This week was spent preparing for next week’s pitch presentation, class time was dedicated to one-to-one tutorials where we could get some final tips and advice on our ideas and presentations.
As I was spending this week refining my idea and presentation I thought it would be a good opportunity to create a case study of a design task I did recently as part of a job application and add this to my portfolio.
Overview
A dashboard designed for a desktop that allows the user to control six Internet of Things devices for home security. A user will be alerted of strange activity and is able to view information and take action (such as calling police) if required. They can also set when they are at home or out with different settings for each individual device depending on the setting.
The Problem
Many people know have a number of IoT devices in their homes, they are also concerned about the security of their homes. Smart Devices have a number of sensors built-in which could be used to offer additional security, but there is no way of controlling all the devices from a single platform for this purpose.
Users and Audience
Tech-savvy individuals who own a number of IoT devices and want to use them to increase their home security.
My Role
All aspects of the design process from research and discovery to final prototype.
Requirements
To design a Desktop UI that could control six IoT devices and deliver a 20 minute presentation on the final design.
Project Length
2 weeks
This project had a very tight deadline so I had no time to lose, I started by completing a competitor analysis to get a good understanding of what IoT products were already available. As I was interested in home security I concentrated on devices such as cameras and speakers that had clear security potential. I also took time to assess the apps that pair with each device to manage it so I could see the standard elements of these UIs and where there may be improvements.
I used the brief and what I had learned from this research to develop problem statements for the project. I came up with two problem statements to inform the rest of my research and design.