Case study: Alarm clock

My assumption regarding problem with Alarm Clock

Even if the user managed to awaken, they cannot be sure if they stopped the alarm or just took it to snooze mode. Then it can be very annoying that later unwanted alarms make noise again. It can lead to waking others up in the household or just simply be annoying when the user doesn’t expect alarming noise. The cause for this unwanted event is that this is a situation when the user is not fully in their consciousness – most of the people are tired when waking up – and they tend to make mistakes.

Process

To investigate the real pain points of the Samnsung mobile alarm clock app I observed my habits for a week and also asked others about their habits.
I realised that this problem needs 3 different solutions for different parts of the flow: one for make the existing user interface more user friendly to avoid possible failures, one for considering all of the scenerios a user can possibe do during their busy/lazy mornings, and one for ensure them about what action they made.
Creating the userflow to discover the stages where ux design needed.
Wireframing ideas.
Creating mockup for visual implementation.
For refernce I used One UI design system.

Solution 1 – Implement context sensitivity

By implementing a location-based service, the alarm could stop itself by measuring the change of the location. When it detects that the location of the device changed it means that the user is awakened and took the device with themself.

Solution 2 – Signifier for stopping the alarm

Another case is when the user is awakened but doesn’t leave the bed immediately, instead they start to use the device but forget about that the alarm is still on. So for that case a signifier is needed and by clicking on it the user can actually stop the alarm. Another option is to close the signifier if the user still wants to have the alarm to be on.

Solution 3 – Confirmation message

When the alarm is stopped a confirmation message appears. Like “Good morning” or “The alarm is off now. Don’t be late!”. The messages can be dependent on a lot of settings and circumstances – like, the time of the day, user’s habits, etc.

Userflow

This how I start wireframing my thoughts and ideas. However this is not the final version of my design.

Mockups

Implementing a more failproof stopping alarm function

The current (2025.03.)design of Samsung mobile alarm app.

My redesigned version of Samsung mobile’s alarm app.

By implementing a one direction swipe button – with an animated signifier – I want to make it easier for the user on a sleepy morning – when they are not in a top state for decision making – to make the right decision when they want to proceed an action on their alarm. I also removed the possibility to change the intervall of the snooze time as it makes the user less decisions to make.

Adding a snackbar to notify the user while using their device that the alarm is still on

I used common snack bar for notify the user that the alarm function is still on. This would appear in like every 2 minutes and disappear after a few seconds. It also provides a button where the user can stop the alarm without navigating to the app itself.

Expected result

Implementing these design solutions is expected to enhance user interaction with the Samsung mobile alarm app by:Medium

Reducing User Errors: The swipe button with animated signifiers simplifies alarm management, minimizing mistakes during early morning interactions.
Enhancing User Awareness: Persistent notifications ensure users are consistently informed about the alarm’s status, preventing unintended disturbances.
Improving User Confidence: Clear confirmation messages provide assurance that the alarm has been successfully managed, leading to a more reliable user experience.

Collectively, these improvements aim to create a more intuitive and user-friendly alarm application that aligns with users’ needs during their morning routines.