Device activation journey
UX, UI, Journey mapping, Project managing
Delivery
Physical guide
Digital guide
Activation
A box is delivered to your doorstep. You open the box and read the paper guide. The instructions tell you to download the Xfinity app and get to the onboarding page to activate your Gateway. This is the customer journey for Xfinity digital device activation in a nutshell.
Syncing the guides
Issues occur when the pathing instructed in the physical guide doesn't match that of the digital guide. When this happens, activation failure occurs as customers can't find their way to the right screen in the app.
The obvious solution will be to have the paper guide match the updates of the digital app. After multiple rounds of interviews with the Supply chain and a visit to a warehouse, I found that it wasn't viable for the reasons below.
Cost
Discarding inventory and replenishing
Lead time
Printing, shipping, and prepping takes 6 weeks
Pre-kitting
Boxes are pre-prepared in large number at a time
Limited control
Warehouse(distribution hub) is 3rd party, multiple locations
Then I decided to make the information more dynamic, as if we can have less information printed and more digital, we'll be able to overcome the physical constraints. QR code comes to mind as a medium.
Less on the print
The redesign of the printed guide was proposed with a QR code and a radical reduction of text. This proposal reduced the total footprint by 70% and the printing cost by 80%, $1.7 million/year. Footprint reduction contributes to the same reduction in environmental cost as the weight and material used are saved in direct proportion.
Mapping the journey
What's more important is elevating the experience. Above is the journey map of the existing path. Marked in red indicates when the user has to either make a decision or do a significant amount of tasks that are more than a tap.
In contrast, the map above displays a much simpler journey where multiple instances of red are replaced by green; automatically done. This not only makes the ideal path easier for the user but also brings financial benefit to the company by eliminating derailing scenarios.
$13.48
$7
Average call
Activation call
Average customer phone calls cost $7, and it's almost doubled for activation-related calls as they take longer. Those red boxes in the journey have been very expensive both in dollar amount and for the brand perception.
Deep linking QR code
A QR code sends the user to a web page where it can determine the state of the incoming device type and app installation. This brings some experiential benefits. But I wanted to go further. A leap can be made by using deferred deep links. This allows the app to identify the people who just scanned the paper guide. Thus, we can let them bypass other screens and get right to the device activation.
Faster activation
Customers who just received the device shipped are excited to activate and use the internet. I had to convince other teams to let this group skip the value tour, app permission, overview, and landing page, even if it's the first time the customer is launching the app. The diagram above was drawn to present this idea to executives so that the respective teams could support the initiative. A clear visual representation that shows the agile new journey that is easily understood without having to read much.
App permission
Value tour
The value tour is not to be missed entirely. During the setup, the gateway has to boot up, and tethered qualitative user research revealed that many people incorrectly unplug cables, thinking something went wrong because of this boot time. Value tour is moved here with a wait counter, so the perceived wait time can be lessened.
While you wait
The wait counter is a scale-animated element that stays at the bottom to signify continuity during the loop so the progress is indicated and prevents users from unplugging during the setup.
And I took this a step further as an upselling opportunity. The metadata in the deferred QR code identifies what kind of Gateway the customer is activating. I can also add targeted marketing to this loop, displaying offers to the concerend audience.
Qualitative research
To validate, I worked with the research team to do rounds of tethered qualitative user research at an Xfinity store with proof of concept. One of the learning was that the business card sized instruction was often missed in the box by the customers.
Revision & expansion
For the printed card, I resized the card to be better found and gripped in hand, which gave it some breathing space. With the gateway as a pilot, the executives expressed support for expanding the solution to every self-install-with-app product Xfinity and NOW offered.
Benefits summary
Customer journey
11 Screens to 4 before onboarding.
1:45 to 58 seconds AB testing result.
Decreased complexity and decision making
Preserving NPS score and reducing call volume
Printed guide
No longer has to chase updates
Allows larger inventory and less frequent change of bill of materials
Same guide covers more products, easier operation
While you wait
Vastly decreased perceived device boot wait
Value tour viewing time increased: 11 seconds to 32 seconds
Ability to expose targeted upselling opportunities