The Problem
Consumers who want to create a Smart Home need a way to easily view and research all the available SmartHome technologies that can help solve their problems and meet their needs because they want to build a more convenient and technologically cutting-edge lifestyle at home.
The Solution
Create a one-stop-shop for all Smart Home needs. Where people can easily find everything they need at their fingertips—built for the novice and the enthusiast. An easy to use platform to explore, research, make in-app purchases, hire local tech experts—and more.
Business Requirements
Created a business requirements document outlining the executive summary, S.M.A.R.T. goals, and a delivery schedule.
The Process. Design Thinking.
Discover.
Problem Definition
Competitor Analysis
Define Audience
User Scenarios
Content Survey
Define.
Personas
Journey Maps
Cart Sort
Sitemap
Wireframes
Develop.
Solutions
Design
Prototyping
User Testing
Review
Deliver.
UI Design
Micro Interactions
Approval
Q&As
SURVEY & INTERVIEWS
Research Method Goals
Understand user behavior around the activity of Smart Home product shopping.
Understand users frustrations and delights in Smart Home shopping to determine potential need in marketplace.
Determine which task users would like to complete using a Smart Home expert shopping app.
Survey Key Insights
I conducted a conversational survey with 20 questions using JotForms.
The survey was shared on Slack, Twitter, and LinkedIn during a 24 hour window.
I received 18 complete submissions.
The top 4 key insights from survey findings were:
1. Age Demographic
Gender: male 41% - female 59%
Age: 29-50
2. User Research History
When was the last time you researched a smart home product you considered buying?
3. Potential Demand
Would you use an app that offered free expert Smart Home product reviews and product comparisons with the opportunity to shop and hire installation service all in one place?
Yes 72% - No 28%
4. Possible Useful Features
Would you find any of the following smart home app features useful?
Number on pie is the total number of yes’s out of 18 responses.
Interview Results
I conducted and recorded 4 user interviews. All 4 interviews were extremely informative and gave me a glimpse into how users typically approach researching and purchasing Smart Home products.
AFFINITY MAPPING
Sorting Data into Clusters
After sorting data by participants, I went a step further and sorted the data into manageable clusters based on interesting themes I identified like user research processes, resources used, types of products interviewees recently shopped for, pain points, desires/wants, as well as general user likes.
PERSONAS
CARD SORT PARTICIPANTS
A total of 8 out of 11 participants successfully completed the card sort study. The majority of participants carried similar mental models when grouping topics into categories which is a good outcome for familiarity and ease.
SITEMAP
USABILITY TEST REPORT
Remote studies were done with 7 participant separately over Zoom to determine if participants understand what the app is about quickly and easily. The test included a short briefing and task performances using the SmartHub mid-fidelity prototype, followed by a debriefing.
Usability Test Report Insights
A handful of frictional pain points were discovered by observing how users navigated through app and found product information from the home page–testing if they could successfully find what they are looking for. Preference testing also revealed what design choices participants gravitated towards.
The Process of Learning
What went well
The competitive analysis review was very insightful in giving me a good standard on where to start. The surveys and user interviews also revealed valuable information on most people’s starting point when conducting product research.
What didn’t go well
There were technical difficulties with my prototype during user testing. Some features were buggy and resulted in user flows not going as planned. I did act quickly to troubleshoot issues as much as possible during the remote calls. It resulted in a couple of sessions going over causing scheduling conflicts. Will resolve in the future by scheduling user sessions further apart.
Future Iterations
After going through several stages of testing the prototype and interviewing users, my new hypothesis is that it will be worth investing time building out the hire a technician section to make sure it functions seamlessly.
Further, I am currently trying to figure out a more efficient and enjoyable way to allow users to actively compare products within the limited mobile screen area.
