MeterSnap

One of the largest energy companies in Africa, providing electricity to private households and local businesses. We built a meter reading app that uses neural network principles to improve data accuracy. This brought in multiple benefits, such as accelerated inspections, reduced fraud, enhanced customer experience and revenue increase via flexible tariffs.

Industry:

Utilities

Location:

Ghana

Business size:

Medium and Large Enterprises

Problem and Solution Summary

One of Africa's leading energy companies faced challenges that hindered its growth and profitability. These challenges included significant financial losses due to meter reading fraud, a vast network of outdated analogue meters, labour-intensive manual data collection processes, and a declining customer experience.

To address these pressing issues, Computools proposed a strategic digital transformation initiative. The central element of this transformation was the development of the MeterSnap mobile application, which harnessed the power of neural networks. This innovative solution enabled the company to expedite inspections, prevent fraud and drastically enhance customer experience. By implementing the MeterSnap application, the company achieved a flexible approach to managing multiple tariffs, leading to a substantial increase in revenue, all with minimal additional resource requirements. Furthermore, the application included robust employee role and permission definitions to curb malpractice and fraud, reinforcing the integrity of operations. This digital transformation initiative served as a comprehensive solution to the client's problems and revitalised the utility market in Africa.

About the Client

Our client is a major energy sector player, ranked among Africa's largest utility companies. For many years, they have been dedicated to providing electricity to private households and local businesses, catering to the ever-growing demand for energy in the region. Their established presence and significant inspector workforce made them a leader in the African utility market.

Outcome

Computools developed an intuitive and functional neural network-powered mobile application to meet the client’s main goals: to expedite the inspectors’ work and prevent fraud. The application enabled the client to transform its daily operations and improve customer experience. Thus, flexible management of multiple tariffs increased revenue with minimal extra resources. Moreover, the employee roles and permissions definition prevented malpractice and fraud. Several key issues we solved:

  • Auto-recognition of the meter’s serial number and readings due to a neural network
  • Neural network training and geolocation implemented
  • A state-of-the-art design, an intuitive interface and smooth performance

Business challenge

weaknesses

  • Significant losses due to meter reading fraud
  • An established network of analogue meters
  • Slow manual taking of meter readings
  • Poor customer experience

strengths

  • Utility market leader among African companies
  • An established network of analogue meters
  • Growing demand for electricity in Africa
  • Significant inspector workforce

Business challenge

Project Completion Details and Current Arrangements

The app was launched and has been well received by the client's employees and customers. Computools continues to provide support and maintenance for the MeterSnap app. The team is also working on new features and enhancements, such as reading multiple meters simultaneously and generating energy consumption reports.

Business challenge

Why Computools?

Computools was chosen for this project because of its digital transformation expertise and experience developing mobile apps for the energy industry. The team also has a strong track record of delivering.

Computools has a team of experienced software engineers with expertise in various technologies, including neural networks, mobile development and web development.

Contact Computools' experts to learn what we can do for your business!

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Story in depth

The company conducted market research and received proposals from several contractors. The following criteria were considered during the research:
  • Technical knowledge and experience
  • Professionalism
  • Reputation

As a result of the research, the company selected Computools as the contractor to develop and implement a mobile app for meter reading.

Project Description

The application was designed for electricity meter reading automation to be used by the company’s employees. The server administrator created personal accounts for each employee and transferred their login data to the inspectors. This eliminated the registration process, dispensing with the need for a registration field on the login screen.

The application’s interface included four tabs in the lower part of the screen:
  • Options
  • History
  • Route
  • Snap Meter History (Main screen)

After successful login, the user saw the readings history screen with a list of electricity consumers. Each element of the list contains the following data:
  • Consumer name
  • Meter installation address
  • The last reading taken

The electricity consumer list could be sorted by name or address. Upon a click on the entry, the consumer details screen opens. On the consumer details screen, the screen header consisted of the consumer's name and address. The scrollable element with three sections occupied the main part of the screen, showing:
  • The last readings taken
  • Electricity consumption over the last month
  • The electricity meter’s serial number

Digital Platform & Technology

To build a state-of-the-art platform, we carefully chose a set of technologies with exceptional performance and security characteristics. Our chosen technologies were also highly efficient in terms of total cost of ownership and support.

Communication Framework

The success of a digital transformation project relies on efficient communication. Following the initial meeting, we devised a transparent communication framework of regular video and audio conferences and email reports to keep the client apprised of the project’s progress. All aspects of the project were very carefully documented, and the client could access the Computools' task management platform to follow the team’s progress. These measures ensured efficient communication and built trust between the client and the team.
Skype
redmine
Jira

Team

To meet the client’s requirements and the project’s deadline, we chose two software engineers from Computools’ talent pool. Each member of the team was selected based on their previous experience and expertise level appropriate for this digital transformation project.

Team Lead

Vitaliy Kononenko

Vitaliy Kononenko
Vitaliy, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Computools, is a dedicated and enthusiastic professional in the technology industry. With over six years of experience, he has held key roles such as Full-stack Developer and Head of Technology. Vitaliy's passion for learning and staying up to date with cutting-edge technologies defines his approach to life. He is always striving to become a better developer, sharing knowledge and offering support to his peers.
Vitaliy Kononenko

Project Manager

Andrey Melnichenko

Andrey started working in IT in 2003, focusing on C and C++ development, and switched to Java in 2007. Recognised for extensive expertise in application servers, software development life cycle, and database architecture. Enjoys pop music, as well as political and Java ecosystem podcasts.

Business Analyst

Kate Vodolazkina

Kate is a business analyst at Computools with many years of experience in the field. She is passionate about working with clients to understand their needs and develop solutions that meet them. Kate has a strong understanding of business processes and is skilled at identifying and analysing requirements. She is also an effective communicator and can bridge the gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders. Outside work, Kate enjoys reading, spending time with her family and travelling.

