A Management Utility for Controlling Multiple Displays Over a Network
UX Case Study
When I first started as a Product Manager at InFocus, the K-12 World was ramping up in a sort of Technology Gold Rush. It’s still going strong even now. Interactive Flat Panel Displays (also known as “IFPD”) were becoming more accessible to school districts’ budgets and with more built-in features. This led to higher volume orders and a much more sophisticated approach to deployments. I got to see this play out in real-time as AV/IT techs, teachers and other staff were contemplating, testing out and applying new features and use-cases in their districts. They were always looking at what they had available with an eye to future opportunities. It’s quite inspiring to watch and I appreciate being able to participate in the process.
Early on, the opportunity to provide a low-cost/high-impact solution became apparent. There were stories of schools hiring someone for the sole purpose of walking around and turning off panels every night because the savings in power justified the wage. Epic tales were told of AV technicians going on all-day quests to update the embedded operating systems in all the panels across the campus!
A very specific need for centralized control and monitoring was materializing.
Not only was remotely controlling power and identifying malfunctioning units important, but as more of these systems came standard with Android, there was the need to make maintaining existing assets (apps, files, updates) an easier process. This would also lead to quicker on-boarding process for new and replacement panels being installed.
Additionally, interest was growing in quick messaging systems that allowed messages and announcements to be clearly broadcasted and displayed at once across a deployment. These big touch screens have computers in them, it was reasoned, why can’t we send media to them across our network?
The Challenge
Mobile Device Management (aka “MDM”) services, built for handling PCs and mobile devices, covered some of these needs coincidentally. However, though they are similar, the Android-embedded IFPD is not a tablet or a phone. MDM services provided many features that were irrelevant and didn’t provide some features that were key to an IFPD solution. One major need was to be able to monitor and control power and inputs. Not every panel will only use their Android system, and there’s an obvious need to save money by monitoring power consumption.
Clearly a “ground-up”, hybrid solution was needed.
The User Profile
The typical user for this application was going to be an AV/IT technician, most likely in a K-12 school environment. This User would be of varying technical ability and they’ll be very busy; they probably won’t have much time to learn yet another system so the solution needs to be intuitive and straightforward.
We gathered this profile from multiple customer interviews as well as feature requests and other feedback we’d been receiving from the field. This is the rare case where it was clear who the Users were and what they needed.
So to recap…
The Requirements
- Connect to multiple displays over a network from a central location
- Power off and on each device remotely at will, manually and scheduled
- Incorporate MDM functionality to administer Apps, Files, Updates and Messages across deployments
- Be ready ASAP with a team of two people including myself
Design Considerations
When considering the above needs, I felt it was more important to release a functional and intuitive solution quickly. I also wanted to leave plenty of room for future updates and new features without having to worry about the User having to re-learn how to navigate after an update.
The UI scheme would be pretty straightforward, as we used the company standard colors and fonts. We kept the buttons simple and had an internal hierarchy to them:
Blue: Function button
(sending commands such as “Power On”)
Green: Information Request button
(such as “Get Status”)
Orange: Problems and Emergencies
(a non-responsive device would show up in orange)
Light Blue: Status Messages
(to differentiate the Status bar or other status acknowledgements)
As a result of these design decisions and forgoing the commission of any special icons or other elements, we were able to come in under-budget and on-schedule for release.
First Pass
Our initial release not only addressed the above-mentioned requirements, but also added some additional value.
Hardware Management
We developed this solution with a major no-cost component to it. You could control and monitor power and inputs for all of your displays, manually or as scheduled tasks, at no charge. Now device functionality and up-time could be monitored without needing to embark on that valiant quest across the campus!
Not only that, this functionality would work on all of our displays, IFPD’s and projectors alike, that were released as far back as two years prior.
This was not only a good value-add to a new installation, but would also help institutions that were transitioning from our previous products to the new generation, or from projectors to touchscreens. Easing that transition could actually end up making a new deployment project cost less.
System Management
In addition to the free “Hardware Management” feature set, there is the option to subscribe to a more advanced MDM service, easily allowing the User to take care of apps, files and updates as well as sending messages across the deployment. This was accomplished on a second tab in the application which accessed a 3rd Party service.
We picked that 3rd Party service, in part for the features it provided “out of the box”, their pricing structure, as well as for future use of their API (which we’ll get into in a moment).
Never Stop Never Stopping
While the first iteration was a successful proof-of-concept and got a good response from Users, we had bigger plans on the roadmap.
The next release would see an even more intuitive layout as well as some new, important features.
Unified Control and Analysis
In this iteration, we see all Hardware and System controls brought together in one control area. Using that 3rd Party MDM service’s API, all of the relevant features for an IFPD deployment are brought front-and-center. Additionally, the User would know immediately what functions are associated with any given device. They would be instantly aware that they selected a projector or some other display that doesn’t have embedded Android, yet still be able to use the MDM functionality on the relevant units in a mixed group of IFPDs and projectors.
Status messages would also be more prevalent, giving specific confirmation that the user gets the results they want.
Customizable Hotkeys
The addition of customizable Hotkeys allows a User to create their own commands with easy access from the dashboard. This allows multiple groups or individual displays to have commands sent to them instantly. This is easier to work with than having to seek groups out individually or re-group displays. This could make the Discovered Devices list overly cluttered with redundant groups.
Display Details
Important details about each display is more easily available in this version. Not only can a user know what kind of display it is (IFPD or projector), but Part Numbers and Serial Numbers are right there to make support efforts more efficient.
This seems like a minor detail, but having worked in Support in a past life, I can tell you this is a massive detail to address when working with a customer with multiple units spread out across a building. Without this, the Support Rep would likely have to accompany that AV Technician on his quest via cell phone.
Conclusion
After identifying a quickly emerging need, we were able to come up with a straightforward, low-cost solution that added some key value behind standardizing on our hardware. We had a positive response from our Customers and Users, and were able to move the needle on some important deals.
Thanks for reading!
Constructive feedback is always welcome. I will post more UX Case Studies to add to my portfolio so go ahead and follow me if you want to see more!
