and reduce contacts even further.

During development, accessibility and inclusive design was always a focus. CDS’s knowledge allowed us to make countless small, important decisions and adjustments, with each widening the pool of customers who can use the website without issue.

CDS’s squad had a great depth of talent, allowing us to deliver a lot in a relatively short period of time. They worked hard, they worked smart, and they made it easy to be confident in the project’s success. ”

End-to-end, the project was delivered in just nine months. The new Yorkshire Water digital platform went live on time with more functionality than originally planned and has improved the way their 5 million customers pay their bills, report faults, ask questions and access the support available for vulnerable or less affluent customers.

More importantly, Yorkshire Water has a detailed playbook that includes ten accessible and inclusive communication and design principles that can be used to underpin improvements to their digital services for years to come and sets them up to not just meet, but exceed the objectives set out by Ofwat’s AMP7 regulations.

At a glance...

Sector

Water industry

Challenge

Yorkshire Water needed a customer-centric digital platform that ensured communications were inclusive and accessible.
The delivery of their online services also needed to meet AMP7 regulations.

Solution

CDS delivered service design recommendations that provided insight into Yorkshire Water's diverse customer base.
This research underpinned the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design to ensure the platform met customer needs.
The new website went live with more functionality than originally planned.

Results

The new platform has resulted in a 20% reduction in billing contacts.
A detailed accessibility and inclusivity playbook, outlining communication and design principles, was created for Yorkshire Water to further improve customer experiences.
A significant improvement in the way customers pay their bills, report faults, ask questions, and access the support available for vulnerable or less affluent customers.

Digital transformation that flows