IOT Indoor Air Quality App
Making air fresh
How healthy is your air?
According to the WHO, Indoor air quality (IAQ) is one of the leading contributors to lung disease/health. Given that we spend over 80% of our time indoors, maintaining good indoor air quality is paramount to good health.
For most people, there is no way of really knowing the indoor air quality of one’s spaces, save for relying on one’s sense of smell and visual indicators, such as smoke. With Blue Sky’s smart IOT indoor air quality sensors, one can easily see one’s IAQ data visualized on an app, with graphs displaying overall IAQ, humidity, temperature, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), PM2.5 levels.
In April 2020, I was in charge of developing the IAQ app for Blue Sky’s clients.
Role: sole UX designer leading IAQ project, working with 2 Masters’ students for IAQ research, and other internal stakeholders, including CEO/founder, data scientist, software developer and operations
Scope: Various locations, such as offices, kindergartens, youth centers, hostels, and elderly centers, at Hong Kong Christian Service, Hong Kong Playground Association, Hong Kong Youth Association, and Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Association.
User Research
Goal: to understand users’ thoughts, attitudes and actions towards indoor air quality
Site Visits
Site visits at 8 different locations – to understand the artefacts and physical context of where IAQ sensors will be placed
User Interviews
Interviews, with testing of a mid-fi prototype made on Whimsical – to understand what users think, feel and do about indoor air quality
Competitors’ Analysis
Competitors analysis done on Mural – to understand the ‘baseline’ of an IAQ app, and identify opportunities for providing an even better UX
Site Visits & User Interviews
Format: site visit + 45 minute user interview + showing the user a mid-fi prototype for their feedback. 1 stakeholder (founder/CEO, data scientist, operations associate, or software developer) sat in each interview, to increase the team’s overall empathy
MacPherson Stadium 旺角麥花臣場館
HKPA Youth Center 旺角香港遊樂場協會 優才發展及交流中心
North Point Youth Center 北角樂Teen會
HKPA Jockey Club Silvermine Bay Camp 梅窩賽馬會銀礦灣營
Solar Tower 馬灣太陽館
United Christian Medical Service Nursery School 觀塘基督教聯合醫務協會幼兒學校
Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association 深水埗香港基督教女青年會雲華護理安老苑
Competitors’ Analysis
I also looked at competitor IAQ apps to understand the current landscape. These apps include Awair Home, Awair Business, Honeywell, HIKE, Kaiterra and Foobot. From doing this analysis, I learnt that:
All apps had a data visualization of IAQ trends, with specific visualizations for each IAQ parameter
However, most apps don’t have the capability to predict IAQ conditions
Most apps do not consider how outdoor air quality affects indoor air quality
There are no actionable tips for improving indoor air quality
Implications on the design? The Blue Sky’s IAQ app should fulfill the bare minimum of real-time data visualizations, but also meet uncatered needs, such as displaying the status of OAQ, and providing action tips.
Key User Insights
After completing the user interviews, our team had an affinity diagramming session. We pasted sticky notes on our office’s wall, allowing us to digest and synthesize the insights together. Since there was a non-UX stakeholder in every interview, this also allowed us to discuss the interviews together. From there, I was able to develop two main personas: the site managers, and visitors.
What are users’ attitudes towards IAQ?
Users generally felt that the IAQ is acceptable, barring special circumstances:
Occasional smells (e.g. at elderly centers)
Paint & dust from recent renovations
Teargas
What is IAQ, in the eyes of our users?
Users’ understanding of IAQ is limited to:
Smells
Allergies
Stuffiness and humidity (‘焗唔焗’）
Temperature
What actions do people generally take to improve IAQ?
In general, users take these actions to improve IAQ:
Open windows
Turn on AC
Turn on dehumidifier
Turn on air purifier
What affects IAQ at their location?
