Part of British Gas, Hive is one of the largest connected home providers in the UK and, as of May 2018, the company had more than 1,000,000 customers.
I was brought in to help bring to market a new product, Hive Link, aimed at taking care of loved ones, easier.
As part of the Web team, I was in charge of adding a new service section to the Hive ecommerce website and releasing Hive Link for the UK market. Hive Link helps users take care of their elderly loved ones by installing sensors and appliance monitoring systems in their home. The app looks at the behavior of the elderly and after learning the daily routine patterns alerts if something is out of place.
I created an information architecture piece that helped me have a birds eye view of the whole product I was working on. Using the existing IA as a starting point I have identified the main user journeys and understood the product offering.
At the same time I researched existing competition and the way they explain the concept of IOT to their audience.
Working closely with the UX Researcher we planned the research that we needed in order to make sure the product was thoroughly tested before launch.
From both research with users and product research the main problem arose. How do we communicate in a concise manner to users a totally new concept and product offering that touches on the sensitive issue of monitoring the elderly.
I gathered the research made by the marketing team about the targeted audience. From that the main user base was situated in the 40 to 60 bracket, middle class family that had an elderly, usually their parents, in their 70s or more.
They would visit several times their loved one a week and would take a good chunk of the time they would spend with their own families. Hive was a great tool for these families to free up time, and be in better connection with the ones they love.
I created a workshop with key stakeholders so we can align on how the product should be created and delivered. We flashed out the personas and the plan of what we want to achieve with the brief.
The product needed to tell a story. The story of how Hive Link can help users make their life easier with the help technology. To achieve that, the page needed to use few techniques such as interactive elements, videos and strong content.
For the first round of user testing, I needed to test out the main structure of the page and to understand if the information architecture told the intended story. I created the structure of the page using Sketch and InVision.
Following the user testing sessions, the main problems with the page arose. Users would not understand the functionality of the product and the mechanics of how it works. I also discovered that the app was the main driver of curiosity and understanding as the home screen showed well what was happening in the loved ones home.
Going back to the drawing board, I moved the app as the second piece of information on the page and also added interactive elements, where users can play with the app screen itself and understand what the product offering was.
We launched the service section and the Hive Link journey and was a great success with the users. It was a CES 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree on the Tech for Good category.