myQ Mobile Application
As a UX Designer on a cross-disciplinary team at Chamberlain Group, an industry leader in garage door automation, I was tasked with exploring the future of smart access solutions. Our team of six - including industrial designers, a mechanical engineer, a front-end developer, and another UX designer - was given the challenge of designing new smart home products and reimagining the company’s flagship app to integrate these innovations. Through extensive research, we developed concepts for smart motion sensors, smart locks, and a fully redesigned app experience. While the specific products we designed did not go to market, my UX work played a key role in shaping the final redesign of the company’s flagship app, which now serves 11 million monthly users. Additionally, my designs directly influenced the user experience of their latest flagship product: the myQ Smart Wireless Garage Door Video Keypad.
Chamberlain Group
Chamberlain Group dominates the garage door industry, controlling 70% of the market. Their technology powers millions of garage door openers, offering homeowners remote access, security, and automation features. With myQ, their flagship smart home platform, they have revolutionized how people interact with their garage doors, providing seamless control via mobile devices. This extensive market share positions Chamberlain Group as the industry leader in exterior home access solutions, yet their ecosystem has historically focused on garages rather than securing interior access points.
Chamberlain Group: Brands
Chamberlain Group has built a dominant brand presence in the garage door automation industry through its well-established product lines: Chamberlain, LiftMaster, Craftsman, and Merlin. With these brands, Chamberlain Group controls a significant portion of the market, solidifying its reputation as a leader in garage access solutions. Chamberlain manufactures all Craftsman-branded garage door openers, further reinforcing its influence across retail markets. This dominance in exterior home access positions Chamberlain Group to expand into the broader smart home market, enabling them to seamlessly integrate new products for interior security and control.
Chamberlain Group’s Dominance in Exterior Home Access Solutions
Chamberlain Group offers a comprehensive range of products designed to secure exterior access points.
Untapped Potential in Interior Solutions
While Chamberlain Group has established itself as a leader in securing the exterior of homes, its ecosystem lacked solutions for securing interior access points.
Leaving the Door Open: Gaps in the Market
This leaves consumers relying on competitors’ products to secure the interior of their homes.
Gaps in the Market Continued
The current market for interior smart access security lacks a solution that is both affordable and seamlessly integrated into a single ecosystem. Consumers are forced to mix and match products from different brands, often sacrificing convenience. By offering an affordable price, an all-in-one ecosystem, and a feature-rich app, Chamberlain has the opportunity to fill this gap and provide a more cohesive smart home experience.
How can Chamberlain Group expand myQ into the home while providing a versatile solution for monitoring, securing individuals, and their living spaces?
McKinsey & Company Report
Chamberlain Group partnered with McKinsey & Company to explore opportunities for expanding the myQ brand. The report identified a gap in the market for comprehensive home access monitoring solutions and found that 79% of families with children saw a strong appeal in these innovations. It also highlighted how expanding from garage access into the home would be a natural evolution for the myQ brand, leveraging its existing trust and technology
Research and Insights
To identify market gaps and user needs, our team conducted interviews, market analysis, and products breakdowns. We gathered insights from homeowners, analyzed competitors, and evaluated existing products to find opportunities for differentiation. This research shaped our design decisions, ensuring a seamless expansion for Chamberlain into interior home security.
Our Goal
Provide users with an expanded set of products that help monitor and secure the interior, while expanding the myQ user base and brand recognition
Our Focus
By securing smaller storage spaces and entry points inside the home, Chamberlain could offer a more comprehensive security ecosystem. Additionally, advanced event detection would enhance monitoring capabilities, providing users with real-time alerts and greater peace of mind. These focus areas ensured our designs addressed real user needs while aligning with Chamberlain’s expertise in access solutions.
The above image illustrates the product ecosystem we designed, where smart locks, motion sensors, and other access solutions seamlessly integrsate within the home. Each product communicates effortlessly through the myQ app, creating a unified and intuitive user experience. This ecosystem provides homeowners with a comprehensive security solution that enahances convenience, monitoring, and control - all from a single platform.
