Increasing engagement & Building User Trust
Through
Simplification & Customization
Smart Home Control
Tapo App Re-Design
The Tapo app lets users control Tapo smart devices from their phones. It offers remote access, group control, and optional cloud storage (Tapo Care) for viewing recorded events anytime.
B2C
Role: Product Designer
Project: Personal Project
Tools: Figma, Adobe illustrator
Problem Statement
Decline in user engagement over time
High rate of delete accounts for privacy concerns
Qoals
Increase User Trust
Make the app part of the customers life (Increase engagement)
A glance of Key Findings
Based on the user research, I realized the parts about Routines and Data Privacy need more focus and attention.
Shaping better habits through Routine Modes + Alarm customization can make the app part of customers life, beat distractions and tempt them to purchase more smart devices within the app.
Data Customization + Local Modes might solve privacy issues.
Important problems based on Interviews
Privacy
Trust concerns of over-reliance on WIFI connection. In case of a WIFI-Hack, there'd be danger of intruders to the house.
Privacy
Uncertainty of which data is being used and who has access to it.
Distraction
Preference to control a group of devices all at once in one app rather than installing different softwares for each smart devices.
Distraction
It’s addictive to control everything from phone and get constant alarms and suggestions.
Lack of customization
The automations must be customized based on each individual's life habits and get user's permission before running an action.
Cognitive Overload
The automations are complicated and difficult to understand how they’d work.
User Needs categorized based on Interview results
Comfort
Remote Control-safety
Data Privacy
Habit-creation
Reminder and Alarm
Personalization and customization
Habit Creation
Personalization & Customization
Data Privacy
Remote Control & Safety
Some Qoutes
Simplification
"It’s more convenient if a group of devices be managed all together in one app, It's a hassle to control each of my smart devices from its software separately."
Customizaiton
"When light gets weak generally helps me to have a better sleep habit. when the house is cooler helps me to shape a better wake up routine and I'd like to wake up with coffee smell."
Data Privacy
"I'm worried that my WIFI gets hacked and there'd be the danger of intruders by di-activation of security alarms. I like to know how my cookies are being used clearly."
Simplification
"I usually write my house chore plans on a notebook because it takes too much time to use to do list apps."
Simplification
"Too much automation is bad. I prefer voice alarms and voice commands becuase I can give instant feedback over running an action or not. I'd face power issues if I work with the washing machine and the oven simoultaneously."
Solutions in a nutshell
These solutions are driven from user interviews. They cited that there is too much information on the app and it takes too much time to control every single action from the app and they are overwhelemed by too many alarms and notifs.
we need to simplify the routine tab into Habit Modes with on/off toggle buttons rather than over using tabs and technical language.
we need to add local mode + cloud customization + not to over rely on wifi connection for data privacy.
We need to add vocal feedbacks in case the App suggests that a device needs to be run.
customized routines can be achieved through editable forms
Simplifying group device management into Routine Modes + Alarm limit can help lack of distraction and overwhelmig data load.
User Persona
Maryam
Based in Portugul
Frequent User
Married
Living in an studio apatment
Maryam uses TAPO for safety concerns such as potential intruders when she is on a vacation and also fire alarm inside the house
and the concerns regarding lighting and watering of her plants during vacation
as an immigrant living in a coastal area, she wishes to tracks the moisture of the house and receive suggestions when to open windows.
Site Map
User Flow
Add a Device Task
Add a Routine Task
Competitor Analysis
I analysed SmartThings and Tapo App as competitors. Regarding Automation and Routines:
SmartThings
- Complicated automation setup
- Cognitive overload
- Time-Consuming
- Overwhelming
- Gives users sense of addiction to the digital device
Live Feedback, Active routine and devices gets added to the dashboard
Process of adding routines are step-by-step
Tapo
Basic automation without customization, lack of clarity in how to use
There is no notif or feedback if you activate a routine or add to the dashboard
It has a simple function of setting triggers, when, if, condition but too technical
Challengs
based on competitor analysis :
- First challenge was about scheduling Individual Devices vs Routine Activities ( a group of devices working simultaneously to carry out an activity such as sleep ).
