Ericsson IoT Studio

Designing for Internet of Things

#ProfessionalExperience #UXDesign

Jul 2020 - Jan 2021

At Ericsson IoT Studio, we discover new business opportunities about Internet of Things (IoT) enabled by 5G. We bring in new ideas, design business models, make prototypes, and establish partnerships.

As the UX Designer in the team, I:

lead user research activites,
ideate, prototype, and design minimal viable products (MVPs,)
and visually explain the user experience to various audience, especially customers, partners, and investors.

Designing for IoT systems means there are multiple devices used in multiple contexts, usually by more than one users. I find it useful to:

think in systems, refer to tools for service design, define the overall goal and dissect it for each individual user and context
design with the whole product lifecycle in mind

Here are some examples of how I work on the IoT projects.

1. UX Research

To ensure the usefulness of user-friendly IoT solutions, I lead UX activities for the team to lay solid foundations.

Asset tracking

To build a cellular-based asset tracking solution for a customer journey, I did UX competitive analysis and other UX activities.

2. Ideation & Storytelling

I ideate with my teammates, and present the solution concepts and user experiences visually to pitch investors and customers.

PoV camera

To pitch the internal incubator a Point Of View (POV) camera concept that provides video service using 5G and data streaming technologies for stadiums, sports arena, and other team exercises, I drew two storyboards showing fan experience during sports events.

Grab N Go endcap

To reduce shrinkage of Gillette products in retail stores, we pitched an endcap with cashierless checkout functionality to be placed in Walgreens.

I brainstormed possible features with my teammates, and presented rendered drawings to the customer.

3. Prototyping

Either to explain the user experience with higher fidelity, or to build an MVP, I define the user flows and craft the user interfaces.

Consumer experience of the Grab N Go cashierless chackout solution:

Scan, Pick, Confirm, and Enjoy.

Grab N Go vendor app

We first planned to launch Grab N Go, a cashierless checkout solution, as an alternative to vending machines operated by small merchants.

How does a merchant restock a such GNG machine?

I designed this prototype in a three-day exercise to showcase a sample flow.

User Persona: A vending machine owner in San Diego, CA

User Task: Refill a GNG machine selling beauty products for beach-related uses (see video to walk through)

4. Visual Communication

I also create graphic designs sometimes to communicate messages visually. They help to grab interests and open up conversations.

5G Benefits in one slide

For a customer value discovery project, we needed to briefly explain the advantages of 5G over Wi-Fi in certain contexts to customers unfamiliar with 5G before starting the conversations.

I made a one-slide summary of the benefits of 5G, that explains complex technological concepts in a simple way

Illustration explorations

I also explored ways to illustrate the messages with Ericsson’s visual language. These on-brand images can be used in reports and decks.

Here are some abstract, early explorations that were not continued.