Customer Service App for Electric Subscriber
A feature-rich all-in-one customer-service mobile app to serve more than 9 million customers of Malaysia’s largest electric utility company.
Time:
2014 – 2017
Platforms:
iOS, Android
Team:
5 - 6 Members
Industry:
utility
MyTNB
One of the main channels of communication between TNB and millions of consumers all over Malaysia in the form of a Native Android and iOS mobile application.
About the Product
Out of the many projects we delivered for TNB, a key project was to develop an Android and iOS customer service application to function as a service gateway between the electric utility company and its subscribers.
The myTNB app helps millions of consumers track and manage their energy consumption, pay electric bills, follow news and announcements, and stay in contact with TNB with efficient in-app features.
About Client
Our client, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), is the largest Malaysian electric utility company responsible for electricity generation, transmission and distribution in Peninsular Malaysia and the state of Sabah. TNB serves over 9.25 million industrial, commercial. and residential customers across Malaysia.
The Challenge
Our client, TNB wanted a mobile solution to serve as a service and communication gateway for their millions of electric subscribers. This highly visible mobile app needed to be practical, user-friendly and of top-notch quality in its design and experience to serve such a large user base. TNB was on the lookout for a software development company that was capable and experienced in delivering projects of such a colossal scale, and they found us to be the right fit for it.
The Solution
To live up to TNB’s reputation and to cater to their expansive customer base, we delivered a solution that was compatible with iOS and Android and, at the same time, also provided impressive user experience and robust, maintainable code that allowed for future extensions. The MyTNB app is an efficient channel of customer service for TNB that has substituted the need for customers to visit TNB offices and billing kiosks. With MyTNB they can do everything through their app from tracking their energy consumption to paying their bills.
MyTNB’s personalized dashboard allows customers to conveniently track energy consumption and compare their monthly usage with the help of an interactive graph. In addition, the app includes many other functionalities such as paying utility bills, submitting applications for new supply connections, and following the latest news and announcements from TNB. Apart from what the consumers interact with on the app, it is architected for secure integration with TNB’s backend systems for organization-wide access to customer information and activities. Ever since the first release in 2015, there have been numerous enhancements made to the app and the app has had an estimated 1,000,000+ downloads. We take pride in the fact that GoodCore is on TNB’s panel for mobile app development.
What We Delivered
Personalised Dashboard for Customers
Login and user registration functionalities to allow users to sign up using their TNB customer number and access an easy-to-navigate, personalised dashboard with links to their account information and all the exclusive in-app features.
Online Bill Payment
Integration with a secure payment gateway to enable users to timely and easily pay their electric bills within the app. Users can also update their billing information, view their payment history and download the bill on their devices.
Energy Consumption Data
Integrated with TNB’s backend systems to pull the users’ account information and bill so users can not only access the latest data of their energy consumption and bills but also compare their monthly usage with the help of interactive graphs.
Push Notifications
Built with push notification functionality to keep the consumers notified about important messages such as due date for bill payment, alerts about supply breakdown, and announcements.
Application for New Connections
Users can easily submit applications for new electric connections anywhere in Malaysia and keep track of the application status from within the mobile app.
Appliance Calculator
An interactive calculator to help users estimate their monthly electricity usage by calculating how much energy each specific electrical appliance will use and the cost of it; allowing customers to manage their electricity usage and buy the most efficient electrical appliances.
News and Power Alerts
Developed a news board feature to keep the users updated about the latest news and announcements by TNB; also developed a power alerts channel so users can view the timings and details for the supply breakdown in their area.
Complaint and Feedback
As one of the main customer service channels for TNB, the MyTNB app enables users to get in touch with TNB officials and submit feedback regarding their bills or TNB services through the mobile app.
Our Process
Our process of app development followed the agile model that began with an extensive requirement analysis phase which required our in-house team to initially work with TNB’s team onsite. We defined their expectations and requirements for the app and came up with detailed documentation containing TNB’s functional, performance, security, and integration requirements.
The requirement analysis was followed by finalising the design and drawing up wireframes for the different components of the application. We built the MyTNB application using Java and Objective-C and used SQLite to store and handle the data. We integrated the app with TNB’s backend system, a payment gateway, SMTP for transactional emails, and Google Analytics.
Throughout the development process, there were numerous rounds of internal regression tests followed by User Acceptance Testing (UAT) sessions in a staging environment, before the official release of the app to the public in 2015.
Team
Our development team for the project consisted of 5-6 members comprising a project manager, a lead developer, two mobile developers, a UI/UX design expert and a testing and quality assurance engineer.
Technologies
Java
Objective C
SQL Lite
Client’s Feedback
