Design a digital experience that delivers value to smart home users

Abstract

A smart home can be defined as a system of connected devices that are controlled remotely from one central place. Smart home solutions used to be for early adopters who like the novel and fun part of this new technology. Currently the smart Home market is moving to mainstream users. Hombli is a smart home brand established in 2019 in the Netherlands. The initial goal of Hombli is to address this mainstream market. They want to make smart home accessible to everyone, by offering a simple and affordable smart home solution. An analysis of the smart home market show that most smart home brands claim to offer a simple solution. Most brands also have another special focus in which they set their brand apart from the rest. The strong competition in the smart home market requires a stronger brand position for Hombli to stand out from the other brands. The new focus on the wellbeing of the user by providing “a carefree live with Hombli” is a promising new direction for Hombli. It is a unique direction in the smart home market and fits the current product portfolio. Users can create this carefree life by automating their Hombli devices using smart scenarios. However, a survey filled in by 149 current Hombli users show that only 23% say that creating scenarios is easy. Of these people 39% do not use scenarios at all. Besides these current Hombli users, also people without experience with smart home devices were analyzed using sensitizing booklets with daily assignments. The participants described their routines and used smart Hombli devices. This experiment showed that it is hard to come up with ideas for smart scenarios and that the process of adding new scenarios is difficult for some people. To make the new mission of Hombli possible, all users should be able to create scenarios that can improve their wellbeing. Therefore, the design goal for this project is to help Hombli users with little technical experience, to feel guided and in control when they add smart scenarios, so they can automate their routines. Three concepts are developed to explore different ways to create scenarios. These concepts are turned into prototypes and evaluated. The results of these user-tests can be summarized in three aspects: - Control: The user should have a clear overview of the scenarios, be able to control important settings in an easy way and scenarios should be visible at the device page. - Comfort: The design of the app should be calm, the user should feel guided through the different steps and should be able to get help when it does not understand something. - Convenience: The app should provide example scenarios which offer clear benefits to the wellbeing can be added conveniently to the app of the user. The final design combines these three requirements in one single experience. User tests of this final design show that people get inspired by the example scenario in the app and start thinking of different ways to automate their smart home devices. With this new app, Hombli can set itself apart as a brand that not just sells connected devices but cares about the wellbeing of their customers. Besides validation with users, the new app is also validated on feasibility for the company. Because developing a brand-new app from scratch requires a big investment, a better strategy is needed. The current app is based on the Tuya platform. Talks with Tuya developers explain the possibilities in changing the current app to create quick first steps in improving the experience in the current app by adding an extra section in the app with example scenarios. In a later stage, device panels can be improved to match the panels of the final design concept. After these short-term steps, Hombli should invest in developing their own services to create added functionalities to adapt to the evolving smart home market. New communication standards are in development that will make it possible to control smart devices from different brands using the same standard. The long-term strategy ensures Hombli will deliver a unique experience to users that value wellbeing by offering a carefree life with smart automations for every connected device at home.