Cellular Device Provisioning: Simplifying a Complex Process
Overview
In 2024, Videri introduced its latest digital signage display, now equipped with cellular capabilities. This advancement provided customers with greater flexibility in deploying signage without relying on traditional network infrastructures. However, integrating cellular provisioning into existing workflows posed a significant challenge. The goal was to ensure that customers could provision cellular-enabled devices with the same ease as their non-cellular counterparts.
As the Product Designer on this initiative, I collaborated closely with our radio and Android developers to redefine user flows and streamline the provisioning experience. The result was an intuitive, user-friendly solution that minimized disruption and complexity.
My Role
As the Lead Designer and Technical Writer for this project, I was responsible for:
Conducting user research and gathering key requirements.
Aligning stakeholders, including product managers, engineers, and customer success teams.
Collaborating closely with radio, web, and Android developers to redefine user flows and streamline the provisioning experience.
Designing the end-to-end workflow for cellular provisioning via mobile and device management via the web.
Writing clear and user-friendly support articles for all scenarios.
Challenges
Provisioning cellular devices involved additional steps and potential failure points compared to WiFi devices.
Experience Complexity
Failure scenarios were inevitable, and existing workflows did not adequately address recovery paths.
Error Handling
Users needed to transition seamlessly between cellular and non-cellular devices without confusion.
Workflow Consistency
With a reduced mobile development team, the implementation needed to be simple and maintainable.
Limited Resources
Opportunity
How might we redefine provisioning in a way that improves usability while addressing technical constraints?
Goals
To address the problem and seize the opportunity, we set the following goals:
Ensure that provisioning cellular devices was as intuitive as possible, minimizing user frustration.
Create a Frictionless "Happy Path"
Design Clear Failure and Recovery States
Make troubleshooting straightforward by providing actionable feedback and supporting documentation.
Ensure that users switching between device types experienced minimal disruptions.
Maintain Workflow Consistency
Develop an Implementation-friendly Solution
Enable non-mobile developers to integrate the workflow without compromising user experience.
Outcome
Through cross-functional collaboration and iterative design improvements, we successfully launched a provisioning process that balanced technical constraints with user-centric design. This ensured a smooth, intuitive experience for customers, reinforcing Videri’s commitment to delivering high-performance digital signage solutions.
The provisioning process was redesigned to closely mirror that of non-cellular devices, reducing the learning curve for users. Plus, by keeping workflows uniform, users could transition between device types with minimal friction.
Seamless & Consistent Experience
When issues arose, users were presented with clear, actionable steps to resolve them, reducing support inquiries.