Designing AI Vision To Stop Burglars Before They Strike

As SimpliSafe’s chosen design and innovation partner, NineTwoThree combined real-time camera motion detection and AI powered alerts to build the product strategy and UI/UX design of the Android and iOS mobile apps, Live Guard Agent monitoring web app, and QA web app. The UI/UX design created by the NineTwoThree team received a patent and is set to become the new standard for the main SimpliSafe app. Together our teams collaborated to increase sales, reduce operational costs and differentiate the app from competition.

Revolutionizing Security with
SimpliSafe's Pre-Crime Detection Service

Concept

SimpliSafe's Pre-Crime Detection Service (PCS) operates by having human agents monitor a live feed from outdoor cameras when the system is armed. When the camera detects a person, its AI and facial recognition algorithms analyze the individual to determine if they are likely to be a stranger. This approach aims to allow SimpliSafe to take proactive measures to prevent a break-in before it occurs, which contrasts with traditional alarm systems that typically only trigger after a home's perimeter has been breached.

The product concept was born from SimpliSafe’s Innovation Lab and NineTwoThree was brought on board to collaborate with the Innovation Lab’s engineering and product team to build out the product structure and UI/UX design of the Android and iOS mobile apps, Live Guard Agent monitoring web app, and QA web app.

The UX/UI design created by the NineTwoThree team received a patent and is set to eventually become the new standard for the main SimpliSafe app as well.

Challenge

Turning a Proof of Concept into Production Design: How to design and architect a new Pre-Crime service in a separate app from the main SimpliSafe app to allow them to validate the market and move quickly, while maintaining the eventual goal of merging the two apps together.

Meeting Business Goals with UI/UX: NineTwoThree’s focus was on developing onboarding processes, in-app tutorials, and a robust UI/UX to clearly convey the benefits of the new Pre Crime Service to both current and prospective SimpliSafe customers. It was also essential that our design communicated how Live Guard Agents monitoring works and set clear expectations for what the homeowner would experience.

Navigating Regulatory Requirements: Operating in a highly regulated industry requires adherence to strict guidelines and protocols. our teams worked closely together to ensure compliance with regulatory standards related to AI face detection and storage and handling of PII while delivering innovative security solutions.

Solution

User Flow Mapping & Architecture

We came alongside the SimpliSafe Innovation team to organize the early Proof of Concept app into an updated and improved user flow. Through in-person multi-day sessions we created a detailed plan together for the updated app and identified sections that needed design iteration rounds.

Branding, Style
& Competitor Differentiation

We created the Pre Crime Service logo, icons and elements after conducting market research to create strategically differentiated branding. We gave close consideration to competitor apps as well as aligning with SimpliSafe branding guidelines.

Wireframing

Our design process involved wire framing keys areas where we needed to do strategic rounds of design iteration to visualize different interaction design ideas. Engineering and product stakeholders joined meetings to give insight into implementation considerations and our team advised on industry best practices.

Production Design

Since this app requires a multi-step set up that interacts with hardware, we utilized the design principle of “show, don’t tell”. Instead of overloading users with information, we strategically utilized in-app tool tips, action triggers, empty states to give users information as they use the app and lead them to delightful moments.

Pre-Launch Usability Testing

Our team created clickable prototype and recruited SimpliSafe customers for usability test sessions. Customers were asked to interact with the prototype and we were able to validate if onboarding effectively communicated the value of the new service, if it was clear how the PCS app would behave alongside their existing SimpliSafe app, and overall usability of the design.

Post-Launch User Feedback Interviews

After the beta app was live with 300 customers for 6 months, we conducted another round of user interviews to uncover opportunities for improvement. The interviews uncovered the motivation behind customer’s purchase of the PCS service, delightful experiences that we could continue to design towards, and usability issues causing user’s to not use certain features or understand the value of the service.

Download SimpliSafe’s
Pre Crime Service to get started

Try the service for yourself!

Designing the End to End System

Live Guard Agent Portal Productization

We revamped and redesigned the initial monitoring web app into a scalable, user-friendly system that reduces the number of clicks, decreases the time spent handling events, and pro-actively prevents errors.
Collaborated with stakeholders to collect feedback and identify gaps, guiding rapid design iterations and development.
Focused on aligning on the agent handling experience to initiate initial development with rapid design and development iterations in parallel with the engineering team.

QA Portal Productization

We developed a new QA tool that enhances visibility and operational efficiency within the feedback cycle while ensuring compliance with legal standards.
We gathered requirements from stakeholders and observed the current QA process to identify opportunities and simplify the workflow.
Created initial product design for short term implementation that integrates with current systems and also planned together a strategic roadmap for future improvements.

How We Worked Together

Engagement Highlights

Met weekly with Innovation Lab Director, Product Manager & development team for progress updates and implementation best practices.
Worked closely with SimpliSafe's internal UI/UX team to ensure branding alignment and share industry-leading practices.
Helped present the value, impact and ROI of the new UI/UX to internal leadership teams.