Yarra Valley Water
UX/UI design · Service Design · Mobile web-app
I led the redesign of SmoothPay, transforming it from a legacy portal into My Account to reduce support centre demand and drive self-service. Within the first three months post-launch to over 200,000 customers, we achieved:
Problem
A helpful tool hidden behind complexity and confusion
SmoothPay is a payment system, allowing customers to spread their bills into smaller, regular payments. I led the redesign into My Account to modernise the experience, reduce support calls, and encourage self-service adoption. Through research, support team feedback, and internal data, we uncovered core issues behind the legacy portal:
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Complicated and overwhelming
There is a lot involved with SmoothPay, but customers were overwhelmed by the amount of information leading to drop-off.
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Low awareness of SmoothPay
Customers expressed interest in flexible payment options but were only able to find them when specifically told to them.
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Inflexibility led to low uptake
Customers highly valued flexibility, a the previous experience didn't offer that works around their pay cycles.
Process
Breaking down complexity to redesign with clarity.
Zooming out to understand the end-to-end service
I partnered with a service designer to map the full SmoothPay journey across digital and offline touchpoints, identifying gaps and opportunities to improve the end-to-end experience.
Zooming in to redefine the SmoothPay registration flow
I then designed a user flow that translated complex business processes into a clear, accessible registration journey for vulnerable customers.
Improvements
What I changed to guide customers through the process with confidence.
Simplify complexity
Break down overwhelming content into clear, digestible steps to reduce cognitive load.
Provide contextual support
Surface relevant, dynamic and helpful information based on the customer’s inputs, selections and account state.
Build trust through transparency
Show instalment details upfront and clearly explain how payments work.
Design for flexibility and control
Give customers options that align with their pay cycles and financial needs.
Key learnings
Turning constraints into design opportunities.
This project pushed me to think strategically while recognising that small, thoughtful adjustments can create meaningful impact. I still approached the work with big-picture thinking, but the constraints and timelines challenged me to find creative ways to improve the experience and grow as a designer.
Balance big picture with MVP
Balancing big-picture thinking with tight timelines taught me how small, thoughtful decisions can drive meaningful impact.
Content clarity matters
Collaborating early with content designers turned complex financial concepts into clear, confidence-building experiences.
Advocating for future-proof features
Advocating for long-term value helped secure features like a rule-aligned date picker by showing its impact across future flows.
Impact
What improved
Redesign led to higher conversion, smoother flow, and reduce pressure on operations and support centres – backed by 3 key metrics.
SmoothPay uptake
+30%
showing stronger engagement with the new experience.
Completion rate
+60%
registrations completed in My Account.
Reduction in support calls
-26%
related to SmoothPay sign-ups, reducing pressure on operations.