“Field research conducted by Diane proved to be invaluable in understanding the problem set faced by security personnel in various aspects of their jobs.”
—DAVID STEELE, Director of Innovation, Arcturus Networks
Background
Arcturus Networks approached me to give their Proof of Concept a facelift for a major client presentation and investor pitches but they were also curious to see what a UX designer could bring to their software development process. Through vision analytics and edge computing, we wanted to see how might we help security professionals work smarter and faster?
MY ROLE
Design the UI for the proof of concept to present to potential partners and investors and lead the research design process in which we connect our product to our end users.
KEY OUTCOMES
• A greater sense of our user's work, their environments, and the challenges faced within large security camera networks
• Validated assumptions and pain points highlighting how we might alleviate those pains with what differentiated our product from the competition
• Design made with intention and ownership rather than simply mimicking the competition
Research methods used
• Interviews
• Personas
• Journey Mapping
• Competitive Analysis
• Personas
• Journey Mapping
• Competitive Analysis
team of Four
• UX Researcher and Designer
• Director of Innovation
• Software Engineer
• Embedded Computer Vision Software Developer
• Director of Innovation
• Software Engineer
• Embedded Computer Vision Software Developer
TIMELINE
5 weeks
PLATFORM
Desktop browser to start
Client product page
www.arcturusnetworks.com/products/vision
Research
Our original proto persona of a security guard.
Goal
Our main challenge was gain a better understanding of the people who worked in large building and public transportation security systems.
Process
I interviewed people who worked in security and public safety and was able to speak to several control operators who worked in public transportation to gain a deeper understanding of how security cameras are used in their work.
Fleshed out personas based on my research, takeaways across security and public safety the ecosystem, and key takeaways within the public transportation space. Images from Unsplash from left to right: by Adi Goldstein, Trent Erwin, and Matt Popovich.
Takeaways
• Control operators are generally actively monitoring of screens while security professionals are more likely to use footage to verify incidents after the fact
• Shifts can be gruellingly long in public transportation and very demanding
• Video data retrieval can be very sluggish in large building and public transportation systems affecting user ability to locate footage across many cameras and act quickly
• Control operators are operating under very high stakes, needing to make quick decisions and coordinate action across a team of people
Journey mapping exercise with the product manager to gain a better understanding of the pressures on the job.
More journey mapping exercises exploring the different experiences of our users created after research.
ResultS
This research helped develop a greater sense of the urgency and struggles in our user's work as well as the impact of their work on public safety.
Design
I filtered my research into Design Principles to help us create our proof of concept with more intention rather than simply mimicking the competition.
Task flows outlining what we wanted to demonstrate in our Proof of Concept.
I had four key workflows to design for our client demonstration that showcased our technological developments and how we would use it to help security professionals work more efficiently.
I created quick paper prototypes to test on the team, made small adjustments based on their feedback, then moved to a higher fidelity for our client demonstration.
Sketches and paper wireframes
Low fidelity UI illustrating flow of how Machine Vision detects specific behaviour to record and alert security professionals of potential incidents for them to take action in the moment or after the fact.
Different alarm states to try to encourage users to take note in case their attention is elsewhere.
Our proof of concept
Live Camera as main view and minimized while a user might review footage
Alarm notifications and button states to ensure security professionals know when it is imperative to pay attention.
What I Learned
• To own and lead the UX process taking the initiative in order to understand the user and to strive to go deeper any which way I can
• That empathy extends beyond the users to both the business and the engineering team who require different deliverables
• That when you lead with passion for learning, inspiration will follow
