XD5002 Design Document - Amazon Alexa App Redesign

Amazon Alexa (Android)
The app I have chosen as my final area of study is the Amazon Alexa
app. This app is essentially a controller for the Amazon Alexa smart
home system and as such is targeted to a young adult demographic
primarily, with a key requisite being that they are users of the Amazon
Alexa ecosystem. A key competitor is Google Home, which is the app
for the rival Google Home smart home system.
The features that worked well for the app include the tutorial cards,
alarms and reminders, smart device control, music and audiobook
integration, alongside communication with the Alexa assistant directly
from the app. First of all, the tutorial cards are important as they allow
users to be able to understand the various functions of Alexa and get
the most out of their use of the system – improving interaction quality.
The ability to adjust alarms and reminders is useful as it allows the
end-user to see if there has been any miscommunicated actions or
alarms set (avoiding potential functionality issues), the smart device
control is useful for linking other non-Alexa devices such as smart
lights, thermostats and plugs, as well as allowing for grouping of
devices (allowing users to be able to set customised defaults, timers as
well as control all their devices from one app). Music and Audiobook
integration ties into their Amazon Music service nicely (successfully
horizontally integrating the service into the user experience cross
platform). Finally, access to the Alexa assistant is useful for when users
are out of range of a smart device but still wish to control their home –
allowing for greater interaction with the Alexa system.
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In spite of the benefits, there were however some potential issues with
the interface. For example: the layout of certain menus isn’t the most
intuitive. This is evidenced with the settings area where all the items
are just placed in a list which isn’t easily navigable due to the extensive
number of options. This hinders the usability of the solution as
particularly for new or less technologically literate people, this can be
quite confusing (which limits the app from reaching another potential
demographic of elderly people – where for them a digital assistant
could prove quite useful in setting reminders for instance). Another key
issue is that information isn’t easily visible from when you launch the
app as the only information on the home screen is the weather and
then the tutorial cards of what you can ask Alexa, a more useful use
of this space could be to allow you to control smart devices directly
from this screen without having to go to a separate page (hence cutting
down on the time needed to access vital information). Finally, another
potential criticism from an aesthetical point is that while the dark UI of
the app is clear and logical, it doesn’t have a very homely feel to using
it – which again doesn’t really feel warm and inviting to the end user
(particularly those who are less tech savvy) and somewhat contradicts
the fact that the app and system are meant to integrate with your
home.