Smart devices, Industry 4.0, big data—many companies face the complex challenge of integrating the various components of the Internet of Things (IoT) in order to offer connected products and enhance the user experience. Not all of them succeed in generating real added value for customers and their own companies. The scope and speed at which IoT development is advancing can easily make it difficult to keep track of everything. In this complex environment, there are no one-size-fits-all recipes for success or failure. However, certain levers are emerging in practice that positively influence the success of a product or solution. A key success factor here is the user experience (UX). In the following chapters, you’ll learn how your IoT solution can become a success with the help of a well-designed user experience.
With an IoT solution, designing the right user experience is orders of magnitude more complex
To succeed in the IoT environment, it is particularly important to link an application’s value proposition to a tailored user experience that, on the one hand, builds on tried-and-true interaction mechanisms but, at the same time, offers clear differentiating features. Success is only possible if your solution offers genuine added value and the user experiences a sense of satisfaction when interacting with it.
However, improving the user experience is no easy feat. Do not underestimate the complexity of this task. Developing a good user experience for a standalone product is a challenge in and of itself. In the IoT environment, this task becomes orders of magnitude more complex, as interfaces to various—and possibly even as-yet-unknown—devices with different functionalities, different operating logics, and different data interfaces must be taken into account.
Imagine, for example, a home automation system with open interfaces that is designed to control various functions related to the home. On the one hand, there are sensors that measure various conditions in a home (e.g., is the front door open?); on the other hand, there are actuators that perform functions and enable interaction (e.g., turning on the lawn sprinkler). If the individual sensors and actuators possess intelligence—that is, if they can make independent decisions and communicate with the outside world via their own connectivity—then this already constitutes an IoT ecosystem. As long as these individual devices come from a single manufacturer, the technical implementation is carried out through standard architecture development with additional configuration of the required modules. However, if devices from different manufacturers are to be integrated—for example, to enable control of the system via a smartphone—entirely new challenges suddenly arise, and addressing them significantly increases the complexity:
- How should interfaces be designed and specified to enable cross-vendor connectivity between applications and devices?
- How is the collected data managed, where is it stored, how are access rights granted, and how do I protect it from unauthorized access?
- How can a seamless user experience be achieved when users are switching back and forth between different devices and different features?
- How can the user experience be managed when different applications and devices from various manufacturers are used and their physical presence varies greatly?
Given these constraints, it is becoming increasingly important to make the desired user experience the primary starting point for developing a technical solution, rather than, conversely, building the user experience around individual user use cases. Enhancing the user experience—or actively shaping it holistically—is a task that must be addressed at the beginning of the process. It cannot be significantly influenced afterward, as it is already largely defined during the architecture development phase.
Use the following six success factors as a guide to enhance your user experience and ensure that your IoT solution is a success from the very beginning.
With these six success factors, you can enhance your user experience
1. Focus on the customer benefit
IoT solutions are not developed as an end in themselves; rather, they must always deliver clear added value for the user. True customer enthusiasm is created by (more than) meeting the customer’s conscious and unconscious needs and expectations. The value a solution provides to the customer must always be the primary focus.
In IoT solutions, it is becoming increasingly important to anticipate customer needs—that is, to identify the user’s desires and requirements that they are not yet aware of and to provide appropriate solutions for them. A key prerequisite for this is understanding who the customer actually is. What benefits does the customer expect from an IoT solution? In B2B business, the key questions are: What does the customer’s business case look like, and which factors are critical to success or failure?
Many companies offer products that have been enhanced with IoT features without actually providing a concrete or significant benefit to customers. Simply connecting various devices to one another generally does not, in and of itself, create any value for the user. Before designing an IoT solution, the primary question should be how IoT features can be used to, on the one hand, create added value for the user and, on the other hand, gain a deeper understanding of the customer. Entering the world of IoT requires not only engineering expertise but also a willingness to acknowledge that the relationship with one’s own customers will change fundamentally.
2. Aim for broad integration
Future IoT solutions will enable the broad integration of a wide variety of different systems within a system-of-systems and, among other things, allow for rapid expansion of the range of functions.
An essential prerequisite is the proper design of interfaces to ensure the successful integration of individual devices with one another and with backend systems. Software design, in particular, plays a crucial role here. Manufacturers of cloud and mobile computing applications generally focus on developing highly interoperable interfaces. Such an API-centric approach also provides a solid foundation for IoT applications. Functions with specific requirements regarding integration capabilities or transmission speeds—such as data analytics—require special attention.
Another factor that is extremely important for enhancing the user experience is the question of what the overall ecosystem of the IoT application should look like:
- How many devices are included?
- How are they connected to each other (topology)?
- And how are they supposed to communicate with each other?
Communication standards, such as cellular networks or Wi-Fi, are a key component in enabling connectivity.
Last but not least, it is advisable to integrate IoT solutions into existing business processes and their technical implementation within the company, rather than creating two separate worlds. For example, use the same cloud infrastructure for your IoT solutions that you use for your business processes. Or consider adapting your business processes to IoT paradigms.
3. Ensure constant availability
IoT systems must operate continuously and without errors in order to gain customer acceptance and enhance the user experience over the long term. This includes ensuring that the implemented features are sufficiently mature, that the system can be updated, and that issues are resolved quickly.
Smart devices are becoming an increasingly integral part of many people’s daily lives, both at home and at work. Due to advancing digitalization and the widespread use of smartphone apps, users have become accustomed to nearly 100 percent availability of applications. This expectation will also extend to IoT solutions, resulting in high demands on their technical implementation.