Cabinets and Drawers
User Research
An insight provided from our user interviews was, “Our kid likes to get into everything, so we could really use something like this that’s customizable. One of the reasons we don’t use that many cabinet locks is that they’re cumbersome for even adults to open. This seems like a viable alternative in that they’re digitally enabled…”
Our Solution
An easy-to-install and versatile smart lock, that provides a way to give caretakers more control over their internal storage needs.
Cabinet Lock Security Levels
Level 3
Lock will only disengage when a trusted device unlocks it through the app
Level 2
Lock will disengage when a trusted device is within range of the cabinet
Level 1
Lock will remain unlocked indefinitely but will continue to monitor activity
Cabinet Lock myQ Notifications
Tamper detection notifications sent immediately to the user’s phone
Can be seen remotely to ensure the users home and children are safe
Soft Monitoring
Interior Doors and Exterior Gates
Our Solution
Creating an easy to install lock to secure interior rooms and exterior gates
Event Detection
Motion and Safety Notifications
Our motion and safety notifications are designed to provide peace of mind for families and caregivers. The system can detect movement within the home, like someone entering a room, and send real-time updates to designated users. This feature is especially valuable for monitoring children, elderly family members, or anyone needing extra care, ensuring their safety without intruding on their independence.
myQ Insight Product Line
Envisioning a future myQ
This section showcases a redesigned navigation of the myQ app, imagining how the platform could evolve to support a broader smart home ecosystem. These concepts focus on enhancing usability, clarity, and control as Chamberlain expands further into interior access solutions.
What this could look like
While five products are a great start, Chamberlain Group is not going to stop there. We set out to envision a future myQ that is familiar to current users but would fit Chamberlain Group’s expansion into interior access solutions.
Home Screen at a Glance
The redesigned Home page serves as the central hub for managing all products connected to your myQ network. It provides real-time status updates, quick access to controls and alerts users to any issues or failures. With a focus on clarity and convenience, this page ensures users stay informed and in control of their smart access ecosystem.
Device Info
The device info page offers users a comprehensive view of each individual product. From activity history and current status to shared users, schedules, and battery life, this page empowers homeowners with detailed insights and control, all within a clean and accessible layout.
Smarter Monitoring with the Activity Tab
The activity tab provides a real-time log of events across all connected devices, giving users a clear picture of what’s happening in and around their home. Color-coded notifications highlight key events. For example, low battery, tampering, or actuation, making it easy to spot important updates at a glance.
Effortless Control with Scheduling
The scheduling tab allows users to automate the behavior of their devices, setting custom times for actions like locking doors, turning on motion sensors, or disabling access. This feature adds convenience and peace of mind, ensuring the home is always secure, even when users aren’t actively monitoring it.
Secure Sharing with Guest Access
The guest access tab lets users easily manage who can access their home, offering control over both the devices shared and the level of access granted. Whether it’s temporary access for a friend or limited permissions for a delivery, users can tailor access to fit any situation, all from within the myQ app.
Explore & Expand
This tab allows users to search the app and quickly discover which devices are compatible within the myQ ecosystem. It helps streamline setup and encourages users to grow their connected home with confidence.
myQ Smartwatch Features
With smartwatch support, users can receive real-time tamper and access notifications right on their wrist. They can also control connected devices, like unlocking a door or opening the garage, directly from their watch for added convenience and speed.
From Concept to Reality
While the products we designed did not go to market, key features from our concepts evolved into the myQ Smart Garage Door Keypad, now a tangible product in Chamberlain’s lineup. Additionally, many of the UI elements we developed during this project were integrated into the myQ app, which serves 11 million monthly users. Our work helped shape the future of Chamberlain’s smart access solutions, influencing both hardware and software innovations.
Evolving the myQ Experience
These UI mockups showcase how our design work influenced the myQ app’s latest features. The myQ Smart Garage Door Keypad interface, enhanced notifications, and expanded access history provide users with greater visibility and control over their home’s security. Our contributions helped shape a more intuitive and feature-rich experience for millions of users.
Expanding Smart Home Control
The Diagnostics, Schedules, and Co-Owners features we designed are now integral parts of the launched myQ app, enhancing home security and user convenience. These additions give homeowners greater control, allowing them to monitor system health, automate access, and securely share entry permissions. This is all done within a seamless, connected, and secure experience.
