Onboarding Hive's smart products seamlessly
Hive is the UK's number one smart home provider with over 1.8 million customers. Using the Hive app, customers can control a range of internet-connected devices such as a thermostat, lights, plugs, motion sensors, window and door sensors and cameras.
We improved the device installation process to support new devices and reduce printed guide costs. Our goal is to help customers self-serve more effectively in the app and minimize the need for contacting Customer Support. These changes aim to improve customers' confidence and knowledge during installation.
As the lead, I was responsible for creating an app device installation experience that would welcome both new and existing customers to Hive.
To create a user-friendly and enjoyable device installation experience for all users installing Hive smart devices, we first needed to understand the technology and identify any pain points.
The above flow demonstrates installation steps for a Hive Contact Sensor. While these steps follow a similar pattern for all devices, a few additional steps may be required depending on the product being installed. Although the experience was simple and functional, we recognised the potential to make it more personal and educational.
To gain a comprehensive understanding of each of Hive's smart devices, I collaborated with the hardware and product teams. Their insights provided valuable information on the workings of the system, installation steps, and the value that each device brings to customers.
Despite not being able to conduct user interviews initially, we gathered feedback from new and existing Hive employees. We asked them to log their onboarding experience and document their pain points and emotions. Analyzing this feedback, we identified common user frustrations:
The overview screen confused users about whether or not to action the steps before proceeding forward.
The hub connected multiple devices at the same time (i.e two Contact Sensors), so, therefore, it was difficult to distinguish which one was which.
Users wanted clarification that their devices were working before they finished installation.
Based on our findings we established a series of questions that helped to design a better onboarding experience:
How might we add personalisation and delight to the journey?
How might we educate and give confidence to our customers?
How might we help our customers feel reassured when faced with a challenge?
How might we add clarity to our customers that their device is fully functional?
The user flow below demonstrates the onboarding journey for a new Hive HomeShield customer. The journey was divided into two sections:
We began the customer journey by introducing them to Hive's products and services through a category list, hoping to inspire them to learn more about our offerings. After selecting HomeShield, we personalise the experience by asking them to choose a home profile image for their dashboard.
Based on our research we templated the experience by assigning six key sections to the overall install steps:
Introduce the product and give contextual advice on where best to place the device.
Powering up their device and connecting to the network. We also built in an experience to handle multiple detections.
Assigning a location to their device so we can easily group devices by zones on the dashboard.
Providing contextual help in the form of install guides.
Test the device to ensure it is fully functional.
Confirm to the user that their device has been installed.
By following our design principles of being "Thoughtful, Elegant, and Delightful" and utilising a conversational experience, we were able to create a stronger connection between the customer and their product. This design style provided clearer instructions, better use of white space, and brought a sense of delight and ease through motion.
The following flows represents the welcome journey and installation process for a Hive Camera. While there were multiple factors to consider for Hive's portfolio of smart devices, this framework encapsulates the main steps for all devices.
I created a set of 3D clay model-inspired illustrations to educate customers on where to best place their Hive smart devices.
We provided animations to customers to help them understand the task they may be asked to perform, providing greater clarity.
This feature addresses a key frustration that emerged from our research by allowing customers to test the product and identify the device they are onboarding.
We offered better self-serve capabilities through dynamic troubleshooting to solve problems independently.
We conducted two phases of testing. The first involved a user lab session with nine participants who were asked to onboard a Hive Hub and Camera. The second phase involved in-home user trials with eight participants, where we observed user behavior from both customers and professional engineers.
The testing sessions were successful, with most participants finding the onboarding journey easy to use. We made some refinements to the copy to provide clearer instructions and shared feedback with the hardware team about adding a power-up chime for future releases. The testing provided valuable insights into how customers install and onboard smart devices in their unique homes, taking into account their configurations and lifestyles.
By introducing in-app install guides and troubleshooting for potential installation issues, we successfully delivered an improved onboarding experience with clear installation steps. One personal achievement was incorporating our new design principles to elevate the design language, adding more thoughtfulness and elegance through motion and subtle design changes.
