Product management

Scaling an energy innovation lab

The Whole Energy Systems Accelerator (WESA) is a world-first energy innovation test and evaluation facility: a collaboration between the Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) and the University of Strathclyde’s Power Networks Demonstration Centre (PNDC). WESA enables interactions between homes, energy networks, and market & policy frameworks to be tested in real-time and across a range of potential future energy system and market scenarios. Working as consulting Product Lead, I’m supporting the ESC to scale the size and capabilities of the Living Lab, a testbed of over 2000 real, IoT-enabled households, as part of the WESA programme, funded by the Scottish Government.

Product discovery, research and concept development

Embedded OS tools to improve connected device onboarding

An embedded OS provider wanted to develop tools that would help them gain traction with high-volume and consumer appliance manufacturers, by making it easier for OEMs to develop good end user experiences for essential connected device functions such as provisioning, onboarding and device management.

Drawing on my past experience with connected hardware, networking and IoT UX, and research with expert industry contacts, I recommended the appropriate solutions to adopt to deliver industry leading UX for the widest possible range of device types. I ran workshops with the client’s engineering teams to blueprint user-facing and backstage interactions between the user/device/companion mobile app/cloud, enabling the engineers to design the technical protocols. The final deliverable included cross-device UX storyboard prototypes, with development due to start in 2021.

Product strategy, research, discovery and concept design

A new business model for connected skincare

An Asian consumer electronics manufacturer was looking for a new business model and concept for a connected product in beauty and skincare, with the secondary goal of expanding their reach in the European market.

I led a team at Method which used a research driven approach to identify an opportunity for a new product, leveraging some of the client’s emerging technical innovations.

We delivered consumer insight and industry research, a proposed business model and value proposition, product concept design and recommended go to market strategy.

Requirements definition, research and design

Exploring service business models in domestic heating

The Energy Systems Catapult sought my help to define requirements and UX for a system delivered as part of the Smart Systems and Heating Programme. This was the basis of a consumer trial to begin exploring the viability of heat as a service: selling heat ‘outcomes’ (temperature guarantees instead of kWh) with the goal of decarbonising heating.

The system used sensors and controls around the home to build models of building physics, control heating, and measure both temperature outcomes and user’s perceptions of comfort. The problem domain was highly complex, and while the high level user goals were well known, the team needed help translating them into requirements, and a usable design. I facilitated the analytical and prototyping work needed to define requirements for the data science and engineering teams, and led UX design and testing for the trial app, enabling a critical programme deadline to be met.

Service and experience design

Cross-device interactions and service design for a connected breast pump

Elvie were developing early hardware prototypes of their Bluetooth-connected breast pump. They realised they needed to define the interaction model across both the app and pump, in order to understand which controls were needed on the hardware.

I worked with them to define how functionality would be distributed across the different interfaces, to storyboard complex cross-device interaction logic, and to create a concept design for the companion smartphone app, tested as part of their ongoing user research programme. This enabled them to proceed with hardware design and provided the basis for app UI design.

I later worked with them to blueprint the customer care pathways needed to support the pump’s market launch.

Training

IoT UX training for healthcare

Roche Diabetes Care’s design team were working on an increasing number of connected devices, and looking for training to deal with the challenges of bringing hardware and software together.

Working with my associate Martin Charlier, I delivered a 2 day training course to their design team, covering hardware interface design, interusability across multiple UIs, experience prototyping, responsible design (including privacy and security), housekeeping interactions (e.g. onboarding and device management).