Some screenshots of Smart-Things Routine tab
- Single Device Schedule vs Group of Devices:
Users expect to schedule a single device in the Device tab vs scheduling an activity inside Routine tab.
- Categorizing tasks:
They get overwhelmed by a list of small and scattered actions/triggers. They prefer to manage a group of actions that belong to categorized activites such as sleep, travel, etc.
- Simplification:
They relate more to the term “Routine” rather than Life or Modes.
Some screenshots of Smart-Things Life tab
Considering a task like playing music from vacuum device for the pet:
There are 2 choices:
- Routine tab > Turn on Pet Care Mode
- Device tab > adjust settings of the Vacuum
based on the Survey results, users schedule on Device Tab more.
For Adjusting a Range of devices to carry out a specific task such as Away mode, sleep mode:
They expect to manage all them in the routine tab or schedule tab.
Therefore, only a one-time pre-set settings and manual adjustment is enough to simplify the user experience by just taping on a toggle switch rather than going through numerous tabs each time.
Some screenshots of Routine tab of Tapo APP
- For more dynamic and temporary schedulings, we came up with the idea of combining a To-do-list app with a smart home app. So, users have flexibility to automate their activities through voice commands without having to fill a form of their preferences.
- Set-Ups like condition and action ( When, IF, Then) are over-relying on users and it might be confusing of what type of input to insert.
Provided Solutions:
- Simplified the title of activites to avoid cognitive overload.
- Users turn on routines by switching on the related Modes rather than confusion and getting lost into numerous tabs.
- Device schedulings are being set only one time through filling a form under Automation tab.
- Users create immediate routines by typing or voice under Notebook tab.
In case of non availability of devices, they get an immediate feedback and through the learn more button they get directed to shop area to purchase the device they lack.
Based on Cart Sorting Results:
users expect to manage room and devices through control panel in the profile menu
Users expect to track, favorite list and view summary of consumptions in the profile sections
They expect to write a whole overall feedback in the profile section instead of receiving feedback notifications of overall perforance of the app
Wake Up Mode
Travel Mode
Data Privacy
Smart-Things provide offline, customize cloud. But, Tapo doesn’t have these features.
Enhanced Privacy & Local Execution
Alarm, Suggestions
Smart-Things provides feedback and shortcut dashboard. But, Tapo doesn’t have these features.
Optimized Notifications & Alerts
Iterations
Home1
Horizental layout for rooms and vertial layout for devices
Home2
Removed unneccessary pictures to simplify it more
Home3
Created a shortcut for Reminders, Active Devices and Routines. Made another tab for Rooms and Deivces but users had difficulty to understand and navigate through in usability tests
Home4
- Insrted shortcuts such as control panel(My building>profile>manage devices/rooms,privacy,feedback,trackings) and add device and app suggestions and notifs on top for better use of space
- made add deivce button more bold and clear becuase users couldn’t find it in usabilitytestings
Rooms/Devices-before
Users didn’t notice drop-down menus and adding buttons during user tests. and expected to find devices on homepage.
Rooms/Devices-after
I decided to show the lis tof rooms and devices on Home and give users shortcut option for instant control but give them the option to customize their house through My Building tab from their account.
Routine/Note-before
first mistake was to define locaiton for each automation but in fact it is designed for the entire house to control a group of devices.
Routine/Notes-Before
I tried a segmented control for default modes and Note section but users didn’t find it easy to read.
Routine/Note-after
So I minimized the sorting menu and gave users the flexibility through scrolling and visiting active Mods. Default Modes are under the automaiton section which users can choose from and customize its setting, note sections are the ones that user can set manually or through vocie notes.
Customize-Routine-Before
Customize-Routine-After
Routine-Setting-Before
Routine-Setting-After
Device-Setting-Before
Device-Setting-After
High Fidelity
connecting a smart deivce to the app
Adjust and customize travel Routine
Profile, Privacy and my building menu
Adding, adjust settings and customize a Wake-Up Routine
