Vivint 2022
Unlocking an Ecosystem: Discovery Research that led to 6 Patents
Vivint builds an industry-leading smart home ecosystem of cameras, sensors, thermostats, and security panels that all work together seamlessly, with the exception of smart locks. Customers could purchase Kwikset-brand smart locks for their homes, but they were left with that didn't integrate well with the system, and left opportunities on the table to make a truly holistic security experience.
My role
Product Designer & Researcher
Project type
Discovery research
Product Strategy
Product Design
Which of these does not belong?
Problem
Vivint’s reliance on third-party locks limited the ability to create end-to-end smart home experiences and left both user value and revenue untapped
Proposal
Design a proprietary smart lock that integrates with Vivint’s ecosystem, unlocking smart home experiences and capturing new revenue opportunities
Existing experience
Hardware
App (2022)
In-home user research
Broadening User Understanding
Locks are used differently in different climates, home types, and socioeconomic backgrounds. To get a full understanding of user needs, we travelled to Chicago and Austin for in-home interviews.
Developing a discussion guide
Consulting with our Research and Insights teams, we developed a guide to lead open-ended conversations around accessing the home.
Conducting interviews
In-home interviews gave us a candid view into customer’s access routines.
Synthesis & Analysis
Coding transcriptions
Our team coded transcripts of each interview in order to find patterns. This work was done in 2022 (Pre-AI), so coding was done manually by our product trio.
Insights: 5 User stories
We found 5 major themes in what customers were looking for in their ideal access experience.
As a user, I want my lock experience to be...
Complete
I want to be aware of and have control over ALL entry points to my home
Convenient
I want to easily lock all of my doors before leaving or going to bed
Smart
I want my access points to link with the rest of my smart home
Shareable
I want to grant permanent, temporary, and recurring access to my home
Seamless
I want my entry and exit routines to have as few touch points as possible
Product development
Exploring physical and digital concepts
Referencing insights from our research, our team illustrated a variety of physical and digital experiences and interviewed customers to understand which resonated as helpful solutions.
Physical Product: Primary & Secondary locks
Customers wanted their whole home secured with smart locks, but it felt like “overkill” for them to have an expensive, full-feature lock on every door. The primary & secondary lock bundle allows for a fully secured smart-home while keeping it affordable for customers.
Complete
Convenient
Whole-home visibility & control
Secondary, more affordable locks allow for every access point to be secured and integrated into the smart home.
Lighting on the lock face represent locked states of secondary locks.
Seamless
Auto-lock & Auto-disarm
Wifi & bluetooth authentication allows for automated unlocked and disarming.
Shareable
NFC unlocking
NFC capability allows visitors to enter the home with the simple tap of a smart phone.
Industrial design by Cecilee Petersen
App experience
The ability to see and control all locks alongside the context of other devices was important to customers. They also valued the ability to share access for a temporary timeframe rather than having to create a new user or share their personal PIN.
Complete
Smart
Home overview
All locks visible alongside cameras, thermostat, and security status gives users a single view of their entire home.
Shareable
A one-time guest pass lets users share temporary access without creating a new account or handing out their personal PIN.
Project defunded ☠️
Before we were able to start work on the lock and associated app experiences, Vivint was acquired by NRG. This created a shift in priorities away from smart home and towards energy experiences such as a new thermostat and demand response technology. We were asked to pause on the smart lock work.
Impact
6 patents
Filed with the USPTO
Despite this project being paused , we were able to file 6 patents related to integrating the smart lock and armed security system, which is novel in the smart home space.
Reflections
What I learned
This project felt like having a 4-month job as a full-time UX Researcher. I was creating testing plans, recruiting and screening participants, and getting comfortable with both leading and note-taking during user interviews. This was also the first time I worked in parallel with an Industrial Designer to craft a holistic experience, including hardware.
What I would do differently
Back when this work was done in 2022, we manually read and coded each finding, which took dozens of hours. If I was doing this project today, I would use Claude to upload transcripts and find patterns across transcripts, saving us weeks of time manually coding.