Linksys App Redesign
THE PROJECT
A complete redesign of the Linksys iOS and Android apps that are used by more than 5 million users to control their wi-fi.
The core project goal was to not only rethink the information architecture and presentation of the existing data and features, but to support all legacy routers by not changing any of the backend.
MY ROLE
I acted as product manager for the project and managed the team of 7 UX designers and 3 UI designers responsible for the redesign.
THE RECEPTION
After the redesign the app's star ratings and downloads more than doubled.
Immediately following launch the app rating went from 1.8 to 4.5 stars.
Downloads climbed from 800 a day to over 2,500 a day.
iOS Review
“Router control does not get better than this.”
Android Review
“Very intuitive, easy to use interface. I do almost all of my admin tasks from it now.”
iOS Review
“They didn’t screw this up”
THE RESEARCH
We needed to know if investing in redesigning the app was the right move, and what problems to focus on if it was.
I led 20 in-home interviews around the country where we watched users troubleshoot issues.
I organized a 100+ person card sorting study to determine how people categorized their router features.
I ran a 100+ person menu navigation study to understand where people were struggling with the existing Linksys menu structure and to serve as a baseline to compare with our redesigns.
I set up weekly usability testing sessions in our lab and brought in over 200 users to test our existing app and our new redesign.
I designed an in-app feedback mechanism to allow users to tell us directly about issues and ideas for improvement.
THE CONCEPT
Users struggle to remember how to access router settings and router passwords. An app fixes that and also lets the router reach out when there are problems.
Instead of relying on the user to figure out the right web address or IP address to type into their browser (or even that they should use the browser), the app lets users skip the technical details and connect right to their router from anywhere.
The app lets users securely stay logged in for longer than a browser, and gives them easy access to reset their password if they forgot it.
Another big benefit was that rather than wait for users to figure out there was a problem with their wi-fi, an app let us use notifications to alert the user to issues, skipping unnecessary troubleshooting and worry.
Information Architecture
The first thing we knew we wanted to rethink was the IA. Testing had shown that users struggled to navigate with the old architecture. This map our final structure.
USABILITY TESTING
We brought over 200 users into our lab to test our new designs, iterating as we went.
Iterations on device details
Testing made it clear that users expected parental controls and device prioritization features to be accessible from the device list, something that had not been possible in previous Linksys interfaces.
Iterations on the dashboard
Early versions of the dashboard were based on user testing that showed people wanted to know if their network was secure, if it was optimized and to see what devices were using the most data. Unfortunately all of those features were cut due to limited engineering resources. A simple dashboard was settled on for the final designs
THE DESIGNS
A few key screens in their before and after states.
The Dashboard
Device Prioritization
Parental Controls
Wi-Fi Settings
Device List
Feedback & Support
