Presenter: Jonathan Evans, Principal Interaction Designer, Blink Alexa seems to be able control most of our world these days. But how comfortable are people with it listening in on on their morning shower? The U by Moen shower is a luxury device that can be controlled by an app. Blink worked with Moen on the digital experience of the controller and the app, so we were happy to help with the challenge of the voice interaction. However, the interaction couldn't be on the shower itself because of the challenges that would arise with having voice technology within a shower. So we explored how the shower could be controlled with Alexa, Siri, Google Home and Cortona. After doing a survey of products that connect their services to voice, we decided to focus on Alexa while creating an interaction design that would work for all of the various voice assistants. User Research Fortunately, we were experienced in talking to Moen users so we knew who to talk to. But how to capture showering without violating people's privacy? Rather than in-person, we went with a lab setting to make participants more comfortable to share their experience. We didn't try to recreate a shower in the lab, but rather decided to use white boards with the U by Moen attached to them to make the environment one that participants could talk to rather than actually simulating the showering experience. This, combined with a prototype of an Alexa skill, allowed us to capture how users currently use the U by Moen as well as how they would use the voice interaction with it. Interaction Design From the user research, we were able to discern the type of phrases users might try in interacting with the U by Moen and Alexa. This gave us a starting point for creating flows for the interaction. Once the interactions were fleshed out, we were able to determine how Alexa should interact with the users. Development From the interaction design, we knew what we wanted the Alexa skill to do. But in any development process, things don't always work exactly how you want. So we hammered out the interaction with a developed skill that ensured the experience we knew the users wanted from our research. This talk will go more into depth about how people felt about interacting with the shower, the lessons we learned about how to interact with voice assistants, and how you can get people to simulate showering without having to video them in the shower.

1. 17 OCTOBER 2018
THE UX OF
SHOWERING WITH
ALEXA

2. 2

3. ABOUT
ME

4. !44

5. !5

6. ABOUT
BLINK

8. 100+
Who
researchers, designers,
strategists, and
developers
2000
When
founded in
Seattle, WA
4
Where
offices in Austin, Boston,
San Diego, & Seattle
Who We Are

9. Research Strategy Design Build
Our Approach

10. Our Approach Researc Strateg Desig Buil
Blink projects begin with our
teams learning as much as we
can: about how users behave,
what stakeholders need, and as
much context as we can gather.
Activities
Stakeholder Interviews
Contextual Interviews
Diary Studies
Ethnographic Research
Baseline Usability Testing
Research Strategy
Deliverables
Competitive Research
Task Analysis
User Profiles and Personas
UX Audit
Customer Insights

11. Customer
Insights
Trends
Business
Goals
Brand
Values
Our Approach Researc Strateg Desig Buil

12. Our Approach Desig Buil
We combine user research,
brand values, business goals,
and market trends to arrive at a
strategy that serves our clients’
needs now and into the future.
Activities
Product Definition Workshops
Competitive Mapping
Deliverables
Problem and Goal Articulation
Key Insights and Trends
Business Goals
Brand Values
User Journeys
Content Strategy
UX Framework and Pillars
Design Principles
POV and Approach
Researc Strateg

13. UX
Motion Visual
Our Approach Researc Strateg Desig Buil

14. Our Approach Researc Strateg Desig Buil
Our strategy helps us narrow
down multiple concepts.
We design interaction, visual,
and motion as one holistic
gesture. Multiple sources of
feedback elevates our work and
increases confidence in our
design solutions.
Activities
Concept Creation
Sketching
UI Model Alternatives
Wire-framing
Asset Creation
Motion Studies
Evaluative Usability Testing
Deliverables
Signature Experience Concepts
Information Architecture
Workflows
Navigation Schema
Wireframes
Storyboards
Visual Design
Motion Design
Prototypes
Visual Assets

15. Our Approach Researc Strateg Desig Buil
Blink’s deliverables move our
client teams forward: actionable
insights, brand guidelines, and
refined methodologies mean
that Blink’s work last far beyond
a single engagement.
Activities
Requirements Analysis
Technical Architecture
Front-end Development
Summative Usability Testing
UX Beta Evaluation
Deployment Support
Deliverables
Design Guidelines
Design Specifications
Functional Prototypes
API Integrations
Data Visualization

16. Design at

17. Who We Work With

18. Who We Work With

19. ABOUT
BLINK & MOEN

25. ABOUT
VOICE-BASED
ASSISTANTS
& MOEN

27. ConnectSense
+ Apple
SETUP
???
Worth setting up again on another wifi
network, as I couldnʼt fully reset it to
try and capture the flow again.
Connects device directly
to main WiFi without
back-and-forth between
Settings and app to deal
with the deviceʼs
(temporary) WiFi.
Guides (optional)
integration with Homekit
No account required.
Could use permission
priming to make a more
compelling case for allowing
this.
Straight-forward, with clever
WiFi and Home integrations
and no account required.
“Hey Siri, turn on outlet one.”
Could use a hint here:
“Say ‘Hey Siri, turn on
outlet one”

