Device Details Hotkey
Product Name
Keystroke → Copy → Paste → Done.
Details
View more working details
Project Type
UX Research: A/B User Testing
Duration
2 months. Delivered Summer 2022
Tools
Adobe & UserZoom / UserTesting
Team
2 UX Designers, 1 Design for Serviceability Engineer
Design Digest
Design Digest
When customers call Lenovo Support, they’re asked for their machine type and serial number—simple in theory, but confusing in practice. Non-technical users often need to flip the device, open system software, or enter BIOS just to find it, adding friction that increases both frustration and call time.
Our UX team designed a hotkey-triggered device-details modal: press Fn + N to instantly see model, serial, BIOS, OS, and more, ready to copy or share with a support agent. What began as a UX experiment became a global support solution—press a key, see your info, copy it—saving time for customers and costs for Lenovo.
We ran A/B studies across desktop and touch devices, comparing two interaction models:
Highlight-to-copy (traditional text selection)
Click-to-copy (single-tap copy behavior)
We also tested whether supporting both patterns improved speed and confidence. The data revealed clear preferences by context and device type, informing the final shipped interaction model now used across Lenovo’s global support flows.
By reducing friction in this single micro-interaction, the design helps shorten average call time and lower operational costs—small UX improvement, massive cumulative impact.
Introducing Lenovo Device Details Hotkey
It shouldn’t take forever to find a serial number.
We designed and validated a hotkey-triggered device details modal that instantly displays all key machine information — including serial number, model, and warranty status — without requiring users to flip their laptop or navigate complex software.
The modal opens with a single keyboard shortcut (Fn + N) and presents data in a clear, copy-ready format optimized for both desktop and touch devices. Through user testing, we refined how users could copy information — introducing both “highlight-to-copy” and “click-to-copy” interactions to support diverse user preferences and accessibility needs.
The final design creates a frictionless bridge between customers and support agents, reducing average call times and minimizing frustration while maintaining data privacy and consistency across Lenovo’s global support ecosystem.
Discover
Discover
We evaluated the user + support context:
Popular searched support topic: “Help me find my serial number!”
Vantage launch time = ~30 seconds before users can even navigate to device details
BIOS path is highly technical — majority of consumers can’t or won’t follow it
Corporate customers are especially concerned with privacy
A competitor analysis revealed HP, Dell, Apple already support keystroke modals.
Research goal: discover which copying interaction users prefer inside this new modal.
1. by physically flipping their devices over to read a sticker with small print. While larger serial number stickers were created and implemented on most of the portfolio now, it still requires that customers turn their machines over. This is not always an accessible option, especially for folks with physical disabilities or complex desk setups.
2. entering Lenovo Vantage. A disadvantage of relying on Vantage is that not all customers use it and many LE do not include in their corporate preloads. Even if users have Vantage, the initial launch can take approximately 30 seconds after which the users need to be directed to the “device details” information card.
3. the BIOS can be utilized to access the system’s serial number but the process is cumbersome and requires several highly technical steps which can alienate many users.
4. Lenovo Service Bridge may be accessed in the support landing page which can provide the information. Unfortunately, while completely safe, clicking on “Detect My Product” raises concerns for many users.
Define
Define
Core Problem
Customers calling Lenovo support must share their machine type and serial number, yet the existing ways to find that information are scattered and time-consuming — flipping the laptop, opening Vantage, entering BIOS, or allowing Service Bridge access to your PC.
What should take seconds often turns into minutes, adding frustration for customers and cost for Lenovo.
Constraints
The data already exists in-system; no new collection allowed.
The solution had to be lightweight, privacy-safe, and work online or offline.
It needed to function across keyboard, mouse, and touch inputs on all Lenovo devices.
Implementation had to remain simple enough for global rollout with limited development resources.
Opportunity
Transform a recurring support pain point into a single-keystroke solution. By instantly surfacing verified device information in a modal that’s easy to view and copy, we could shorten call times, reduce cognitive load, and make technical support feel effortless.
Design
Design
Following an example set by many of our competitors, using a simple keystroke, Fn+N, a modal would appear with all of the main device details including:
Model number
Serial number
BIOS version
Operating system
Processor
Memory
A link for additional details (which would send to a service page)
An initial concept study led by UX Designer Claudia Cokis validated the idea: 14 out of 15 participants said they would use this hotkey solution. The next step was to determine how the modal should look and behave—what interaction model would make copying information feel most intuitive and efficient?
Vantage styling of the hotkey modal
If users have Lenovo Vantage, they will be presented with a modal in the Vantage styling (included in this study).
BIOS styling of the hotkey modal
If users do not have Vantage, the hotkey will pull up a BIOS based modal.
Purpose
Determine which copying interaction users preferred inside the hotkey-launched device details modal — and whether users wanted one method or both. We also examined whether preferences changed between desktop and touch devices.
Method
Participants: 251 total (split across desktop and touch)
Design: A/B testing with randomized order to eliminate sequence bias
Data Capture: Screen + audio recording to collect both behavioral and attitudinal insights
Participants were instructed to imagine they were on a support call and needed to paste their device details (model number, BIOS version, OS version, etc.) into chat.
They then interacted with two prototype variants and rated ease, preference, clarity, and success for each method:
A: Highlighting
Users selected text and pressed Ctrl+C to copy.
→ Expected to be the most familiar interaction pattern.
B: Clicking
Users clicked a copy icon next to each item or a “Copy All” button to copy the full list.
A tooltip confirmed when the information had been successfully copied.
Most participants wanted the option to use both methods.
56% would prefer to be able to do both, 29% would only prefer one option, 7% were unsure, 8% had no opinion.
More participants found clicking the easiest to understand.
53% found clicking at least somewhat easier to understand compared to 26% for highlighting.
More participants preferred clicking for copying.
54% at least somewhat preferred clicking compared to 28% favoring highlighting.
Further details revealed that the Clicking option:
1) had generally fewer clicks
2) took less time (touch device users were even faster)
3) had a generally higher self-reported success rate
Study Limitation
A majority of participants self-reported as being at least somewhat tech savvy. This may be an influencing factor in the results of the study.
Deliver
Deliver
Key Insights
Users wanted flexibility: 56% preferred having both methods available.
Click to Copy was easier to understand: 53% said clicking was easier, vs. 26% for highlighting.
Click to Copy was most preferred: 54% preferred clicking; 28% preferred highlighting.
Clicking was faster and required fewer taps, especially on touch devices.
Touch users benefited the most: tapping icons reduced interaction overhead.
Tech-savvy users still didn’t default to highlighting: even experienced users prioritized efficiency over habit.
Outcome of Study
This study confirmed that the interaction model itself influenced success — not just surfacing the information.
If only one method could ship first,
“Click to Copy” needed to be prioritized.
The ideal state, however, is to support both — giving users freedom of choice while ensuring the fastest, clearest path to success.
Debrief
Debrief
This work validated that the biggest lift wasn’t “finding device details” — it was making the fastest, clearest handoff inside the support flow.
A simple modal accessed by a single keystroke can:
remove the physical flipping barrier (accessibility win)
remove load-time delays (speed win)
reduce call time (cost win)
align UX with industry standards (competitiveness win)