Xfinity Mobile
Xfinity Mobile is a phone service that launched in 2017. I was part of the design team working on the direct-to-consumer digital experience. Xfinity Mobile's key differentiator was a wifi-first approach on data and voice services paired with a focus on enabling self-service by creating a simple and clear digital experience.
Launch of service
Total subscribers in 2017
Launched BYOD
Retail stores opened
Still high barrier to entry in 2018
Total subscribers target by EOY 2018
From the customers insights team, I learned about the following traits of customers who either bring their own device or pay for their devices in full at the time of checkout.
Our family-focused customer segment was the obvious choice for us to focus on. There was a clear opportunity to improve an existing experience to get more families to sign up for Xfinity Mobile.
Opportunities for usability testing
Flexibility to adjust eligibility model
From design to developer handoff
Limited engagement with Engineers
I designed the UI and interaction patterns for the new eligibility assessment and mitigation experience for new and existing customers.
Designer (me)
Content Strategist
Product Owner
Credit Risk Team
Engineers
Accessibility
Understanding the current problems and identifying key moments to improve the experience
Xfinity Mobile had an algorithm referred to as the Internal Liability Check that determined the number of lines a customer could get. You could get up to 5 lines.
Factors taken into consideration:
Sometimes, customers were required to run an external credit check to determine their eligibility when there wasn’t enough information to inform the internal liability check.
Risks with running a credit check:
The purpose of these checks was to weed out customers who were potential financial risks to the business, people who would likely cancel the service after purchasing multiple devices. While it was successful in doing that, it introduced a new set of problems.
The model assigned the same risk levels to:
If a customer was only eligible for 2 out of the 5 lines, they would be prevented from getting the additional 3 lines even if they were willing to pay for 3 new devices in full or they wanted to bring their own devices.
Imagine coming in with the expectation of switching your family to Xfinity Mobile, learning all about it, picking new devices, running your credit, and getting a hard inquiry only to find out that you can't bring everyone would be a frustrating experience.
You would either stay with your current provider or, worse, go to a competitor.
That was the experience a lot of customers had before this project launched.
The Credit Risk Team worked on a new model that allowed customers to qualify for up to 5 lines. The following are a few screens showing the final designs. My goal with the designs was to create a path for our customers to get all 5 lines through transparent communication and by setting clear expectations.
Video walkthrough of the prototype highlighting key screens and design rationale
Xfinity Mobile had around 380k subscribers in 2017. At the end of 2018, Xfinity Mobile reached 1.2 million subscribers through all the various programs that were initiated at the beginning of the year to meet that 1 million subscriber goal.
Feature launched in Q1
Increase in sales
Overal increase in lines
Total subscribers in 2018
Growth in subscriber base in 2019
Total subscribes in 2020 making it one of the largest MVNOs in the US
Since this project, I've gained a lot of experience and thinking back to this project, I never once questioned why I was given such a tight timeline and why the engineers did not have any capacity to help in the earlier stages. As someone who was fresh out of grad school and wanting to prove my value, I struggled a lot with saying "No" and I never pushed back even when I had solid reasoning. Thankfully, that has changed and I approach my work with a greater degree of confidence.
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