28. Sounds like a toggle.
Confusing.
Awkward.
Whatʼs that password again?
Could be phrased better to
increase trust / decrease
suspicion.
Hue + Amazon
SETUP
Hue lights and Echo previously
installed and now active.
Used online articles.
Sudden dark color
scheme feels jarring.
No clear next step
(“You might say
‘Alexa, dim the
lights in the denʼ”).
(Locations
inherited from
existing setup.)
Many steps, including acquiring
a skill, multistep device
discovery and jarring UI change.
“Alexa, turn off
all the lights.”
Walk over to Hue bridge —>

29. ABOUT
DESIGNING
THE SKILL

30. Voice Commands Exploration
Start Shower
• [A.I. NAME], open Moen, and turn on [LOCATION].
• [A.I. NAME], open Moen, and turn on [LOCATION] to [temperature].
• [A.I. NAME], open Moen, and turn on [LOCATION] to [Preset name].
Increase Temperature
• [A.I. NAME], open Moen, and set [LOCATION] to [Preset 1].
• [A.I. NAME], open Moen, set the temperature [in LOCATION] to 100
degrees.
• [A.I. NAME], open Moen, heat up [in LOCATION].
• [A.I. NAME], open Moen, turn up the temperature [in LOCATION].
• [A.I. NAME], open Moen, turn up the temperature [in LOCATION].
• (after previous adjustment) [A.I. NAME], hotter.
Decrease Temperature
• [A.I. NAME], open Moen, cool off [in LOCATION].
• [A.I. NAME], open Moen, turn down the temperature [in LOCATION].
• [A.I. NAME], open Moen, decrease temperature [in LOCATION] by 10
percent.
• [A.I. NAME], open Moen, increase heat/temperature [in LOCATION]
by 10 percent.
• [A.I. NAME], open Moen, turn down the temperature [in LOCATION].
Change Shower Ou
• [A.I. NAME], ope
• [A.I. NAME], ope
• [A.I. NAME], ope
• [A.I. NAME], ope
Stop Shower
• [A.I. NAME], ope
Shower Status
• [A.I. NAME], ope
• [A.I. NAME], ope
• [A.I. NAME], ope
to?
Change Presets
• [A.I. NAME], ope
LOCATION] to 10
• [A.I. NAME], ope
LOCATION] for c

31. High Level Flows
Download
App
Moen Account
Setup
App/Controller
Wireless Setup
Alexa App
Home
Alexa App
Smart Home
Alexa App
Smart Home
Skills (Enable)
Alexa App
Smart Home
Skills (List/
Search)
Alexa App
Smart Home
Skills: Moen
Website
Moen Login
Website
Moen Alexa
Approval
Website
Amazon Alexa
Confirmation
Alexa App
Smart Home
Device
Discovery
Alexa App
Smart Home
Devices
“[A.I.], open
Moen, and
turn on
[LOCATION].”
“[A.I.], open
Moen, turn up
the temperature
[in LOCATION].”
“[A.I.], open
Moen, turn down
the temperature
[in LOCATION].”
“[A.I.], open
Moen, and turn
on [LOCATION] to
[temperature].”
Greeting
screen
Processing
screen:
different
temperatures
Processing
screen:
different
temperatures
Greeting
screen
Shower warm-
up flow
Processing
screen: same
temperatures
Processing
screen: same
temperatures
Shower warm-
up flow
Shower ready
notification
In-shower
display
In-shower
display
Shower ready
notification
In-shower
display
In-shower
temperature
display
Turn On - Console and App
Turn Up Temperature - Console and App Turn Down Temperature - Console and App
Turn On to Temperature - Console and App Turn
Voice
Controller
Setup
Voice Control
Default screen
In-shower
display
In-shower
display
Default screen Defa
Voice Controller Setup (Amazon)
Voice Control
Starting a Shower
Adjusting Temperature
“[A.I.], open
Moen, [Preset
name] [in
LOCATION].”
Change Temperature to Preset - Console and Ap
Change Temperature from Preset - Console and App
In-shower
display

32. Shower ready notification takes over the screen when the target
temperature is reached.
Shower Warm-up flow
Greeting shows on screen as it transitions to the shower warm-up flow
Starting a Shower
“[A.I.], open Moen, and turn on
[LOCATION].”

