Home Aware - Setup Validation
Home Aware is a home security app that leverages Wi-Fi signals to detect motion and provide real-time security alerts. By analyzing subtle changes in Wi-Fi signals, it transforms your home network into a powerful motion detection system, enhancing peace of mind for users. For this project, I designed the setup validation feature, enabling users to confirm their system's functionality with confidence.
Role
UX Designer
Timeline
September 2023 - December 2023
Tools
Figma, Zoom, Slack, FigJam, Trello, Confluence, Jira
Problem
Users Were Unsure if Their Security System Was Working After Setup
While gathering feedback from enterprise partners, we found that many users struggled to confirm whether their Wi-Fi Motion system was functioning properly after setup. Despite a seamless installation process, users felt uncertain about the system’s effectiveness, leading to a lack of trust. This raised a key question: How can we reassure users that their security system is working correctly and build confidence in the app’s reliability?
Solution
Real-Time Motion Feedback for Confident Setup
The Setup Validation feature ensures users can easily confirm their Home Aware system is functioning as intended. This solution provides immediate visual feedback and seamless access to motion detection validation.
Research
Secondary Research
I explored best practices in motion validation to improve user trust in smart home security systems.
Immediate Feedback Builds Trust
Users feel confident when they receive real-time confirmation during setup.
Real-Time Motion Detection Reduces Uncertainty
A live motion detection card reassures users that the system is working.
Applying These Insights to Home Aware
These findings shaped the Setup Validation feature by incorporating real-time motion feedback and Immediate system validation for a more trustworthy and seamless user experience.
Interviews
To address user concerns about system readiness, I conducted stakeholder interviews to gather actionable insights for a seamless validation experience.
💡 Key Insights
Separate Validation from Onboarding – Keeping validation separate from setup streamlined the process and reduced drop-off, ensuring a smoother experience.
Extend Validation Beyond Onboarding – Allowing users to check system health and troubleshoot issues anytime helped maintain long-term confidence in the product.
Develop
After completing the Research phase, I moved on to the Develop phase, where I generated and refined concepts based on insights and feedback. The goal was to design a seamless and reliable motion validation experience.
Ideation
To explore a broad range of potential solutions, I began with ideation exercises like Crazy 8s and solution sketching. These methods enabled the rapid generation and visualization of diverse ideas to address the identified problems.
Through Crazy 8s, I explored multiple motion validation approaches, including immediate feedback after onboarding and dashboard-integrated validation. These ideas laid the groundwork for refining how validation should be presented—balancing clarity, flexibility, and user confidence.
Initial Sketches
To bring these ideas to life, I created rough sketches. These early concepts served as a flexible medium for quick iterations, helping refine the direction of the solution.
The initial sketches explored ways to provide immediate motion detection feedback after onboarding. As the design evolved, this approach was refined to ensure more reliable validation and greater user control, leading to the final solution.
Wireframing & Iterations
Through team feedback and iterations, I refined high-fidelity wireframes to improve usability, reduce confusion, and enhance user confidence.
Challenge
The system struggled to differentiate between user absence (e.g., not entering the room) and an actual motion detection issue.
Explored Solutions: Two Approaches to Motion Validation
Solution 1 – Manual Confirmation: Users actively confirm whether motion is detected.
Solution 2 – Timed Detection: Motion is detected automatically after a set duration.
Why Manual Confirmation Was Chosen
After testing both solutions, Manual Confirmation was selected because:
It empowers users with direct control over motion validation.
It ensures more accurate detection, reducing false negatives.
It eliminates unnecessary delays, making the process faster and more reliable.
Testing & Improvements
3 Main Improvements
Based on feedback from stakeholders and team members, I continuously iterated on my design. Here are the three final major improvements that enhanced usability and user confidence.
Real-time motion feedback: Replaced the static image with a live motion card, allowing users to see detection in action.
Better device visibility: Added a device list per room, making it clear which devices are connected.
Guided setup process: Introduced a stepper indicator, helping users track progress across multiple rooms.
Prevented abrupt navigation: Previously, selecting “X” for no motion immediately moved users to the next room, causing confusion. Now, a "Not Seeing Motion" modal appears instantly, allowing users to troubleshoot before proceeding.
Reduced extra steps: Troubleshooting help was buried in an info link, making it harder to access. I built troubleshooting guidance directly into the modal, providing instant help and clear next steps with "Try Again" and "Skip" options.
Clarified system status: Previously, users only saw color indicators without explicit motion status labels, leading to uncertainty. Added labels like "Motion Confirmed" and "No Motion Detected", making the system’s status clearer.
Enabled re-verification: Users had no way to reverify if motion wasn’t detected, leaving them without a solution. I introduced a "Reverify" option, allowing users to initiate a new detection check, reducing frustration and giving them more control over the process.
The Final Designs
Outcome
Improved system reliability, accuracy, and user confidence.
Adopted by thousands, including Fortune 500 CEOs, to validate WiFi Motion functionality.
Reinforced trust in Home Aware’s security system for high-profile use cases.
What I Learned
This project reinforced the importance of clear, actionable feedback in UX design. I learned to balance efficiency with user control, ensuring that users received the right guidance without unnecessary complexity. By incorporating user input and iterative testing, I refined the design to provide a more intuitive and reliable setup experience.
Next Steps
💡Optimizing V2 for smarter validation:
System Health Monitoring – Provide real-time insights on device health and connectivity.
Personalized Validation – Use user behavior and motion patterns to offer tailored setup guidance and troubleshooting.
