📝 Project Background

I was hired full-time by Jaza Energy, a clean energy startup offering battery rental service to underserved communities in Tanzania and Nigeria, to join their software team and spearhead the design and implementation of StarApp. This new mobile application aims to create a seemless user experience for frontline staff (AKA Jaza Stars) when running daily operations.

As a Product Designer, my responsibilities encompass understanding user needs deeply, collaborating with the software team to align design with development goals, and gathering feedback for continuous improvement. I manage graphic assets for consistent brand identity, conduct demo sessions with stakeholders, contribute to testing, and develop training materials. 

👷🏾‍♀️ Understanding the User

To ensure a human-centered design approach, I immersed myself in the field as one of the Jaza Stars, interacting directly with customers and conducting daily inventory audits. This hands-on experience enabled me to deeply empathize with users, prioritize their needs, and identify crucial pain points.


Pain Points Identified:

  1. Network connectivity challenges

  2. Technical skill gap

  3. Steep learning curve and complexity of the previous app

  4. Tedious counter book process

👷🏾‍♀️ Understanding the User

To ensure a human-centered design approach, I immersed myself in the field as one of the Jaza Stars, interacting directly with customers and conducting daily inventory audits. This hands-on experience enabled me to deeply empathize with users, prioritize their needs, and identify crucial pain points.


Pain Points Identified:

  1. Network connectivity challenges

  2. Technical skill gap

  3. Steep learning curve and complexity of the previous app

  4. Tedious counter book process

👩🏾‍🦱 User Persona

✏️ Low Fidelity Designs

After sketching out initial concepts, I used Figma, to further refine and develop my ideas into tangible solutions. By translating the rough sketches into low-fidelity designs and prototypes, I was able to visualize the user flows and allowed me to efficiently gather feedback from stakeholders and team members.

These low-fidelity designs served as a foundation for iterative improvements, enabling me to fine-tune the app's interface, functionality and explore different user flows. 

📱 High Fidelity Designs

As the designs began to take shape, I recognized the importance of building a strong and cohesive brand identity. To achieve this, I strategically incorporated UI elements such as icons, fonts, and color palettes that not only complemented the application's design but also reflected the essence of the Jaza brand. By infusing the app with consistent visual elements, I created a seamless user experience. These thoughtfully curated UI elements served to establish a recognizable and memorable brand presence, ensuring that StarApp not only delivered a user-friendly interface but also contributed to the broader recognition and growth of Jaza Energy.

💬 User Testing and Feedback

After two weeks of usability testing and gathering feedback from stakeholders and end-users, I refined the high-fidelity designs. By closely analyzing observations and learnings from the tests, I optimized the user interface to meet the specific needs and preferences of the target audience.
Additionally, I led design review sessions with the software team throughout the entire process to encouraging collaborative discussions on how to implement the best solutions.

Project Impact

HubApp (Before) & StarApp (After)

Project Impact

HubApp (Before) & StarApp (After)

💫 StarApp Launch

As the project manager of StarApp launch, I orchestrated a seamless rollout by creating and implementing a detailed project plan that communicated clear timelines and expectations to all stakeholders.

The successful launch spanned 72 Tanzanian hubs and shops, along with 7 Nigerian hubs, reaching a total of 300 users. The meticulous planning and execution ensured a smooth introduction of StarApp, empowering Jaza Stars to light up communities across Tanzania and Nigeria.

📸 Photos From the Field

Disclaimer: All photos utilized in this project breakdown are the property of Jaza Energy. These images are used solely for illustrative and educational purposes. Any unauthorized use or reproduction of these images is strictly prohibited