App’s Design Principals

During the first semester, I developed the design principles for my app, drawing directly from the insights gathered through various research methods. These principles became the foundation of my design process, serving as a clear and meaningful translation of research into action. They not only helped define the direction of my project but also clarified the core goals of the research itself ensuring that each design decision was rooted in user needs and informed by real-world findings.

Data Driven Research

Throughout this sprint, I realized how powerful data-driven research can be in shaping meaningful design decisions. By gathering direct feedback from usability testing, interviews, and heuristic evaluations, I was able to uncover real user struggles like confusing terminology, unclear interfaces, and slow threat response times. These insights helped me validate assumptions, prioritize features, and guide the pivot toward a more simplified, user-centered security experience.

Rather than guessing what users need, data allowed me to design with clarity and confidence. It helped shift my focus from just building features to creating thoughtful, intuitive solutions backed by evidence. Moving forward, this process has reinforced the value of continuous testing, iterating, and using data as a foundation to build more accessible and impactful designs.

Project Planning

Planning this project taught me the importance of flexibility within structure. While I began with a clear roadmap focused on validating old assumptions and refining the smart home security experience new insights from research required constant pivoting and re-prioritization. Setting weekly goals helped keep the project on track, but it was the ability to adapt and respond to unexpected findings that made the process meaningful.

By breaking down the sprint into manageable tasks like usability testing, prototyping, and evaluating Google Home’s current flow I was able to balance exploration with progress. The timeline also helped me stay accountable to design methods while leaving room to iterate based on user feedback. Overall, this experience strengthened my ability to plan strategically while staying open to change, which is essential when working on real-world UX challenges.

App’s Design Principals

During the first semester, I developed the design principles for my app, drawing directly from the insights gathered through various research methods. These principles became the foundation of my design process, serving as a clear and meaningful translation of research into action. They not only helped define the direction of my project but also clarified the core goals of the research itself ensuring that each design decision was rooted in user needs and informed by real-world findings.

Data Driven Research

Throughout this sprint, I realized how powerful data-driven research can be in shaping meaningful design decisions. By gathering direct feedback from usability testing, interviews, and heuristic evaluations, I was able to uncover real user struggles like confusing terminology, unclear interfaces, and slow threat response times. These insights helped me validate assumptions, prioritize features, and guide the pivot toward a more simplified, user-centered security experience.

Rather than guessing what users need, data allowed me to design with clarity and confidence. It helped shift my focus from just building features to creating thoughtful, intuitive solutions backed by evidence. Moving forward, this process has reinforced the value of continuous testing, iterating, and using data as a foundation to build more accessible and impactful designs.

Project Planning

Planning this project taught me the importance of flexibility within structure. While I began with a clear roadmap focused on validating old assumptions and refining the smart home security experience new insights from research required constant pivoting and re-prioritization. Setting weekly goals helped keep the project on track, but it was the ability to adapt and respond to unexpected findings that made the process meaningful.

By breaking down the sprint into manageable tasks like usability testing, prototyping, and evaluating Google Home’s current flow I was able to balance exploration with progress. The timeline also helped me stay accountable to design methods while leaving room to iterate based on user feedback. Overall, this experience strengthened my ability to plan strategically while staying open to change, which is essential when working on real-world UX challenges.

App’s Design Principals

During the first semester, I developed the design principles for my app, drawing directly from the insights gathered through various research methods. These principles became the foundation of my design process, serving as a clear and meaningful translation of research into action. They not only helped define the direction of my project but also clarified the core goals of the research itself ensuring that each design decision was rooted in user needs and informed by real-world findings.

Data Driven Research

Throughout this sprint, I realized how powerful data-driven research can be in shaping meaningful design decisions. By gathering direct feedback from usability testing, interviews, and heuristic evaluations, I was able to uncover real user struggles like confusing terminology, unclear interfaces, and slow threat response times. These insights helped me validate assumptions, prioritize features, and guide the pivot toward a more simplified, user-centered security experience.

Rather than guessing what users need, data allowed me to design with clarity and confidence. It helped shift my focus from just building features to creating thoughtful, intuitive solutions backed by evidence. Moving forward, this process has reinforced the value of continuous testing, iterating, and using data as a foundation to build more accessible and impactful designs.

Project Planning

Planning this project taught me the importance of flexibility within structure. While I began with a clear roadmap focused on validating old assumptions and refining the smart home security experience new insights from research required constant pivoting and re-prioritization. Setting weekly goals helped keep the project on track, but it was the ability to adapt and respond to unexpected findings that made the process meaningful.

By breaking down the sprint into manageable tasks like usability testing, prototyping, and evaluating Google Home’s current flow I was able to balance exploration with progress. The timeline also helped me stay accountable to design methods while leaving room to iterate based on user feedback. Overall, this experience strengthened my ability to plan strategically while staying open to change, which is essential when working on real-world UX challenges.