Glastonbury drove the trial
of total visits
of total orders
conversion rate
Journey efficiency
of total visits
of total orders
Key UX highlights
ACROSS UK MAJOR EVENTS
The Network Trial was deployed across several large-scale UK events, including Glastonbury Festival, The Championships - Wimbledon, Boardmasters Festival, and Kendal Calling. High-density environments where onboarding simplicity and network performance were critical.
For clarity, this case study focuses on Glastonbury, the most demanding context in terms of scale, usage conditions, and user behaviour. The results presented reflect data from this event, where the impact of design decisions was most visible.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Network Trial was a strategic Vodafone initiative designed to allow potential customers to experience the Vodafone network in London through a free eSIM-based trial, before committing to a paid mobile plan.
The project spanned web and mobile app experiences, covering the full lifecycle from discovery and registration, through eSIM activation, to trial completion and conversion into a PAYM plan and device purchase.
This initiative sat at the intersection of product innovation, growth, and customer acquisition, requiring a seamless experience that balanced technical constraints, regulatory requirements, and user expectations.
CONTEXT
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
UX CHALLENGE
USER OBJECTIVES
MY ROLE
DEFINE
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The Network Trial aimed to drive growth and acquisition, but the existing journey introduced significant friction across channels and touch-points.
eSIM activation relied on QR codes sent via email, often requiring a second device and creating barriers for users unfamiliar with the technology. The experience was not designed for speed, clarity, or self-sufficiency.
These issues were particularly critical during high-density live events such as Glastonbury, where users relied on a single device, network conditions were unstable, and any friction directly risked trial completion and brand perception.
DESIGN-LED CHALLENGE
Rather than iterating on an existing flow, the challenge was to design a future-state experience aligned with business goals and real-world usage.
This involved designing the end-to-end Network Trial journey, introducing in-app eSIM activation to remove QR/email friction, and ensuring the experience worked seamlessly at live events while scaling for everyday users.
A clear transition from free trial to PAYM plans was embedded from the start.
Given timelines, we adopted a design-first approach, followed by targeted research and testing to validate and de-risk the solution before rollout.
HYPOTHESES
In-app eSIM activation would reduce setup friction and improve completion rates, especially for single-device users.
Removing email-based QR codes would increase clarity, trust, and perceived simplicity.
Designing for high-pressure events (e.g. Glastonbury) would create a more resilient everyday experience.
A clear, guided end-of-trial journey would support confident conversion to paid plans.
Design-led decisions, validated through testing, would drive measurable impact on activation success and conversion.
DESIGN
EXPERIENCE STRATEGY
Three strategic principles guided the journey design:
1.
Self-contained journeys
Users should be able to complete the entire trial using a single device, without relying on emails, QR codes, or secondary hardware.
2.
Clarity at critical moments
Complex steps, particularly eSIM activation, were designed to feel guided and reassuring rather than technical.
3.
Designed for real contexts
Journeys were intentionally designed to perform in environments with limited attention, variable connectivity, and time pressure, especially relevant for live events.
KEY JOURNEYS
The experience was structured around three primary journeys, each mapped end-to-end to identify risks, opportunities, and priority moments.
Registration Journey
The registration flow was designed as a confidence-building entry point, setting expectations for the trial and reducing early drop-off. Focus areas:
Clear value communication
Minimal cognitive load
Early trust signals;
USER JOURNEY
MOCKUPS
PROTOTYPE
eSIM Activation Journey (New In-App Capability)
The activation journey introduced a new in-app eSIM activation flow, replacing the previous email-based QR code process. This shift:
Removed dependency on external emails and secondary devices
Improved reliability in single-device and event-based contexts
Reduced activation friction and uncertainty
USER JOURNEY
MOCKUPS
PROTOTYPE
End of Trial: New customers PAYM & Phone Journey
The end-of-trial experience was treated as a natural continuation of the journey, not a hard conversion point.
Focus areas:
Clear communication that the trial had ended
Transparent presentation of PAYM SIM-only and phone options
Timely, relevant CTAs without pressure
USER JOURNEY
MOCKUPS
PROTOTYPE
Phone purchase journey
SIM plan purchase journey
VALIDATION
Usability Testing & Iterations
The three key journeys were tested using unmoderated usability tests on the UserTesting platform, based on high-fidelity prototypes: Registration; In-app eSIM activation; End of trial.
The goal was to validate the journey logic, identify clarity issues, and confirm that the new in-app activation flow worked as intended.
Key Insights & Iterations
Overall, the journeys tested well and users were able to complete the main tasks with confidence. Testing surfaced three key insights, two of which highlighted important clarity gaps.
REGISTRATION
During the sign-up task, users read the page and FAQs but remained uncertain about whether they could retain their original phone number during the trial.
Many were also unsure what actions were required at the end of the trial, assuming auto-renew might charge them or that they needed to manually restore their primary number.
The copy doesn’t clarify users that their original number remains active and no action is needed at the end of the trial.
eSIM ACTIVATION
Once inside the app, users struggled to identify the next step for activating the trial eSIM.
Testing revealed that the copy variant “You’re almost there” performed better than “Your eSIM is now active,” as it clearly instructed users to go into Settings to set the eSIM as default.
The dashboard needs to be updated to make the next steps prominent and copy adjusted to ensure users could easily complete activation without confusion.
END OF TRIAL
At the end of the trial, users were often unsure how to purchase a plan.
Many overlooked the CTA at the top of the page, expecting plan options further down, and some misread account and login instructions.
Adjustments will include making the CTA more prominent, clarifying that trial emails could be used at checkout, and ensuring all users understood they should not log in with trial credentials, reducing friction and uncertainty in the conversion process.
Overall, the journeys tested well and users were able to complete the main tasks with confidence. Testing surfaced three key insights, two of which highlighted important clarity gaps.
IMPACT
ANALYTICS & PERFORMANCE
Analytics played a key role in evaluating the effectiveness of the Network Trial experience, particularly during high-traffic live event usage. Performance data was analysed across traffic, engagement, conversion, and behavioural patterns, with a strong focus on identifying optimisation opportunities within the journey.
Glastonbury Performance
EVENT IMPACT
Glastonbury Network Trial Performance by Day
Journey Performance
Page Exposure & Scroll Behaviour
EXPOSURE RATES
ATTRACTIVENESS RATES
Recommendations & Optimisation Opportunities
Based on analytics and behavioural data, the following recommendations were identified:
Move the Trial Plan Card above the fold to increase exposure and conversion
Introduce a new USP within the Plan Card, focusing on:
Ability to use the trial for the full festival
Keeping the user’s existing phone number
Surface key FAQ answers earlier in the journey and integrate them into marketing and onboarding content
Reduce checkout friction by simplifying or removing address capture where possible
Conclusion
The Network Trial demonstrates how a design-led, end-to-end UX approach can drive both customer confidence and commercial outcomes in complex, real-world scenarios.
By redesigning the full journey and introducing in-app eSIM activation, the experience became more self-contained, intuitive, and resilient. Particularly in high-pressure contexts such as Glastonbury, where strong engagement and conversion validated the approach at scale.
Usability testing and analytics confirmed the strength of the core journeys while identifying focused opportunities to improve clarity, visibility, and conversion.
Together, these insights created a scalable foundation for ongoing optimisation and future rollout, highlighting the value of UX not just as execution, but as a strategic driver of product and business performance.
These are just a selection. Explore the full portfolio to see additional work across optimisation, migration, and end-to-end product journeys.