In the eyes of our users, these factors affect IAQ:
1. Car exhaust
2. Smells (e.g. kitchen, toilet, etc)
3. Poor ventilation
4. Generalized outdoor pollution (e.g. teargas)
5. Too many people
6. Weather
User Personas
User Journey
Key Design Implications
Mobile App
Build foundational knowledge of IAQ, beyond what users already know
Explain different IAQ parameters (especially VOCs, PM2.5, CO2)
Display data in a user-friendly way
Compare data with recognized IAQ/OAQ standards, such as Hong Kong’s Environment Protection Department
Indicate how OAQ affects IAQ
Indicate seasonal differences of IAQ
Action Tips & Notifications
Action Tips should:
Suggest concrete actions for improving IAQ that users don’t already do
Possible ideas include: reducing nasal allergies, reducing odors, humidity, NASA-approved houseplants that improve IAQ, IAQ product recommendations
Be relatively inexpensive and easy-to-implement
Allow you to find out the source of bad IAQ
In-person User Engagement
After synthesizing the main user insights, I facilitated an ideation session with the CEO/founder, software developers, operations staff, and data scientist to brainstorm offline engagement ideas for improving IAQ. Our discussion was based on the following HMW questions:
1. How might we give site managers or frontline staff a heads up before indoor air quality turns bad?
2. How might we improve a location’s indoor air quality in a cheap and easy way?
3. How might we make site managers or frontline staff familiar with IAQ improvement measures?
Conclusion: workshops, formal company policy / KPI with operation guidelines, promotional posters, and ambassadors
Prototyping & Testing
Prototyping
I made sketches of the prototype, which was developed into a mid-fi version on Whimsical. The design was presented to the interviewees for their feedback. In general, feedback was positive. Users suggested improving the information architecture of the Action Tips 行動貼士 page for better accessibility, and adding data on outdoor air quality to see how its effect on IAQ.
Usability Test
A hi-fi prototype was developed on Figma based on feedback from internal stakeholders and interviewees. Three users were selected. Due to Covid-19, one usability test was done remotely on Google Hangouts. Overall response with positive, with a few key suggestions given by users to improve the UI for better visual communication.
Format
The usability test had 8 tasks, which focused on the ease-of-understanding of data visualizations and finding action tips. Follow-up questions were asked at the end of each test.
Full Script
The full script with feedback can be accessed here. Names have been anonymized for confidentiality.
Final Output & Design
Hi-fi prototype, 90+ action tips, 5+ notification types
App Design
Data pulled from indoor air quality sensors, Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department’s Air Quality Health Index, as well as HKUST PRAISE-HK’s 24 hour outdoor air quality forecast
Click on the image for the interactive prototype
Notifications
5+ notifications in Chinese and English, developed with 2 HKU Master of Public Health students under my supervision
“Carbon dioxide levels at {location} were high for the past hour. High carbon dioxide levels can make you sleepy, less productive and decrease cognitive scores by 50% according to research studies. ”
“VOC levels at {location} were abnormally high for the past hour. Excess VOCs can affect cognitive functions, such as problem-solving and decision making. ”
Action Tips
90+ action tips in Chinese and English, developed with 2 HKU Master of Public Health students under my supervision
“NASA recommends installing bamboo, ivy, snakeplants and more than 8 other house plants to purify air and remove carbon dioxide.”
安裝竹子，常春藤或其他由NASA推薦的八種室內植物可以提供更多的氧氣，同時還可以幫助除去空氣中的二氧化碳。
“Essential oils reduce stress and can inhibit the growth of airborne bacteria by disrupting its cell membrane. Turn on your essential oil diffuser to clear up your mind and improve air quality.”
香精油不僅有鎮靜作用，也有可以透過破壞細菌膜來抑制空氣傳播的細菌生長。打開您的精由擴散器，以清理心情並改善空氣品質。
“To neutralize your fridge’s bad odors, place freshly ground coffee grinds in your fridge. ”
用咖啡渣可以去除冰箱中的異味。