ArcSite AR Features

Before AR, users had to manually draw out walls to create a floorplan. Once the floorplan was built, they had to manually draw out every product and shape to add it to the canvas. Both steps required time, precision, and familiarity with ArcSite before new users could get any value from the product.

Identified the problem through user feedback and CS signals showing that manual drawing was a barrier for new users. Analyzed where users dropped off in the drawing creation flow and validated that the core friction was in the setup steps before any real work could begin.

Placement Precision Burden: Field reps placing linear or area-based products on an ArcSite canvas must manually position and resize each element, slowing down on-site estimates and increasing the risk of measurement errors that require rework before a proposal can be sent.

Three-Hand Drawing: Contractors creating a floorplan in the field must simultaneously hold a tape measure, manage their iPad, and record measurements, making solo site visits impractical and adding unnecessary friction to the drawing step that gates the entire estimate.

Onboarding Draw Barrier: New contractors must learn ArcSite's manual drawing tools before they can complete their first usable floorplan, delaying time to first value and increasing early churn risk before the core product benefit is experienced.

Give users a fun and intuitive way to create a rich floorplan without the technical tedium of drawing by hand.

Used Apple SDKs to leverage the LiDAR sensor on iPad Pro devices. Delivered two core AR capabilities:

• AR Room Scan: When creating a new drawing, users can select AR Scan to use their iPad Pro to scan the walls of a room. The scan automatically generates a floorplan including furniture, windows, and doors.
• AR Product Placement: Users place anchor points in the real world through an AR experience, and the system maps them directly into the drawing. Supports linear and area-based products, area measurement, and freehand line drawing.

Created a flowchart diagram to map out the AR workflow before moving into design or development.

Iterated across all AR features on camera permissions, AR experience UI/UX, and entry points for new users. Added AR Room Scan to the new user onboarding flow for iPad Pro devices. This change significantly improved retention, reduced time to complete a drawing, and produced a minor lift in trial to paid conversion rate.

AR is accessible from two entry points: the Create Drawing workflow and the canvas tool palette.

In AR Room Scan, users move their iPad around the home and a live 3D preview builds in real time, recognizing and rendering walls, doors, and furniture as they scan. Once complete, the floorplan is automatically generated and dropped into the drawing.

In AR Product Placement and Measure, users add anchor points that lock to real-world locations in the scene. The anchor points hold position as the user moves around, allowing them to map linear and area-based products or draw measured lines directly from the physical space into the canvas.

• Significantly improved retention for users who completed an AR Room Scan
• Reduced time to complete a drawing
• Minor lift in trial to paid conversion rate
• Adding AR Scan to the new user flow was the highest-impact iteration across the project

The key learning: users dont know how to ask for new technology directly, but their journey pain points signal where it can help. Drawing signals from where users struggle, then running low-risk experiments with emerging technology, is a valid path to meaningful product improvements.