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Mixing design and tech in Cambodia: How we built Active for AIA+

By Sideth Lim
0 min read
21 Feb 2025

AIA Cambodia's Sideth Lim shares how finding the balance between user experience and technical feasibility became her defining challenge as a product owner. She reveals how understanding both worlds led to better product decisions and, ultimately, a more successful platform.

The AIA Active welcome screen for Cambodia's AIA+ app showing two people high-fiving.The AIA Active welcome screen for Cambodia's AIA+ app.
When I took on Active, our new community feature for the AIA+ app, I thought the challenge was straightforward: create a space where people could join events and connect with AIA. I had stepped into a challenge that would reshape my understanding of product development.⁠We wanted to make AIA+ more than just an insurance app. Picture a vibrant community hub where anyone, not just policyholders, could discover health events, join challenges, and connect with others who share their interests.⁠This new feature was ripe for innovation, but success would require more than just design excellence. It demanded a deep understanding of human needs and technological capabilities.

Starting with research

Our first priority was integrating our health and wellness platform with our event registration system. We wanted users to be able to easily sign up for challenges and events, encouraging them to adopt healthier lifestyles. This engagement would also create natural opportunities for our agents to connect with potential customers.
The Active team from AIA+ Cambodia conducting user testing with participants in a conference room.The AIA+ Cambodia Active team in action — gathering insights through user testing.
After creating our first prototype, we went straight to the source — the users. Our agents had great insights from their daily customer interactions. The feedback from their customers was clear: they wanted something that was engaging and intuitive. They loved the idea of discovering new activities, but they didn't want to feel rushed into conversations with agents before they were ready. We needed to find the sweet spot.⁠This led us to design some exciting new features:
  • A community space where event participants could chat and share experiences.
  • Instant reward redemptions to keep things exciting.
  • Smarter ways to connect users with agents at the right time.
⁠⁠But what looked great on paper turned out to be quite the puzzle. Syncing data between our customer app and agent platform proved challenging, as both systems were built on different architectures. We needed to ensure that activity data — from challenge completions to reward earnings — flowed smoothly between systems while maintaining data consistency.
Three screens showing the new Active feature for Cambodia's AIA+ app.Three screens showcasing the Active feature in Cambodia's AIA+ app.

Turning problems into solutions 

⁠I turned these challenges into learning opportunities by diving into software development basics. Learning about coding, data management, and backend systems helped me understand what was truly possible with our technology.⁠Once I could better grasp how data moves between systems and how different architecture choices affect performance, our discussions with the development team became much more productive. We were able to come up with solid solutions that stayed true to our vision.The developers built a new architecture with clean APIs and services that helped both platforms share data efficiently and stay in sync. We also got creative with the rewards system. By adding more engaging steps to the user journey, we turned necessary processing time into natural pauses in the experience.⁠The result? A stable, reliable platform that works well for both customers and agents — something we can confidently build and deliver.
Team members joining hands in unity over a wooden desk.Collaboration at the core — designing Active for AIA+ meant balancing user needs and tech feasibility.

Best of both worlds

The big lesson? Great apps don't have to sacrifice good design for good tech — you can have both. By understanding both sides, we found creative ways to make things work. We can deliver good products without complicating the development process, saving time in product delivery.⁠Active demonstrates what happens when we find the right balance. It taught me how we can succeed in finding ways to give users what they want. As we move to deliver the app in Q3 2025, I look forward to sharing more about our feature launch in future blog posts.
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