Gatekeep
Gatekeep is a home security product that allows individuals to easily access their doorway with just the touch of their phone. By using the app, Gatekeep users will have access to unlocking the door simply by touching their phone against the lock for acceptable entry. Users will also have the privilege of granting remote access to children or guests upon arrival at the doorstep when the Gatekeep lock’s proximity alarm detects movement in front of the lock. The benefit of a Gatekeep lock creates a form of convenience for users when coming in/out of the house without facing the hassle of finding the right key and/or jamming the key into the hole due to rusty locks.
Problem Space
Problem Statement
How can homeowners feel content coming home the moment they arrive in front of their doorstep without sparing a minute to find the right key for the door locks?
Gatekeep locks can create the efficiency of unlocking doors without needing the use of a key. The product comes with an app that has features tailored to the lock. Simply touch your phone against the lock and it will unlock for you. Coming out of the house and locking it by key is old school, so now users are able to walk out without worrying for a minute to ensure the door has been locked. The expression “Home Sweet Home” is spoken in a way of feeling relief on returning home, and no one should ever have the feeling of being locked out of their homes due to forgetting their keys or having the struggle of unlocking their door.
Problem Background
Today’s culture of millennials and rising gen z are slowly taking over the US market saturated with technology and hands-free devices that efficiently complete tasks all from the touch of one button. With this specific demographic of customers, people are always on the go. Walking out of the house and hustling to commute or just leaving to go on a walk. Oftentimes, people have second thoughts the moment they’re away from their homes like “Did I lock my house?” or “Did I bring my keys with me?”
With Gatekeep, homeowners no longer have to face the constraints of carrying keys. Gatekeep locks are designed to simplify the in/out process from touching your phone against the device to unlocking the door. We want the customer to feel content coming home after a long day of work instead of having to bear another minute in the cold trying to find the right key.
Research Insights
A research survey was conducted with 5 participants to understand the pain points users have encountered:
- Losing or misplacing your home key.
- The safety and security of your home.
- The hassle of carrying keys around when you are away from your home.
Based on the responses from the 5 participants, our main insights are:
- Survey participants are worried if they have locked their doors when they are away from their homes.
- Survey participants in low-income areas are concerned for their safety from being assaulted during the unlocking/locking procedure.
- Survey participants’ needs are having the convenience of opening doors with ease of access and reliability.
Of all the participants that took the survey, all participants had similar answers about making the process of unlocking/locking more efficient.
Landing on the Solution
Based on our target users’ pain points, we knew we wanted to work on the following features for Gatekeep:
- Ease of access, low cost, and reliability
- App notification to remind users if people are in front of the door
- An auto-lock or unlock feature based on proximity
Explanation of Solution
We compiled the participants’ needs and concluded that our targeted users’ problem space heavily focuses on having access to security options when away from the house. Users should have the option of controlling the Gatekeep lock when the app notifies that a person is in front of the door. Here are the acceptance criteria:
- The user is able to access Gatekeep lock remotely from home
- Users have the option to grant access to entities in front of the door
- Gatekeep lock can have multiple users
- An administrative user can grant access to various users on adjusted settings
- The user is notified by proximity alarm when the entity is on the doorstep
- Users can grant access to familiar entities to house to drop off items
- Users have access to Gatekeep lock camera to view the front of the door
Future Steps
For the future steps, I plan on bringing Gatekeep to a cross-functional team consisting of a UI/UX designer and software developers and bringing this product to life for consumers with the same problem space.
Learnings
Product Manager Learnings:
Neal Thai
The Co.lab experience has been interesting and fast-paced. There was so much to learn from these past 4 weeks but here was my take from the SPRINT course:
- It is important to focus on the overall problem space rather than finding a solution because you want to deliver value to your users as a PM
- As a PM, it is important to be customer focused as you will be able to understand customer needs, uncover important problems, and identify business opportunities that are key factors to the problem space
- The key to understanding users is compiling data from questions that are catered to the users' pain points and needs in their daily lives
Designer Learnings:
Designer Learnings:
Jo Sturdivant
- Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
- Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
- Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.
Developer Learnings:
Developer Learnings:
Vanady Beard
&
As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.
Developer Learnings:
Stephen Asiedu
&
As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.
Developer Learnings:
&
Developer Learnings:
Maurquise Williams
&
- Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
- Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
- Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.
Developer Learnings:
Jeremiah Williams
&
All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key
Developers Learnings:
Justin Farley
&
I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.