Company: IBM iX
Project: BARMER Bonus Program
Year: 2022-2024
Description: Expansion and further development of the bonus program, which is part of the BARMER app, a mobile application of the German health insurance company BARMER.
Responsibilities: Design Lead, Research, Interaction Design, Prototyping, Usabilty Testing
Link: Barmer Bonusprogramm

Situation

In 2022, I joined the BARMER Bonus team after previously working on another BARMER app project. One of my first tasks was to redesign the dashboard. At the time, user feedback revealed that many users didn’t fully understand how the bonus program worked. It was unclear how many points they could collect per year, how many they had already earned and how to submit activities or exchange points for rewards. The entry points for these actions were not intuitive. Another issue was the lack of onboarding for new users. To ensure that potential users understood the program’s purpose, it was important to clearly show how it works and what benefits it offers. While some informational screens about the bonus program existed, there was no real guidance to help users understand what the program is, how it functions or why they should use it. Beyond these major issues, we also identified many screens and user flows that needed improvement. These updates were driven by changes to the bonus program itself, as well as new insights from expert reviews, usability tests and user interviews.

Task

The goals were to improve users‘ understanding of the bonus program by redesigning the dashboard, creating an onboarding experience and enhancing the overall usability of all screens and user flows.

Action

Research and ideation

Since I was new to the team—and more importantly, new to the topic—it was essential for me to truly understand the product before proposing any improvements. At this stage, it was very helpful for me to go through the product in detail and note down everything I needed to know using pen and paper.

Afterwards, I quickly started sketching out ideas to address the various issues with the dashboard. We discussed these ideas within our team and with the client and I created the first designs based on the BARMER design system.

The design system included almost all the components, icons and illustrations we needed. However, in some cases, we had to create new components—such as the circular diagram for the new dashboard—which were implemented by the developers on the design system team.

Interaction Design

Example user flow for submitting an activity to collect points, starting from the dashboard.

The next step was to create user flows to see if the new designs fit into the landscape of existing screens. I initially worked with Sketch, but we switched to Figma after a few months. The user flows were often quite complex and lengthy, and I always aimed to include all possible edge cases to ensure the concept was solid and foolproof.

It was especially important to us to use components from the BARMER design system and interaction patterns that were already established in other areas of the BARMER app. To support this, we held regular exchange meetings with all designers working within the BARMER ecosystem to ensure consistency across the app.

Prototyping & Testing

The next step was to create interactive prototypes of selected concepts to test them with users. I built the prototypes and prepared the test guide for the upcoming remote and in-person usability tests. The tests were conducted by a BARMER colleague and me. Afterwards, we analyzed the feedback and refined the concepts based on the insights we gained.

Result

Dashboard

The new dashboard prominently displays the number of bonus points available for redeeming rewards, as well as the number of points already spent. Users can also see the maximum number of points they can collect per year and the amount currently under review by BARMER before being added to their redeemable balance. A circular diagram—divided into sections for collected points, spent points and points not yet collected—provides a clear visual representation, allowing users to instantly understand their status. Below the diagram, there are two buttons: one to submit an activity to collect points, and another to spend points and claim a reward. Further down, users can view the total number of collected points and a history of all submitted activities and claimed rewards. The results of our usability tests confirmed that the previously identified issues had been successfully resolved.

Onboarding

The new start screen of the Bonus section, designed for users who haven’t yet joined the bonus program, provides a brief introduction to the topic. The primary call-to-action (CTA) initiates the registration process, while the secondary button opens a modal with three onboarding screens. These screens contain detailed information about the program, the available rewards, and how to collect points.

Users in the usability tests responded very positively to the new onboarding experience—especially appreciating the concise information and the use of illustrations.