IoT solutions
Best UI/UX Design Practices for IoT Apps
IoT, Internet of Things, has
become one of the most talked technologies of the 21st century. It has
drastically changed our lives from how we manage and operate our homes to
automating jobs across nearly all industries. But before talking about IoT, let
us briefly discuss how the advent of the internet has remodeled our lives.
Earlier, when there was no
internet, mobile phones were just used to answer a call or send a text, but
with the arrival of the internet and smartphones, the game has completely
changed. From ordering your favorite food and clothes online to paying all your
bills and expenses via e-wallet apps to sharing important business documents,
the internet has made everything so simple and easy. Everything seems so easy
which was not possible earlier. Be it a desktop or mobile phone, everything
that you use these days is connected to the internet. Especially for
entrepreneurs, the internet has changed the way a business operates, and these
days more and more businesses are looking for a company offering proficient product
engineering services, to get a smart and innovative solution
developed.
What is IoT?
The term 'Internet of Things' was coined in 1999 by Kevin Ashton, but before this technology made its way to our life it has evolved a lot. IoT is all about extending the power of the internet beyond desktops and smartphones to a whole new range of other things and environments. It facilitates various devices to interact and collaborate from each other’s experiences just like humans do. IoT enables business automation and hence, reducing the labor cost.
IoT solutions are
everywhere around us. From smart home appliances to wearables to healthcare and
a lot more. Amazon's Echo and Google Home are also the examples of IoT, which
we use at our home and connect to the outside world. This technology is known
to bridge the gap between the digital and the physical world.
Going by the statistics, in a
single year, the number of internet-connected devices went from 5 million to
billions. Also, as per Business Insider Intelligence, approximately 24 billion
IoT devices would be installed by the year 2020, generating revenue of over
around 300 billion. Also, as per the business analysts, the IoT market is
expected to show accelerated growth in the coming years, and it is estimated
that there will be approx. 64 billion IoT connected devices by the year 2025.
The Must-Haves in IoT UI/UX Design
Having an app that offers an
intuitive user experience is a must, and the same goes for IoT apps. Designing
creative and attractive IoT apps can be quite challenging as there are too many
complexities involved. But you must hire UI/UX designer
that can solve this issue.
UI/UX for IoT includes more than
what the standard paths and tricks required to design a website since you won’t
just be designing the actions your users take. The most important thing to keep
in mind while designing these futuristic products is personalization. Users
must be able to integrate all of their IoT devices. Creating UI/UX design for
IoT mobile applications is quite delicate, hence, one needs to consider the
following UX design decisions when creating a new, totally in-the-real-world Internet
of Things solutions.
Also Read: 101
Guide to IoT: All You Need to Know Before You Start with This Technology
So, without wasting much time, let's see some of the must-haves of UI/UX design tips for IoT apps.
User Experience
When creating the design for IoT
applications with multiple groups of end-users, it is important to take care of
the user’s experience. Businesses that do not take user experience too
seriously are unable to retain their users. It is essential to target the
audience and understand what kind of experience those customers are seeking.
Just having UI is not enough, if users can’t easily access, control, and
interact with your IoT solution, it will fail. The development team
working on it should always focus on engaging consumers and providing value in
the first three clicks or actions.
Data Management
The existence of IoT devices
revolves around a good internet connection. A designer needs to keep in mind
the prowess of data science and what to do to generate the relevant actionable
insights for stakeholders. IoT developers must ensure that the network services
are not crowded or have a poor connection. Developers must choose much safer
options like HTTP, MQTT, and CoAP.
Security at the forefront
Web development
companies need to design IoT solutions smartly keeping security in mind.
Though no one expects them to act as an expert in this area they should be
considering the basics and continuing to advocate for the user by designing
with security in mind. Since the app interacts directly with the internet,
hacked is a loose term when you do not secure your devices. Hence, you need to
focus more on architecture security so that any data breach won’t endanger the
user as well as tarnish the company's name.
Interface
Customers always strive to have
some unifying elements in their IoT devices so that they can intuitively
navigate the functions of each product with little knowledge of it. No one
wants to spend their time reading the 100 pages of the manual. For example, in
Amazon Echo, the top 4 buttons, itself explains the functionality of the
device.
Smart Notifications
There's a slight difference
between valuable and irritating when it comes to push notifications. A few
irrelevant pings are sufficient to make a client turn them off totally. This
is, indeed, a major test of planning user experience and UI for IoT ventures.
On some occasions, these mobile notifications come really handy as it
facilitates users to simply respond to the events quickly, which is an
incredible advantage of versatile innovation. Then again, companies offering IoT
development services should ensure all warnings are for sure significant,
otherwise, users start ignoring them.
Context also plays a significant
function in settling on plan choices for these notifications. Based on factors
like area, time, individual timetable, notifications can be quieted or
enhanced.
Also Read: The
Future of IoT - An Era of Ubiquitous Network
Responsiveness of the UI
At times you also need to do extensive testing across different browsers like Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer; different tablets like the iPad and Microsoft Surface; and different phones including varied models of iPhones and Androids as many IoT solutions use a dashboard to provide the user with information and insights. When designing UX and UI for IoT app, it is important to ensure the dashboard shows exactly the data that a user needs and should work flawlessly across all the devices. Which is why it is important to hire an experienced mobile app designer to make it happen.
Takeaway
IoT is a fast-developing and growing
sector. Hence, companies need to scale up end-user tools and create clever IoT
application design models for different sets of devices. There is no set of
rules, hence designers need to work with a continuous process of the trial so
that they can be a part of this revolution. Considering the above-mentioned
points and with the help of an IT
consulting company, you can successfully launch your IoT devices. This is a
mobile age and everyone wants to get access to the maximum that is possible at
any time and from any place. Thus, the goal of creating a homogenous
environment for natural, seamless interactions between a user and a system is
necessary, and IoT devices are just for this.