Case Study: User testing improved Lighting Usability
What:
Smart home lighting for mobile & tablets: customer-facing interface.
Add color control features to lighting ecosystem to support color and temperature bulbs.
Add color control features to lighting ecosystem to support color and temperature bulbs.
How:
After discovering poor results with the long-press for editing color, UX, UX Research, and Product Management collaborated to do rapid layout user tests to refine the interaction pattern, resulting in a more discoverable interface using the > to edit and abandoning the legacy OS long press.
Updated Design:
Cost/Timeline:
User testing took 5 weeks under $300 for unmoderated user tests with the general population.
Results:
Updates to Edit, using the Chevron are more discoverable and successful:
User testing and design iterations led to a better user experience for our end customers with better discoverability and usability, updated before the end of beta testing and release to our professional channel.
User testing and design iterations led to a better user experience for our end customers with better discoverability and usability, updated before the end of beta testing and release to our professional channel.
Additional Updates were also made thru this discovery, to improve the product:
• Icon updates - colorized bulbs to show the color state - a collaboration with the mobile development team and driver developers.
• Update to UI row component - moves Light Bulb to the left, and uses the Chevron for primary edits with successful user discovery and task completion with no onboarding.
• Icon updates - colorized bulbs to show the color state - a collaboration with the mobile development team and driver developers.
• Update to UI row component - moves Light Bulb to the left, and uses the Chevron for primary edits with successful user discovery and task completion with no onboarding.
Process:
1- User Testing long press to edit color
Results: Confirmed poor discoverability or task completion.
Action: find a better way.
2- Test a new direction: Add Onboarding Screen Describing the Long-Press
Hypothesis: Will users be more successful in editing their lighting color if we teach them about this interaction?
• Tested for Task-Completion and Comprehension
• Tested Text Instructions vs. Showing images/gestures with text instructions
• Tested Text Instructions vs. Showing images/gestures with text instructions
Results: Onboarding did not improve discoverability.
Action: explore another approach
3- Design Pivot: Rapid User Testing introduces a New Design Pattern
Hypothesis: Use a new design pattern, ">" to edit color. (IOS design pattern)
Results: Successful discoverability and task success rate.
Action: Update "edit" design pattern in lighting, and throughout ecosystem for consistency and discoverability.