Post on 21-Apr-2017
UX for connected products
Claire Rowland / @clurr
EuroIA, September 2016
Practical differences designing for systems combining software and connected embedded devices
www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/launch-plans-for-serving/2410778.html
•Product/UX strategy consultant
•Specialising in IoT, particularly connected home/energy management
•Lead author of Designing Connected Products
Me…
We’re putting computing power, machine learning, sensing, actuation and connectivity into ever more objects and systems in the physical world
autonomoustractor.com
grenzebach.com sjm.com august.com
http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/heck-internet-things-dont-yet/
- …
Visions of IoT often look like this
…but the reality is often new ways to fail
‘It’s a bit glitchy but it’s OK, you just have to be in the room at the same time’. Actual review of the Wink hub
State of play
•Technology is still maturing
•Lots of products of dubious value (especially in consumer realm)
•Interoperability is poor
•Software and physical things are very different in terms of product development and user expectations
•We’re still figuring out business models, security and privacy
“We are experiencing some minor difficulties with a 3rd party server.”
petnet.com
•Sense making?
•Distributed information?
The IA angle?
Image by Todd Huffman from Wikipedia
Today, we’ll focus on:
What’s it like working on connected products?
Myths of connected products
Via Pinterest, source unknown
Myth 1: Magic is a helpful design metaphor Magic is a thing we don’t understand and can’t control
Image via http://everystevejobsvideo.com/steve-jobs-speaks-at-the-academy-of-achievement-1982-audio/
“People used to think electricity was magic and then it just became normal.” Ann Light
A design model for IoT
Facets of IoT UXScreen layout. Look and feel
Most visible
Least visible
Conceptual modelHow should users think about the
system?
InterusabilityInteractions spanning multiple
devices with different capabilities
UI/visual design
Platform designTechnology enablers spanning
products/services
Industrial designPhysical hardware: capabilities and
form factor
Interaction designArchitecture and behaviours per
service, per device
Service designCustomer lifecycle, customer services,
integration with non digital touchpoints
ProductisationAudience, proposition, objectives, functionality of a specific service
UI and interaction
A variety of modalities
smarttthings.com, amazon.com, lutron.com, 3dsystems.com
Myth 2: Zero UI is feasible and desirable“Ubiquitous systems must contain provisions for immediate and transparent querying of their ownership, use, and capabilities. Everyware must, in other words, be self-disclosing. Whether such disclosures are made graphically, or otherwise, they ensure that you are empowered to make informed decisions as to the level of exposure you wish to entertain.”
Adam Greenfield (2006)
Industrial design
The process is very different from digital
seymourpowell.com
Practical and technical things considered at the same time as aesthetics and ‘superficial’ things like branding, visual impact etc.
Extra considerations for connected things: not blocking radio signals, fitting in electronics, adequate power
Form is only loosely related to function
Interusability: coherent system UX
Cross-Platform Service User Experience: A Field Study and an Initial Framework Minna Wäljas, Katarina Segerståhl, Kaisa Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila, Harri Oinas-Kukkonen, 2010https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221270744_Cross-platform_service_user_experience_A_field_study_and_an_initial_framework
Deciding how to distribute functionality between devices/UIsComposition
tado.com
hivehome.com
Continuity
- The flow of interactions and data in a coherent sequence across devices
- Continuity helps the user feel as if they are interacting with the service, not a bunch of separate devices
Image: Kei Noguchi via CC licence
Myth 3: IoT interactions are seamless
Image: Nissim Farim
We don’t (yet) expect Things to behave like the Internet
Latency
……………………………………………..
“Oh never mind”
[ding dong]
Nicolas Calderone via macsources.com
Delays between user request and system response
Intermittent connectivity
19
2 min delay
21
Devices are often designed to connect only as needed and can get out of sync
Conceptual model
Value proposition
Conceptual model
Interaction model
What does it do? How does it work? How do I use it?
3 part diagram:
Image: Instructables Image: How It Works Daily
How does it work, how might it break?
How much does the user need to know?
What actually happens All you need to know
Service design
Often the service is more salient than the things
Myth 4: IoT is all about things
Service design tools are useful for balancing holistic and touchpoint design
adaptivepath.com
Productisation
Product Tool
In areas where they don’t have expert knowledge or are short on time
consumers need products, not tools
Does the value of the product outweigh its risks?
Platform design: technology enablers
•…
System architectures matter for UX…
•…
•If APIs are too coarse you can’t get the detail
•If they’re too granular, you’ll have to make lots of calls and do front end processing: this can be slow and risk inconsistencies
•If they’re the wrong structure this can also slow things down
You can’t create the right UX without the right APIs
“Uh, that new homescreen of yours is about 150 API calls on our current platform”
•App
•Cloud service
•Device firmware/software
•You need to know who to talk to about the functionality you want to build
UX decisions can impact code all over the system
Room: “kitchen”
Device: “oven”
The cool stuff (for IAs) is smart coordination between devices and servcies
Add to: lighting controls?security system?both?
1. Data about device capabilities
To be smart we need:
•I’m a lightbulb•I can be on or off•I can be x% dimmed•I can support x colours•My brightness is measured in lumens
•I have been on for 600 seconds•I have used 10 Watt hours since my last reset
2. Data about the context of specific devices
•I’m in the living room•I’m being used in the floor lamp
3. A system/domain model
4. An understanding of the wider context of use
http://www.apexselfdefense.com, My Mommy Manual (via Youtube)
•Has to learn
•Might get it wrong
•May be annoying or dangerous
Machine learning Ontologies
•Effort to create
•Will anyone use them?
Tesler’s law of the conservation of complexity:
As you make the user interaction simpler you make things more complicated for the designer or engineer Larry Tesler, former VP of Apple
Thank you!
Want one? Tweet @clurr and say I want a book #euroia16 First 3 win!
@clurr | claire@clairerowland.com www.designingconnectedproducts.com