Credits - Thesis group, VELUX Group
Activities - Ethnographic research, ideation, prototyping, usability testing
Tools - Html, photoshop, think-a-loud
Challenge
Technology is continuously becoming a closer part of peoples everyday lives and a close companion solving everyday tasks. Along with a lot of other companies, VELUX Group is facing challenges within that area. They focus on improving peoples health and wellbeing with their electric windows, making it easier for people to make the house a healthy place to live in. Our wondering was if their current Integra remote control was living up to the ambitions, and how we could help them improve the experience of using the product? We wanted to provide VELUX with a new perspective on Interaction & UX Design, developing a new concept for their product VELUX integra. The goal was to contribute to the experience of the product with a focus on the user.
The Process
In order to identify the needs and behavior of the VELUX users, we focused on studying the their everyday life with the windows as close as possible. Based on findings from these studies, we developed a new concept. Using the double diamond model as framework for our approach, our design process consisted in four parts - discover, define, develop and deliver. Using this framework we were able to unfold the field, learn, explore ideas, eventually create a final conceptual direction and test it.
With the ambition to involve the user through the entire process, we took a human centric design approach.
Research
With an ethnographic approach we performed several inquiries, such as ethnographic interviews and diary studies, in order to identify user needs and behaviour related to the usage of the Integra remote control. We also conducted Think-a-loud tests in order to get a closer look at the interaction going on the interface it self.
In order to provide VELUX with a conceptual direction useful for their future work and aligned with their strategic interests, we performed stakeholder interviews asking them questions about their ambitions and visions for the Integra product.
Insights
Providing flexibility is important, in order for the user to handle and changing surroundings in their everyday lives.
The user has to feel in control, even though some actions are automated by the technology.
The user must be able to handle the indoor climate in a discrete and unobtrusive way.
Interactions has to feel simple for the user. The sense of time spent is essential to that.
The concept has to provide accessibility. Not being able to use the technology whenever it comes to mind, makes the experience less seamless.
Problem statement
How can we create a new concept that provides a balance between the VELUX vision regarding better indoor climate and their customer’s everyday needs?
Sketching & Prototyping
To come up with ideas based on our research and insights, we used sketching and rapid prototypes to seek opportunities and generate as many ideas as possible. In the following ideation process we continuously converged and connected the many ideas into fewer, ending up with less but more specific ideas. We continued this process until we had a useful conceptual direction.
The Concept
VELUX INTEGRA COLLABORATIVE provides an interactive collaboration between user and technology that allows an easy way to control VELUX products. The technology recognizes the user’s interactions and continuously helps adjusting and suggesting settings - all based the user’s own activity.
Simple interaction
With a smartphone and a smart device, the user has two simple ways of interacting with VELUX INTEGRA COLLABORATIVE. The user can swipe up and down in order to open and close the window and set time. Additionally the technology is provided with a rotation function, that allows the user to switch between manual control and quick activation of programs.
Automatic Setup
Inspired by predictive features within the retail industry, the technology automatically suggests the most frequently ways of venting as programs, that is available for the user at any time.
The reminder
The user is given a reminder when the indoor climate needs to be improved. Heat and humidity sensors will be able to detect a need for venting. The reminder is designed so that there is always a member of the househeld who is notified about this.
The test
Retrospectively to the conceptualisation, we built a simple html prototype for a mobile browser in order to test the features of the concept. We did not focus on building a high fidelity prototype. Our ambition was not to refine a product, but a conept with the possibility to learn more about the user and refine the concept based on that.
Prototyping & testing
Using experience prototyping as an approach for testing, we wanted to create a prototype and environment as close as possible to a real scenario for the participants. In spite of limited ressources we tried to realise that. So we built a html prototype for an iPhone and used VELUX' own showroom with electric windows as a scene for the test. In order to test the features of our concept, we took the participants through different scenarios that would be everyday situations of using the windows and the remote. That would be situations like:
Get up in the morning and open the window after showering.
Open the windows after cooking at night.
Ventilating the house before going to bed.
What we learned
The interactions seem simple to users. They have to remain a very unnoticed part of the everyday life, if we want to avoid distrubance in the user's environment.
The users are accepting to communicate with the technology. They consider the reminder as something helpful in their daily activities.
The automatic setup is embraced by the users, because it has an adjusting feature that makes the usage simpler over time.
The users are satisfied with the technology being accessible right when they need to use it.
Simplicity is important, because interaction and usage can’t take up too much time in the everyday life.