CALL BOX REDESIGN
The Problem
Everyone knows how frustrating it is to drive up to a gated community call box and not know how it works.
It’s even worse when the call box causes so many issues with entry that the city government requires management to keep the gates open during the day to accommodate traffic build up on the main road outside the community. 
User Research
Methods and Predictions
My initial prediction was that the callboxes needed to be reprogrammed to be as simple as possible to operate. No more special buttons to press before entering gate codes, no more special symbols required to enter contractor codes, just a new database to make operation from the car a no-brainer.
Five interviews were conducted online and in person. Twenty usability tests tests were conducted in person: ten using the old system and ten using the redesigned system. |
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Interview Highlights
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Interview Findings
User frustrations weren't the only concern...
When call box operation was slow, cars built up at the gates and bled out into the adjacent road, blocking the flow of traffic on public roads. 
When entry at the call box consistently caused issues with traffic buildup, the complex disabled the gates throughout the day, leaving the community open to any and all public entry. Yikes!
Persona
Storyboarding
For anyone unfamiliar with what operating a confusing call box feels like on a personal level, let's take a moment to walk in the shoes of someone who understands all too well...
       Competitive Analysis
So many apartment communities have different call box operations. No wonder it is such a hassle for people to operate them. Everything is SO INCONSISTENT!
What I got completely wrong initially was suggesting to reprogram the call boxes to simplify the operation of entering access codes. Upon further research, I found the task of reprogramming codes in the system was extremely time consuming. Thankfully, there is a much simpler solution: fix the onboarding screen.
Usability
Old Onboarding Experience
1) Community name nice and big. Great clarity.
2) Searching by name via arrows or A/Z buttons is the one universal feature of every call box system. What about the confusing operation: keying in access codes? 3) ARROW buttons are on the keypad and their function is described on screen. Having redundant visual ARROWS on the screen clutters up visual space. If necessary, they need to shrink. 4) What’s with the “i” symbol? More information? Must not be important. I’m in a rush. I’ll just try and figure it out. Old Onboarding Experience Cont.
So THIS is what’s behind the extra info screen. There’s so much to look at sitting in your car with a line building up behind you. No one is going to read all of this.
Wireframe Sketches
We need an onboarding screen that:
1) is easy to read 2) gives users the most important information first 3) invites users to seek more information if time and interest permits After sketching out a few different variations, a new onboarding experience was crowned king. Low Fidelity Wireframes
New Onboarding Experience
1) Moved name up to make better use of space.
2) Short, focused instruction front and center. Text has also been enlarged for better viewing from a car window. 3) ARROW buttons have not been resized smaller. The larger size fits with the rest of the newly sized visual elements. 4) The “i” symbol has been resized to be smaller. New Onboarding Experience Cont.
The text on the information screen has been enlarged and culled to be more readable and less visually dense. Nothing repeats. Only what is necessary.
User Flow
Prototyping and Usability Testing
To test the old call box experience, I used real world and prototype experiences. I went to the actual call box at the gated community and timed users operating the call box as they attempted to gain access using a resident code.
To test the NEW call box experience, I mocked up digital prototypes and timed users attempting to gain access to the community using the redesigned call box interface.
Measuring Success
With the old onboarding experience and accompanying info screen, the average time needed for ten users to gain entry using a resident code was 45.6 seconds.
With the newly redesigned onboarding experience, the average time needed for ten users to gain entry using a resident code was 26.8 seconds. That’s an astonishing 41.2% decrease in time needed to gain entry into the community! Let's take another look at the traffic diagram...
It only takes four vehicles to stretch from the call box to the main road. At its worst, residents reported the gate has been backed up during the summer as much as nine vehicles. This means that by cutting wait times almost in half, not only would the traffic jam problem be dramatically reduced during peak visiting hours, for non-peak visiting hours it would essentially be completely resolved!
Conclusion
A newly redesigned onboarding experience at this gated community would:
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Other Case Studies
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