Simplifying Home Automation

We created a new settings experience to simplify the process of setting up automations in the mobile app.

platform

Mobile App (iOS/Android)

Role

Sole Product Designer

Company

Brilliant Smart Home

Background

Motion rules are one of the many ways users can automate their smart home.

Brilliant’s Smart Home Control panel and Smart Dimmer Switch have built-in motion sensors. Users may set up motion rules from the Control panel to have devices automatically turn on/off based on detected motion.

Problem Space

Adjusting motion rules from the Control panel is an inconvenience.

Users have expressed they dislike editing settings from the Control panel in general because it is often installed at an awkward height, forcing them to crouch down while using these features. Many app store reviews complained about not being able to access many Control panel settings from the app in general.

It is more inconvenient for users with multiple Controls installed in various rooms because to update the setting on each Control, they’d have to go into each room to manually edit each device.

How might we simplify the process of managing motion rules throughout a home?

Motion Settings on the Control panel.

The approach

Motion Settings on Mobile

A new experience that allows users to quickly set up new or manage existing motion rules for all Brilliant devices within the home, from the mobile app.

Get an overview of your home's automation rules

We added a new view that lists all of the motion-activated devices in the home and the motion rules that are associated with each device. If users would like to add motion rules to a device, they can do so from this screen as well. Now, users no longer have to navigate into each Control’s individual settings page to manage the motion rules.

Create complex automations for your Brilliant devices, all in one spot

Users can set up rules to have lights turn on when motion is detected or lights turn off when motion has not been detected for the selected amount of time. The motion rules can be active during a selected time period as well. These features are now listed clearly and additional details are hidden when not relevant to the user’s current setup.

impact

111%

increase in engagement across both platforms post-launch.

1.3K+

homes make adjustments to the motion rule from the mobile app on a monthly basis.

⅔

of motion rule adjustments are made on the mobile app.

Takeaways

Identifying edge cases can be tough, especially when working with hardware.

‍The main challenge was identifying and making a design that would accommodate for all potential edge cases. For example, when the Control screen is set to activate with motion, the user must set up a rule where it deactivates after motion has not been detected for a period of time.

At the start of the project, I mainly worked with the PM to identify edge cases. However, I also began working more closely engineering since they’d also bring up edge cases that both the PM and I had missed.