34. Alexa, open Moen.
Welcome to Moen. What would you like
me to do with your shower?
Okay. Do you have a preset or temperature
you’d like for your shower?
Okay. Warming up to 105 degrees. Enjoy
your shower!
Turn it on.
What temperature or preset would you like?
Yes.
Workout.
Alexa, open Moen, and turn on.
Welcome to Moen. Do you have a preset
or temperature you’d like your shower at?
Okay. Warming up to 100 degrees. Enjoy
your shower!
Yes
Do you have a preset or temperature you’d
like for your shower?
No.
Step-by-step to Workout preset. Turn on to default.
Al
Tur
Alexa, open Moen, and turn on.
Welcome to Moen. Do you have a preset
or temperature you’d like your shower at?
Okay. Warming up to 106 degrees. Enjoy
your shower!
What temperature or preset would you like?
Yes
106 degrees.
Turn on to 106 degrees.
Alexa, open Moen, and turn on Workout.
Welcome to Moen. Warming up to
Workout. Enjoy your shower!
Turn on to a preset.
3rd

36. ABOUT
RESEARCHING
THE SKILL

37. Study included:
• Understanding shower control habits and voice-based
smart assistant interaction expectations.
• Tasks based on potential voice interactions.
• Discovering particularly salient elements of the
simulated experience.

40. !40

42. Participants
• Mix of men and women
• Range of ages (35 to 60)
• Range of incomes ($100K to $200K and Up)
• Single-family homeowners
• Planning remodel of kitchen or bathroom within the next six
months, or had remodel done in the past year
• Own a smartphone and connected home device

43. [Associating the device with Alexa]
is really straightforward — just as I
thought it would be.
“

44. I don’t see that you’d have multiple
accounts for the showerhead, but
there could be.
“

45. We don’t currently have a Dot. We
do spend most of our time in the
kitchen area [where we keep our
Echo]. We’d never move the Echo
from that area. But I could see
buying and putting a Dot [near the
shower area].
“

46. Just really concerned overall about
electrical in the shower. Both for
product failure and the possibility of
getting shocked. It seems like an
electrical device fails every couple
weeks, and I don’t want another
device in the house I have to
replace.
“

47. We have heated floors in the
bathroom. That has a touchscreen
and an app. At some point, we are
getting all of these devices in the
bathroom. … We have four touch
panels in the bathroom. Can I put
them in the drawer somewhere so I
don’t have to see them?
“

48. I would find it really sad if I could
not rename the outlet.
“

49. Each child has their own bathroom.
So we have four bathrooms with
showers. … I have to say, I didn’t
realize how long it would take to
clean them when we decided to
have them put in.
“

50. Cortana on Xbox is not on all the
time. Not until I say ‘Xbox.’ I don’t
like the idea of Alexa because it’s
on all the time.
“

51. Investigate if the voice-based smart
assistants will allow skill/activation word
“shower."
Recommendations
Allow for as many options as possible for
starting the shower via the voice-based
smart assistants.
Allow users to name the showerheads in
the app to be used by voice-based smart
assistants.

52. ABOUT
ALEXA SKILL
DEVELOPMENT

54. Turn on shower:
‘{|please|to}{begin|start|turn}{|on}{|the}{|shower}’
Turn off shower:
‘{|to}{|turn|stop|shut|close}{|down|off}{|the}{|shower}’
Turn on to preset:
‘{|please|to}{begin|start|turn}{|on|to}{|the}{|shower|preset}{|-|PRESETNAME}’
Change temperature:
‘{|to}{turn|warm|increase|lower|decrease}{|down|up|on}{|the}{|water}{|
temperature}{|to|by}{|-|NUMBEROFDEGREES}{|degrees}’
Change outlets:
‘{turn|change|switch}{|on|off}{|the}{|showerhead|outlet}{|-|OUTLETNUMBER}
{|on|off}’

55. USER INTENT
Start shower.
A.I. RESPONSE
[CHIMES] Do you have a preset or
temperature for your SmartShower?
A.I. RESPONSE
[CHIMES] Adjusting to [Indicated or Preset
Temperature]. Enjoy your SmartShower!
ALEXA RESPONSE
Adjusting to [Indicated or Preset
Temperature]. Enjoy your SmartShower!
Indicated
temperature or
preset?
NO
Preset exists?
NO
YES
A.I. RESPONSE
I’m sorry. [RESPONSE] is not a preset. Do you
have another preset or temperature for
your SmartShower?
YES
Indicated
temperature or
preset?
NO
YES
A.I. RESPONSE
Adjusting to 100 degrees. Enjoy your
SmartShower!
Is the
temperature
above min
degrees?
NO
YES
Is the
temperature
below max
degrees?
NO
YES
A.I. RESPONSE
I’m sorry. [RESPONSE] is not a temperature
between [Min = 40?] and [Max = 115?]. Do
you have another preset or temperature for
your SmartShower?

58. ABOUT
MOEN’S LAUNCH

62. ABOUT
THE FUTURE
OF RESEARCH

66.
THANK YOU
Jonathan Evans
Principal Interaction Designer
jonathan@blinkux.com

67. Q&A
!67