In addition to the need for rigorous quality assurance to implement highly fault-tolerant software and hardware, this also has significant implications for providers of IoT-related services. For example, if you have outsourced your cloud operations, you must be aware that the required 100% availability of your IoT applications can only be achieved if your service providers can support this requirement. Ensure that your partners guarantee the highest level of availability and also have the capacity to scale up as data volumes increase.
4. Foster ongoing enthusiasm and a sustained improvement in the user experience
Especially in the competitive IoT landscape, it is important to inspire lasting enthusiasm in customers. This can be achieved, for example, through the increased use of gamification approaches.
Key features of IoT applications include user interaction with a device or end device, the feedback provided to the user regarding the effects of their inputs, and the ability to customize the user interface. Gamification can be a promising approach here to provide the user experience with that crucial incentive. Essentially, gamification describes the application of game principles and mechanics in environments outside the realm of gaming. Allowing users to earn points for completing tasks and offering progress-based incentives is not a fundamentally new approach. Because they connect multiple devices and applications, IoT solutions are particularly well-suited to creating recognizable milestones for users and retaining them over the long term through clever incentive systems. The gamification approach used must ensure that using a device or application is fun, interactive, and useful, and ultimately gives the user a “sense of achievement.”
A key factor in implementing such an approach is real-time feedback during interactions: User inputs should result in rapid feedback in the form of signals. A reward can be given after certain tasks are completed, and other sensor data can also be used to measure these tasks (for example, the distance traveled by the user as measured by GPS).
Finally, keep in mind that gamification mechanisms are intended to deepen the user’s engagement with the IoT product. They must not distract from the core benefits of the solution in question.
5. Give your users every reason to trust you in the long term
In the complex IoT environment, users must be able to retain full control over their data. Only by upholding this principle can lasting trust be built. This, in turn, is a key factor in determining whether an IoT solution will be successful in the market or not.
The increased benefits of IoT solutions promise greater convenience, efficiency, and functionality for users through the interconnection of various devices. For solution providers, a deeper understanding of their customers and insights into how their products are used serve as a strong incentive to move toward IoT. However, connecting devices to one another also creates a network of shared risks, in which a single security vulnerability can lead to a lasting breach of trust. Many existing IoT products were rushed to market and do not meet the minimum requirements for data security and privacy. Keep this in mind when deciding which devices will be granted access to your ecosystem and how that access is precisely defined.
There are many scenarios in which insufficient data security or functional reliability can lead to a loss of user trust:
- A data breach—that is, unauthorized access to databases and systems—can result in user data falling into the wrong hands.
- If access points are not properly secured, unauthorized access to end devices may occur. In this scenario, attackers could, for example, open and close the doors in a home equipped with a home automation system or check their status.
- IoT devices connected to security systems (e.g., door locks) could refuse service or, in the event of malicious access, allow unauthorized individuals to gain entry.
- If users feel that an excessive amount of data is being collected about them and are denied access to the data collected, this will inevitably trigger a defensive reaction.
Make the functional and data security of your IoT solution a top priority throughout the entire development cycle. Application-oriented frameworks, such as the “IoT Trust by Design” framework, provide you with guidelines to help you achieve the highest security standards in the eight key areas:
- Authentication
- Encryption
- Security
- Updates
- Privacy
- Disclosures
- Control and
- Communications
6. Make the user experience adaptive and intuitive
Despite their complexity, IoT solutions must be intuitive to use, operate in real time, and not overwhelm the user. A consistent user experience across different devices makes it easier for users to use them. But what defines an intuitive device in an IoT environment?
In this context, “intuitive” means that the user does not have to think long, experiment, receive assistance, or undergo training to complete a task. If any of these characteristics are not met, the user may find themselves in a situation where they don’t know how to proceed. If the solution to an obstacle or problem that arises is unknown and the user’s focus shifts away from the task they were originally supposed to complete, the entire UX can suffer lasting damage.
But how do you develop an intuitive user interface? An essential prerequisite is finding the right balance between reusing widely established interaction mechanisms and the uniqueness of your own product—a form of branding. For example, if your smart devices can be controlled via a mobile app, it would be unwise to experiment with new and untested operating logic, since a large number of users are already strongly conditioned to existing methods. New operating logics would likely be met with resistance here, unless they offer greater customer value—such as increased speed. If you offer a completely or partially new feature in your IoT devices, you must ensure that the operating concept is designed around the core functionality. High simplicity and consistent, recurring patterns in operation are key to enabling users to adapt quickly.
In the IoT environment, there is another extremely important consideration: The user interface and the overall look and feel of the application should be highly recognizable across all connected devices and applications. Only when the user is able to integrate all intended devices into their workflow are the conditions for success met. To enable “cross-device design,” the application software must be capable of working with as many devices as possible and, for example, adapting the display to different screen sizes. A cloud connection is almost indispensable to ensure that the user has access to the same settings and data on all devices. You can only achieve a seamless user experience when switching between multiple devices is possible without interruption.
Use agile development methods to develop and validate user interfaces in rapid iteration cycles. With a “minimum viable product,” you can test basic user interface concepts and gather quick feedback before deciding on a final design.
Conclusion
Given the heterogeneity and specific designs of mechatronic and digital products, the success factors described here will certainly not all contribute equally to more successful products. Given the heterogeneity and specific designs of mechatronic and digital products, the success factors described here will certainly not all contribute equally to more successful products. Rather, in product development, care must be taken to interpret these success factors for the specific product and adapt them to the specific UX needs of the respective customer groups in order to enhance the user experience for those groups in the long term.
The first step toward an outstanding user experience is therefore a clear understanding of this need and its targeted incorporation into product development.
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