Seamless Home Security from Anywhere Designing a Mobile-Friendly security experience

01. Overview

Empowering users with an intuitive and user-friendly interface to simplify the management of different security devices in cases of potential threats or security breaches through mobile responsive design and improved information hierarchy.

Role

UX design, UX research, Content design

Team

Pooja , Claire, Rhea, Heliya and Colton

Timeline

20 weeks

Tools

Mural, Figma, Webex (interviews), Slack, Google Slides, Google Form

Project Overview

As someone who has personally struggled with home security concerns, it can be daunting to worry about security. I asked myself what I would need to take charge of my safety and how to implement all these needs in one cohesive mobile app.

03. Problem Discovery

The Problem? Homeowners do not have a single reputable home security app that is - easy to use and accessible from anywhere in the world

Problem Space

With the increasing popularity of smart home devices, security and privacy concerns have become a major issue for many users. Through literature review and interviews methodologies we can synthesise a solution that can allow users have an affordable, easy to navigate security system to feel safer in the homes

Solution

Build an intuitive and user-friendly interface that will let people watch live footage, receive real-time alerts and have control over devices remotely so that we can help a holistic security system that caters today's needs.

Why is this problem important?

Not everyone understands or can access complete security information. The user experience is fragmented and needs to be more user-centered

🙎🏻‍♀️

$39 Billion in household good were stolen in 2021

🤦🏻‍♀️

70% of burglars entered house through door and windows

🙍🏻‍♀️

80% of burglars stated they would enter only if the house did not have an alarming system

03. Define

Tailoring the experience for Homeowners, landlords, oldies...

PERSONA

There were 3 opportunities that would drastically improve our app experience for:

01

Customization options while purchasing security systems.

02

Affordable, easy to se and easy to maintain overall seemed to be the gist of the security system.

03

Mobile-friendly simplistic and minimalistic approach

04. Ideation

We conducted competitor analysis to understand what’s out there and what we can offer as a package…

Different packages customised to customer needs
Security cameras are the most expensive packages
Customise alerts and remote alarm/disarm

Camera records based on movement
Notified by movement via phone or Amazon Echo
Can speak through camera microphone and hear what's happening from the footage

Camera records based on motion & motion detection phone alerts
Basic to advance packages as per needs
Easy to set up and manage
Stores videos & photos in the cloud with the subscription plan

Low fidelity mockups we tested

06. Design Enhancement

Prioritizing what our customers need

Addressing the problem spaces in my designs

Problem space #1: Home security apps are mostly just focused on providing live footage in free plan

I want to create a solution that can help users not only track their everyday recordings but also past recordings

Problem space #2: Users currently end up buying security system that is irrelevant to their needs

By creating a Package Quiz, users are suggested as per their needs to find them a credible security device combo that can be

Problem space #3: Security videos should not just exist in the app, but rather notified timely to the users

In taking advantage of UI patterns, I am able to motivate users to act on the dangers detected

Design Principle

Solving Anxiety that comes with home security

Present information to encourage positive action-like cashback upto 2,000 INR on sign up
Spot patterns of spending and offer insights like lowest EMI, lowest downpayment
Provide examples of similar users to help users make decisions

Solving Busy Lifestyle & Procrastination

Design interfaces that requires less or minimal effort streamlining user journey to simplify financial management decision.
Keep users engaged by highlighting like creating an account and why E-mandate is essential to complete that journey thereby motivation them to take actions.
Guide decisions towards buying product online after a credit limit check

Homie Security is a mobile application that allows homeowners to install easily and track current & past footage with control over false alarms and connect with 911 at the time of DANGER...

06. Refine

To evaluate the user experience, privacy, security, and fragmentation concerns of the smart home security solution

Usability Testing Metrics

Usability: Ease of use, Intuitiveness, Navigation, Interaction, Visual design

Security: Effectiveness of Security features, Identifying vulnerabilities

User satisfaction: Feedback, Ratings, and Identification of areas for improvement

01 - New User Onboarding

Users wanted to view the explanation of the quiz
User wasn’t sure what “What’s your budget for security?” meant
Users were confused by “How insecure you do feel”
Users wanted to change the quantities of the items in the preset packages
Users wanted to click on “Next” even though it was only a header
Users wanted to view information about the products that were in the preset packages

02 - Viewing a Past Recording

Users weren’t sure what camera they needed to be looking for
Users wanted to navigate through the notifications tab to view date
Important items weren’t available at the top of the screen

03 - Marking alerts confusing

Users are not going to want to mark a recording as safe from their cell phone notifications area
Users weren’t sure if the recording was marked as safe or not after clicking the button
Users didn’t like the press-and-hold action for the alert button but don’t want to accidentally click it

Issues

06. Final Designs

Introducing… The Homie Security - A safer tomorrow app

A personal onboarding experience

Everybody is different, and that's why each user's Help Assist Her experience begins with a thorough introduction so that the app can target user needs as soon as possible.

A personalised dashboard

Whether it may be live footage of cameras, Sensor status, or motion detection notifications, the dashboard is a place of exploration and investigation for the curious.

A process fit for users of all ages

Although this application utilizes relevant UI patterns, the app mustn't discriminate against younger/older individuals who have not yet been properly trained in common heuristics.

A Calendar that doesn't only care about the recordings.

Viewing live footage and older recordings easily is another important application feature. Based on motion sensor detection, the footage is saved in the cloud for future reference.

07.Reflection

What I learned

This was my first ever long-term UX design endeavor, and I found so much fulfillment in being able to do my own primary research, as well as conduct secondary research to further develop my application. Research comes in different forms (not just surveys and interviews). As a newbie, it was definitely easy to assume the only two ways of doing user research was with surveys and interviews, but I learned new strategies including paper prototyping and Competitor analysis. If I had more time… I would conduct more user testing with my digital prototype, and showcase how I can narrow the scope of my UX flows to be able to sell this app in a more specialized manner.