Design for failure in the IoT: what could possibly go wrong?
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The document discusses the challenges and failure modes associated with connected products, particularly in the Internet of Things (IoT) sphere. It outlines various ways products can fail, including device, network, business, and user issues, and emphasizes the need for designers to consider these failures during development. Suggestions for mitigating failures include ensuring product value outweighs risks, designing for lost connectivity, and defaulting to safe states in case of issues.
![Inappropriate
delays for context
of use
•Devices can be slow to join the
network
•Messages passing between devices/
cloud services are subject to latency
•Battery powered devices may only
check into the network
intermittently
……………………………………………..
“Oh never mind”
[ding dong]
Nicolas Calderone via macsources.com](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/designforfailure160916-160916093205/85/Design-for-failure-in-the-IoT-what-could-possibly-go-wrong-18-320.jpg)
Design for failure in the IoT: what could possibly go wrong?
- 1. Design for failure Claire Rowland / @clurr Designing for the Internet of Things, September 2016 geek.com
- 2. •Product/UX strategy consultant •Specialising in IoT, particularly connected home/energy management •Lead author of Designing Connected Products Me…
- 3. FAILThe internet loves a Who Wants to be a Millionaire, image via ranker.com
- 4. IoT: a rich source of new fails
- 5. 3 questions for today • Why is failure an issue for connected products? • In what ways can connected products fail? • What can designers and product developers do to mitigate this?
- 6. 3 questions for today • Why is failure an issue for connected products? • In what ways can connected products fail? • What can designers and product owners do to mitigate this? Why is failure an issue for connected products?
- 7. We’re putting computing power, machine learning, sensing, actuation and connectivity into ever more objects and systems in the physical world autonomoustractor.com grenzebach.com sjm.com august.com
- 8. Worst of both worlds! Hardware Physical breakage Software Always in beta!
- 9. In what ways can connected products fail?
- 10. 3 questions for today • Why is failure an issue for connected products? • In what ways can connected products fail? • What can designers and product owners do to mitigate this? • Device issues • Network/service issues • Business issues • User issues • ‘Real world’ issues knowyourmeme.com
- 11. Device issues
- 12. Power •Batteries run out, mains power fails •All electrical devices can lose power, connected or not •But new classes of things now need power, when their ancestors did not •So more things can stop working “The battery died. I need to charge my wine bottle.” TheVerge review of kuvee.com
- 13. Hardware •Electronics can fail •Mechanical actuators can break •There are more things not to work Wikipedia
- 14. Sensor failures and glitches engadget.com theatlantic.com
- 15. Onboard software/firmware •May crash •May have bugs •Will need updating, which may cause unintended consequences •At a certain point older hardware may not support software/ firmware updates •Do you support multiple hardware versions, or do you cut those users loose? via @internetofshit, Richard Fortune (@iamkey)
- 17. Network •Lost connectivity •Moving out of range •Interference •Impact depends on system architecture Argh, the microwaves!
- 18. Inappropriate delays for context of use •Devices can be slow to join the network •Messages passing between devices/ cloud services are subject to latency •Battery powered devices may only check into the network intermittently …………………………………………….. “Oh never mind” [ding dong] Nicolas Calderone via macsources.com
- 19. Online service outages “We are experiencing some minor difficulties with a 3rd party server.” petnet.com
- 20. Interoperability fails •3rd party changes hardware,APIs or product features that your product uses •At best the two stop working together, at worst your product could fail outright as a result •Getting support with these problems can be tough: who is actually responsible? Google Product Forums
- 21. Business issues
- 22. •Products which were once one- off purchases now require ongoing services to keep running •It has to be in someone’s ongoing financial interest to keep them running •It often isn’t Business failure, M&A, sunsetting arlogilbert.com
- 23. User issues
- 24. User error… •People do things by accident… like unplugging hubs or turning off switches •They forget things, e.g. leaving them on •Or miscalculate, such as getting medication dosages wrong patientsafetyauthority.org
- 26. Real world context issues
- 27. Failure to respond to changes in circumstances thenextweb.com
- 28. Failure to suit user’s context Daniel Raffell on medium.com gizmodo.com
- 29. Remote controls/ automation rules applied in inappropriate circumstances Shropshire Insurance •A remote user cannot see that an action was inappropriate •Automation rules that were originally appropriate are ported over to a new context when the device is repurposed, and are now actively dangerous
- 30. What can we do to mitigate possible failures?
