Set up smart home devices more easily

Smart home

Client

Kärcher

Target group

B2C

Implementation

Mobile Application

Problem

The challenge in this project was to conceive and design processes for setting up and controlling smart products that were as short and easy to understand as possible. After successful setup, one look at the app should be enough to interact with all devices in the product universe. The project started with a single product, with others being added later.

Problem

The challenge in this project was to conceive and design processes for setting up and controlling smart products that were as short and easy to understand as possible. After successful setup, one look at the app should be enough to interact with all devices in the product universe. The project started with a single product, with others being added later.

Problem

The challenge in this project was to conceive and design processes for setting up and controlling smart products that were as short and easy to understand as possible. After successful setup, one look at the app should be enough to interact with all devices in the product universe. The project started with a single product, with others being added later.

Process

Thanks to intensive collaboration with product development on site, new requirements and direct experience with hardware prototypes were incorporated into the concept and coordinated with stakeholders. The app concept was evaluated in several user tests, tested together with the hardware for comprehensibility and subsequently improved. In addition to the setup processes, the content, such as images and text, was also tested.

Process

Thanks to intensive collaboration with product development on site, new requirements and direct experience with hardware prototypes were incorporated into the concept and coordinated with stakeholders. The app concept was evaluated in several user tests, tested together with the hardware for comprehensibility and subsequently improved. In addition to the setup processes, the content, such as images and text, was also tested.

Process

Thanks to intensive collaboration with product development on site, new requirements and direct experience with hardware prototypes were incorporated into the concept and coordinated with stakeholders. The app concept was evaluated in several user tests, tested together with the hardware for comprehensibility and subsequently improved. In addition to the setup processes, the content, such as images and text, was also tested.

Projects result

We offer users a guided process to provide them with a clear path to follow when there are many possible options during setup. The option with the most prompting character always makes the simplest and most frequently used path visible and is intended to prevent abandonment. The combination of as much visual language as possible and as little text as possible prevents ambiguity and depicts what users see as accurately as possible.

At the end of the process, a fully set-up, automated product is created and the app announces the next activities of the various devices at the top information level and keeps them visible. The most important information, such as the vacuum robot's set appointments, is displayed here and a jump to the detailed pages of the devices is offered. The manual control fades into the background once the automation has been set. Users only notice the product when tasks have been completed.

My role

  • Conception

  • Visual design

  • Stakeholder feedback

  • Customer consulting

  • Prototyping

  • Accompaniment of user tests

My role

  • Conception

  • Visual design

  • Stakeholder feedback

  • Customer consulting

  • Prototyping

  • Accompaniment of user tests

My role

  • Conception

  • Visual design

  • Stakeholder feedback

  • Customer consulting

  • Prototyping

  • Accompaniment of user tests

Knowledge gain

  • Customer sensitization for user-centered design via hands-on workshops

  • Test conditions for smart home products

  • Prototyping of the app design simulated with hardware

  • Software and hardware development perspective

  • Insights into concepts for controlling hardware via the cloud

Knowledge gain

  • Customer sensitization for user-centered design via hands-on workshops

  • Test conditions for smart home products

  • Prototyping of the app design simulated with hardware

  • Software and hardware development perspective

  • Insights into concepts for controlling hardware via the cloud

Further projects