Digital relaunches in the energy sector: between legacy systems and user expectations
A relaunch is more than just a visual update. In the energy sector, it often affects infrastructures that have grown over time: web CMS, tariff calculators, customer portals, authentication mechanisms, internal systems (e.g. SAP IS-U) and external interfaces. At the same time, expectations regarding user experience, performance and accessibility are increasing.
What looks like a design project at first glance turns out to be a far-reaching intervention in a complex digital ecosystem on a day-to-day basis. Mistakes in this process are not just annoying - they can sometimes lead to contract terminations, support costs or even regulatory problems.
The role of testing in the relaunch process
Testing is often scheduled too late in the relaunch process. It is often only shortly before the go-live that it is checked whether “everything works”. Structured quality assurance is key right from the start - as a methodical process that sets different priorities in each phase:
 Concept phase |
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 Designphase |
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Test strategy, risk analysis, testable requirements
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Accessibility, responsiveness, contextual use cases
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 Development phase |
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 Pre-Go-Live |
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Functional tests, interface tests, regression
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Explorative Tests, Lasttests, Cross-Device-Checks
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 Post-Go-Live |
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Monitoring, hotfix validation, feedback loops
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 Testing is not an acceptance tool - but an instrument for feeding feedback from real usage scenarios back into product development at an early stage.
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 Specific testing challenges for energy suppliers
Based on experience from our projects in the energy sector we can identify a number of recurring testing challenges:
 Interface validation: Tariff calculators, network area inquiries, contract documents - many functions depend on APIs that need to be migrated or adapted during the relaunch. Unstable interfaces lead to incorrect output or timeouts.
Performance at peak times: Energy portals experience cyclical access peaks, for example during tariff changes or electricity price debates. Without load and performance tests, the user experience is not safeguarded at these critical moments.
Accessibility: Municipal energy suppliers in particular must be BITV-compliant. Accessible web design cannot be “tested retrospectively”, but must be actively checked and supported during the course of the project.
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Interdisciplinary cooperation: agency - QA department
Successful relaunch testing requires that not only the quality assurance works - but also the interfaces between the parties involved. After all, a relaunch is not a purely technical project.
A relaunch affects UX, corporate design, content, data architecture and the overall brand perception.
Particularly in regulated industries such as energy supply, there is an additional layer of legal requirements, legacy integration and operational feasibility.
For a successful relaunch implementation requires a close interlinking of conception, technical implementation and QA. In practice, collaboration between the digital agency, specialist department and testing team has proven its worth - as agile, reflective interaction at eye level.
One example: At Appmatics, we work together with the Cologne-based agency Friendventure on several projects. Friendventure supports companies throughout the entire relaunch process - from brand strategy and UX conception to UI design and technical development (e.g. with headless CMS or open source stacks such as TYPO3 or Statamic).
From a QA perspective, three aspects of their approach are particularly relevant:
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Conception with focus on user and system logic
Many relaunch projects fail not because of the technology - but because of a lack of consistency in the structure: menus grow organically, pages are illogically nested, important functions are hidden. Friendventure takes a strategic conceptual approach and develops information architectures that combine user goals with editorial requirements and technical framework conditions.
User-centered wireframes and click dummies
Mapping of editorial workflows to CMS structures
Early consideration of accessibility & responsive behavior
This is precisely where QA can get involved at an early stage - e.g. with exploratory testing on a prototype basis or the validation of contrasts and operating paths.
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Technical implementation with testability in mind
A technically clean implementation is not only maintainable, but also testable. Friendventure pays attention to modularity, reusability and clear component logic during development - a decisive advantage for automated and manual testing.
Clear structuring of templates and front-end logic
Separation of CMS data, logic and presentation
Component-based structure that simplifies UI tests
Continuous integration (CI/CD) is also used in joint projects so that QA processes can be integrated directly into the deployment workflow - for example through automated regression tests or visual snapshot tests.
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Joint test strategy as a link
The methodical collaboration between the agency and QA is particularly valuable - e.g. through joint test planning, clear bug processes and synchronized review sprints. In our view, this is crucial for efficiency:
No double loops because requirements are specified
Faster feedback because test data and test scenarios are known
Better understanding because QA is involved as a partner
Agencies like Friendventure make this possible thanks to their agile working methods and transparent communication - two characteristics that are often more decisive in the relaunch context than tools or frameworks.
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 Lessons learned: What really matters in relaunch testing
Based on typical pitfalls in the energy sector, here are five specific lessons for digital managers:
Formulate testable requirements: Acceptance criteria belong in every user story. “The tariff calculator should be simple” is not a test objective - “The user receives a result in ≤5 seconds after entering the zip code + consumption” is.
Content is relevant for testing: Missing alt texts, poorly legible tables or incorrect form validation are not “content bugs”, but real quality defects.
Prepare test data: Anonymized live data sets or synthetic consumption data are indispensable for realistic testing - especially for tariff or billing modules.
Don't neglect UX tests: What feels good in design often fails in real-life usage contexts: Too many clicks, unstable mobile navigation, difficult to recognize call-to-actions. Exploratory tests help to recognize this at an early stage.
Automation where it makes sense: Not everything can be automated - but regression tests for forms, login, navigation or CMS previews save time and increase the security of deployments.
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 Conclusion: Relaunch testing is a shared responsibility
A relaunch is not a purely technical project, but a coordinated change across teams, systems and goals. Those who understand testing as methodical quality assurance - not as the last hurdle before go-live - significantly increase project security.
Energy suppliers that successfully implement relaunches not only invest in UX and design - but also in test strategy, valid feedback loops and interdisciplinary collaboration. Particularly effective: projects in which agencies such as Friendventure and QA partners such as Appmatics are involved at an early stage and in a structured manner.
Are you planning a relaunch in the energy sector and would like to set up the testing strategically or accompany the implementation? We support Testing, the Friendventure team in conception and technical implementation - feel free to get in touch with us.
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