iRobot:
Driving design decisions for a home robot app redesign
Project at a Glance
The problem:
iRobot, the maker of Roomba vacuums and Braava mops, initially launched its app with limited insight into customer needs, cleaning habits, and the role of home robots. The app, which controls the entire robot portfolio, also faced constraints in adding new features and handling complexity.
The solution:
A iRobot app redesign, which touched on all aspects of the digital experience. The resulting redesign drove $12+million/year in revenue.
My role:
Lead UX Researcher (sole UX Researcher leading all studies and sprints)
Team size:
Collaborated closely with 3-5 UX Designers (varied per sprint) and a Product Manager
Timeline:
5 months
• Discovery Research: 3.5 months (14 one-week design sprints)
• Definition Research: 1.5 months (8 one-week design sprints)
• Validation research followed these phases but is not covered in this case study
Skills Design:
Interviews, concept testing, usability testing, card sorting, co-design/participatory design, desirability studies, preference testing, study design, rapid research, cross-functional collaboration, driving studies/sprints end-to-end, socializing results among stakeholders, project management
Tools:
Figma, Powerpoint, Google docs and slides, Airtable
Watch the promotional video showcasing the new, redesigned iRobot app.
iRobot lacked insight into how users viewed cleaning, robotic devices, and their place in everyday life.
The existing app felt outdated and restricted, limiting new features and enhancements that needed to be prioritized.
The Goal
Redesign the iRobot app from the ground up, beginning with exploratory research to understand users' motivations, behaviors, and preferences related to home cleaning.
A total of 85 participants took part in the research, with weekly sessions including 6 live interviews.
Each week, 3-4 participants owned robotic vacuums, while 2-3 did not but matched the target demographics for potential customers.
However, we had intense timeline constraints. The team was expected to release a major and complete overhaul of the app and digital experience by the end of the year, so all cross-disciplinary teams were moving quickly.
We adapted Google's "Design Sprint" for UX Discovery Research.
Typically, the research was planned in a matter of 2-3 days, executed in 1 day, then analyzed and debriefed in the remaining day.
This rapid cadence kept the organization engaged and moving quickly through concepts, ideas, and able to see emergent themes from week to week.
I gave a lightning talk on this process at a UXPA community event.
As the Lead UX Researcher for this initiative, I was solely responsible for:
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RESEARCH
Led all the discovery and definition research, including live interviews and synthesis of user insights
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DESIGN LEADERSHIP
Directed UX designers on research-driven design decisions, guiding the creation of wireframes and prototypes based on findings
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SOFT SKILLS
Led design sprints, drove stakeholder alignment, and managed cross-functional collaboration to ensure research insights informed the entire process
Phase 1, Define: User Research
Our story began with stakeholder and user discovery interviews and an internal audit where we discovered the membership sign up user journey needed some love.
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1. People relate to their robot as a partner, and they see trust as the foundation of that partnership.
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2. Routine disruptions limit the value of time-based scheduling features.
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3. Users seek relief from both the physical and mental demands of cleaning.
Phase 2, Define: Synthesis
The qualitative insights from our interviews led to the development of several personas (redacted for privacy), each representing a distinct type of home cleaner with unique behaviors, motivations, and psychographics.
These insights also helped define the iRobot app's value proposition for the first time:
The redesigned iRobot app eases the burden of floor cleaning while being flexible enough to fit seamlessly into various lifestyles, homes, and schedules.
Phase 3, Develop: Ideation & Prototyping
The foundational qualitative insights enabled me and the designers to collaboratively brainstorm features that
aligned with users' mental models of their robots' functions and preferred cleaning behaviors.
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For instance, users indicated that trust would be built if their robot demonstrated reasonable intelligence and consistent cleaning patterns over time. This insight guided the development of actionable cleaning recommendations that users could choose to accept or decline within the app.
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Feedback about the need for relief from the physical and mental burdens of cleaning inspired the "favorites" feature - pre-programmed cleaning tasks that could be activated with a single tap.
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When participants mentioned that disruptions in their schedules limited the value of traditional scheduling tools, we created flexible (if/then) cleaning triggers.
The design evolved at each stage of the process, continuously integrating user feedback gathered from testing.
Phase 4, Deliver: User Testing
The addition of a "favorites" feature was entirely new and evolved throughout the app's development.
It wasn’t part of the original design, but it quickly became a well-loved element.
Understanding that users might find limited value in scheduling and triggering specific shortcut cleaning routines, we realized that providing easy access via a tap would be highly beneficial.
Ultimately, the feature was placed above the fold in the app and underwent extensive usability testing.
So What? Results & Outcomes
The redesigned app drove a $12+ million annual revenue increase, achieving 25x growth over four years and establishing itself as a category-leading experience, with its release making headlines across major news outlets.
In-store app ratings rose by 1.3 points thanks to improved usability and valuable new features.
Competitors quickly followed suit (below), launching similar apps to mimic iRobot’s redesign (at right).
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Redesigned Roborock app (an iRobot competitor)
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Redesigned Shark app (an iRobot competitor)
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Redesigned Ecovacs app (an iRobot competitor)
As the lead and solo researcher, I directed all research sprints and guided the design team, conducting foundational research that shaped the app's development.
The personas and insights generated during the project were pivotal in driving the app's success and are still referenced today. This work earned me the iRobot Chairman's Award and a rapid promotion.
The redesigned app is now used by an estimated 48 million people.
Lessons Learned
Through this project, we learned that...
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1) Discovery Insights Unite Teams: Early user research brought the team together, expanding from a small group to an large audience throughout the project. This alignment fostered a shared understanding of user needs.
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2) User-Centric Iteration is Crucial: The development of features like "favorites" showed the value of flexibility and adapting to real user feedback. Iteration helped prioritize what mattered most to users.
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3) The Power of Extensive Usability Testing: Rigorous usability testing validated design decisions and refined the product before launch, enhancing the user experience.