- 31. Claude Dennis and Linda Narkiewicz via simplonpc.co.uk Constructive pessimism (Murphy’s law) “It is found that anything that can go wrong at sea generally does go wrong sooner or later, so it is not to be wondered that owners prefer the safe to the scientific .... “Sufficient stress can hardly be laid on the advantages of simplicity. The human factor cannot be safely neglected in planning machinery. “If attention is to be obtained, the engine must be such that the engineer will be disposed to attend to it.” Holt,Alfred. "Review of the Progress of Steam Shipping during the last Quarter of a Century," 1878
- 32. Product value must outweigh potential risks
- 33. smartbe.co
- 34. If the value of your product is marginal, but the impact of it going wrong is catastrophic, it’s time to think again + - Hands-free strolling Stroller runs away into traffic
- 35. Architect the system to tolerate lost connectivity
- 36. Design for intermittent connectivity •Connect when convenient •Buffer data for later transmission •It’s sometimes possible to use analytics to estimate the readings you would have got brita.com
- 37. Things that need to work locally should not rely on the cloud Capable devices should be able to work independently Hubs enable local control of devices if connectivity is lost Distributed/‘fog’ computing systems may soon enable local programs to run without a hub ecobee.com smartthings.com plumlife.com
- 38. Never be worse than the unconnected equivalent
- 39. If your product is replacing a non- connected product, ensure yours works at least as well as that if connectivity is lost Den Automation Never be worse than the unconnected equivalent
- 40. Default to a safe state
- 41. http://medicalfuturist.com/living-with-an-artificial-pancreas/ Default to a safe state If it’s not possible to retain basic functionality in event of failure, always default to a safe state
- 42. “The user can't reset it without removing the battery, and he can't remove the battery without unlocking the lock” Anthony Rose, via http://www.tomsguide.com/us/bluetooth-lock-hacks- defcon2016,news-23129.html There must always be a manual override thequicklock.com
- 43. Keep the user informed
- 44. Be clear: did the user just press the button or was the action actually executed? Images: lowes.com
- 45. Beware unknown real-world context when reporting the status of a device You know the lock is engaged. But is the door locked closed or locked open? kwikset.com
- 46. Help users overcome problems It’s hard to strike the right balance between being informative about errors, and not confusing users with technical information But very general error messages help no-one Skybell, via macsources.com
- 47. Minimise the risk of user errors and allow for recovery
- 48. Minimise risk and impact of user error You can’t control for reckless behaviour but you can try to mitigate the damage that can be done Consider context, require confirmation Remember you can often reverse a command to a connected device, but not necessarily the consequences “There’s an iron plugged in to me. Are you sure you want to turn me on?” geotogether.com
- 49. Really understand the context of use
- 50. Will your bright idea break in the real world? nest.com
- 51. •User research and testing in context is vital •Regulations are boring but important Marcus Mark Ramos via channelnewsasia.com
- 52. Make it worth someone’s while to keep the service running
- 53. Mitigating business failure In the event that you can't support your product anymore, try to make sure it’s at least worth someone else’s time e.g. Source code and money in escrow variety.com
- 54. If something does go wrong, be helpful and sensitive
- 55. Who is responsible? In systems of interoperating products, diagnosing what the problem is and which component is causing it can be very hard Who does the user call? Try to be aware of likely issues with interoperating products “You need to talk to your ISP” “Your WiFi is misconfigured” “That’s a Google problem” “That’s a Samsung problem”
- 56. Sensitive response? https://www.tesla.com/blog/tragic-loss Our cars are really safe We’re sorry someone died
- 57. In summary…
- 58. Suggested design principles •Product value must outweigh potential risks •Architect the system to tolerate lost connectivity •Never be worse than the unconnected equivalent •Default to a safe state •Keep the user informed •Minimise the risk and impact of user errors •Really understand the context of use •Make it worth someone’s while to keep the service running •If something does go wrong, be helpful and sensitive
- 59. Create products that prevent and mitigate real world failures jpl.nasa.gov up.com phyn.com And also:
- 60. Thank you! Claire Rowland @clurr / claire@clairerowland.com Hat tips for references and crowdsourced examples to Stacey Higginbotham’s IoT Podcast, @internetofshit, @badiotday, Fabien Marry,Alastair Somerville, Bryan Rieger, Stephanie Rieger, Chris Holgate ,Rob Whiting, Simon Frost,Valkyrie Savage,Toby Jaffey, Ben Hardill, Julian Bleecker, Nik Martelaro, Scott Minneman, Leah Buechley, Carla Diana,Tom Igoe,Vadim Kravtchenko,Tod E Kurt, Liz Goodman, Josh Bloom, Scott Smith.
- 61. “This is more than a UX book; it covers all of the critical design and technology issues around making great connected products.” David Rose. Author: Enchanted Objects “As a grizzled veteran of several campaigns within the matter- battle of the Internet ofThings, I was pleasantly surprised to find the number of times this book made me pause, think, and rethink my own work (and that of others).A very valuable addition to the canon of design thinking in this emerging area.” Matt Jones. Google “Whether you’re an IoT pro or just getting started designing connected products, this comprehensive book has something for everyone, from examinations of different network protocols all the way up to value propositions and considerations for hardware, software, and services.This book takes a clear-eyed look at IoT from all angles.” Dan Saffer. Mayfield Robotics