Project: Security App
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Introduction
Brief: Design a super-simple CCTV app for business owners—just live and recorded video, nothing extra.
Challenge: Stand out in a crowded app store by nailing simplicity and reliability.
Goals: Let users check their store’s cameras from anywhere, with zero fuss.
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Discovery Phase
Stakeholder interviews: Talked with small business owners and security integrators.
Business requirements: Must support live/recorded video, easy to set up, and play nice with bandwidth limits.
User needs: One-tap access to their cameras, quick verification for alarms, and smooth playback.
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Problem Framing
Problem: Most CCTV apps are overloaded with features or try to replace full desktop systems—users just want to view their store, fast.
Success: Users can check live or recorded feeds in seconds, even on mobile data.
Constraints: Bandwidth limits, device compatibility, and security requirements.
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User Research
User interviews: Security officers and owners shared what they love/hate about existing apps.
Competitive analysis: Most apps were bloated, slow, and confusing.
Market research: Simplicity and instant video access are the top priorities.
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Synthesis
Personas: “The Store Owner,” “The Security Officer,” and “The Remote Manager.”
Journey mapping: From alarm trigger to video check, or from curiosity to live view.
Key insights: Mobile use is about speed and confidence, not full control.
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Solution Development
Info architecture: Home screen = camera list, tap to view live, swipe for recorded.
Wireframes & prototypes: Focused on three-tap max to any feed, big video windows, and minimal menus.
Visual design: Clean, high-contrast, with obvious alerts and controls.
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Testing
Usability testing: Ran sessions with owners and integrators—flagged confusing icons and slow loads.
User feedback: Tweaked camera list, improved loading indicators, and clarified playback controls.
Iterations: Smoothed out transitions and added bandwidth-saving options.
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Implementation
Handoff: Shared annotated wireframes and UI kit with devs.
Dev collab: Weekly sprints to optimize for performance and security.
Go-to-market: Rolled out to pilot users, then launched on app stores and through integrator partners.
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Results & Impact
Metrics: Faster video access, fewer support tickets, higher app store ratings.
User adoption: Users switched from bloated apps and recommended it to peers.
Business impact: Helped integrators win more installs and kept customers happy.
Lessons learned: Focus on the core job—let users see what they need, fast, and don’t overcomplicate.
The concept behind this Security App was to make an ultra-simple CCTV app. Rather than compete with the hundreds of other CCTV apps in the App Store, This App was designed to do one thing great: View you store or shops CCTV seemly.
Tablets, smartphones and mobile apps that can be used on these devices are increasingly the technology of choice for business and personal use, including the physical security industry.
demand for apps is high, even though the implementation is still relatively low. Integrators can lose a job if the products they offer don’t have a related app, and asking for an app has become second nature. In response, companies are developing apps to complement the products they sell, making the systems, whether for surveillance, access control or home security, more interactive and the information provided by them more immediately useful.
One major progression is that apps are no longer being developed as replacements for the overall functionality of the desktop system. An app isn’t meant to be a substitute for a complete access control or video surveillance system. Rather, it’s designed to tackle unique applications that can enhance the overall system, taking advantage of the technology provided by the smartphone or tablet format. Using a phone for monitoring is very different than sitting at a bank of monitors, so the application should reflect that difference.
With that in mind, what the industry is seeing in the surveillance arena is a demand for apps that can allow security officers to view live video from any camera within the system, or recorded video from an NVR or DVR. Via a mobile app, the security officer can view recorded video from any location, managing the playback by selecting the date and time they want to evaluate
Increasingly, police departments are requiring verification of certain events, such as the triggering of a home or business alarm, before they respond. The police department in San Jose, Calif., for example, instituted such a policy in January 2012, requiring a verified audio, video or eyewitness account of a crime that was occurring or had occurred. Through a mobile app, homeowners can view their residence and business owners their corporate address, and verify that the alarm isn’t a false one. If needed, the video could be shared with the police.
The video that can be viewed live or recorded via an app is helping to increase general productivity and profitability when applied to non-security situations. A business owner, for instance, can call up a live feed to check on the status of inventory, or determine if additional employees are needed to service customers.
However, with increased reliance on video comes the issue of managing bandwidth. The advent of 3G and 4G networks has made it easier to view the video on a mobile device. Nevertheless, the fastest growing trend in security — high-resolution, megapixel cameras — requires more bandwidth than a typical mobile network can support. Mobile app users need to think about ways to manage bandwidth, such as deploying additional hardware that allow them to dynamically reduce the resolution or change the frame rate of a video stream to get the video across the mobile network.
Fortunately, companies are continuing to refine their physical security products to meet the demands of the mobile device end user. Issues such as bandwidth management will be addressed as the camera or encoder is designed, rather than creating a product and then expecting the user to adapt to its limitations.