UX Designer

Valeriy Panchenko

Valeriy Panchenko
Valeriy demonstrates excellent results in the field of user experience, design, and research. Enjoys swimming, hiking and cooking.
Valeriy Panchenko

Software Engineer

Dmitriy Herutskyi

Dmitriy is passionate about developing high-quality software. He has a strong foundation in computer science fundamentals and is skilled in various programming languages and technologies. He is also a strong advocate for clean code and best practices. Dmitriy enjoys reading science fiction and spending time with his friends.

Mobile Software Engineer

Serhiy Komarov

Serhiy consistently enhances software efficiency and performance. He has a strong multithreading and network programming background. Outside work, he engages in chess, honing his strategic thinking skills.

Quality Assurance Engineer

Mariia Hrekova

Mariia has over five years of experience, expertly monitors every phase of the software development process to secure product quality and standards. She enjoys dancing and travelling.

Story of a team decision

The team at Computools had a strong track record of successful collaboration, which enabled them to approach this new project confidently. Their cohesive working relationship was built on a foundation of mutual respect, open communication, and a shared commitment to excellence.

Backstage

Smooth Collaboration: The Computools team's well-defined development process and smooth exchange of ideas between in-house engineers and client-side experts were essential to their productivity. Regular planning sessions and review meetings created a harmonious collaboration among team members spread across different locations, leading to outstanding results.

Sprint Retrospective

The team's debriefing session, known as the Sprint Retrospective, was a forum for recognising successes, identifying areas for improvement, and discussing challenges faced during the sprint. This transparent dialogue facilitated learning and led to adjustments that boosted the effectiveness of future sprints.

Planning Session

During the Planning Session, the team and product owner collectively identified and prioritised tasks for the next sprint, estimated the efforts needed for each task, and set realistic goals within the sprint's timeline. This step clarified team objectives and ensured alignment with the overall project goals.

Sprint Demo

The team displayed new features or improvements to the client or product owner in the Sprint Demo. This allowed stakeholders to give feedback, ask questions, and assess the project's progress. This transparent and collaborative approach helped to ensure that the project remained on track and met the needs of all stakeholders.

Communication Flow

The Computools engineers maintained a continuous and effective communication stream to ensure timely updates. Daily communication among the team was carried out via channels such as email, Slack and Skype, facilitating an efficient exchange of information. This open and transparent communication was essential to the team's success, enabling them to work together seamlessly and deliver high-quality results.

Project Management Methodology

We chose the Scrum project management approach with two-week sprints to ensure continuous delivery and accurate fulfilment of the development plans. Agile methodology necessitated close cooperation with the client to introduce new ideas and approve adjustments. Every sprint was finalised with the testing and demonstration of the implemented features.

Project timeline

project timeline
01

CONSULTING

  • Defining project scope and objectives
  • Analysing the client's existing business processes
  • Identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the client's operations
  • Setting clear project goals and success criteria
  • Conducting market analysis and understanding the African utility market
02

Product DESIGN

  • Mapping the client's business processes to identify areas of improvement
  • Creating interactive prototypes and design mock-ups
  • Selecting the most appropriate digital platform and technology stack
  • Defining detailed specifications, tasks, and deadlines for development
  • Initiating discussions and decisions on the product's architecture
03

Product Engineering

  • Setting up the development environment
  • Assigning tasks to the development team
  • Actively developing and refactoring the code for the MeterSnap application
  • Rigorous testing, bug fixing and quality assurance
  • Preparing for the deployment and delivery of the application
04

Launch

  • Deploying the MeterSnap application for use by inspectors and employees
  • Training the client's workforce on how to use the new application
  • Monitoring the application's performance and ensuring a smooth launch
  • Collecting feedback from users and addressing any initial issues
  • Providing ongoing support and updates as needed to maintain the application's functionality

Design

In this case, the design tasks encompass a range of aspects associated with developing and designing the MeterSnap application. Creating an intuitive and aesthetically pleasing user interface for the mobile app while ensuring an excellent user experience involved designing user-friendly navigation, clear control elements, and an efficient screen structure to facilitate the work of inspectors and enhance customer interaction with the application.

User persona → Site map → Wireframes → User interface

User persona

Creating a detailed profile of the typical application user, considering their needs and preferences.

Site map

Outlining the hierarchical structure of the application's pages and navigation flow.

Wireframes

Drafting basic, low-fidelity visual representations of the application's layout and content placement.

User interface

Developing the final, high-fidelity graphical user interface, including design, icons and interaction elements.

Design

Production Release

The production release of the MeterSnap application was a critical phase in bringing the product to market and making it available to end-users. The application was deployed to the necessary servers and infrastructure to make it accessible to inspectors, employees, and customers. This step ensured that the product was ready for real-world use.

A comprehensive training program was conducted for the client's workforce, including inspectors and other employees. This training familiarised them with the application's features, functionalities, and best practices.

After the initial release, user feedback was actively collected and analysed. This feedback played a pivotal role in identifying areas for improvement and refining the application based on real-world usage.

The production release of MeterSnap significantly improved the efficiency of the client's inspectors. With features like auto-recognition of meter serial numbers and readings, inspectors could complete their tasks more quickly and accurately. The application's implementation of neural networks and geolocation features played a crucial role in curbing fraudulent activities, resulting in substantial savings for the client.

Design

Ongoing Support

Ongoing performance monitoring was instituted to ensure that the application operated smoothly, without glitches or slowdowns. This proactive approach helped maintain a high level of user satisfaction. Regular updates and enhancements were rolled out to address identified issues and add new features or optimisations. These updates were aimed at making the application even more effective and user-friendly.

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