What's B-hyve Pro?

The B-hyve Pro app gives control to contractors to manage their customer’s B-hyve sprinkler controllers, all from one place. The  B-hyve Pro allows Sprinkler technicians to maintain and program home owners sprinkler systems. 

No more driving back and forth for simple programming changes. Now Sprinkler technicians can add an unlimited number of controllers to their account and easily access them through the account listing or use the proximity property function in the app to find clients close to your current location.

The current mobile app requires a redesign to make the site look more professional, accessible and trustworthy.  

1. To help sprinkler technicians get access to home owners smart sprinkler timers via the B-hyve app Pro onboarding.

2. Help home owners to give access to sprinkler technicians via the B-hyve app. 

User Research Phase

Sprinkler technicians have morning appointments: They perform system start-ups in the spring, or fix broken pipes damaged by landscapers. 

Troubleshooting: Technicians conduct "wet check" which means turning on a sprinkler system zone-by-zone to inspect it for broken sprinkler heads and to test them after repairs. They also rewire bad electrical valves or upgrade old mechanical timers to Smart Irrigation Controllers. 

Adjustments: They test water pressure and adjust how high or far a sprinkler sprays so it waters the plants, not the driveway

B-hyve app home owner interface

After the reaserch I design the following user flow designs for the home owner to create a access code and share it with his/her Sprinkler technicians. There's the ability to give Managers access (full access) and Guess Access.

B-hyve Pro -  Sprinkler technician interface 

The sprinkler technician, using their B-hyve Pro app or tablet, is able to enter the code (provided by the homeowner) during onboarding to gain access to the smart sprinkler controller.

Testing the feature

1. All the sprinkler technicians were able to get access and control the sprinkler timer with the given code from the home owner. 

2. Homeowners struggled to find the feature, but once they found it, they were able to generate codes and share them with contractors via text or phone call.

Note: Not all homeowners wanted to use the feature, since some preferred to handle the watering and maintenance themselves.

Results

All sprinkler technicians use the Shared Device feature to maintain and schedule their customer’s systems remotely. Sprinkler technicians love the feature. 

The B-hyve Pro app's rating increased within 6 months of launching the feature, from 4.0 stars to 4.4 stars, on both the App Store and Google Play Store. The app sales for 9.99 USD on both platforms.

Reflection

If I had more time on this project I would place the feature where would be more visible to home owners and contractors. In addition, I would learn more about "morning scheduling" from sprinkler technicians. It seemed like they could benefit from a scheduling service in the app, where they could see the work order (the tasks they need to complete once they get a call from the homeowner) directly in the B-hyve Pro app.