User in Control

Full Title or Meme

In a world of exponential change in many of the aspects of our life, it can often fell like we are out-of-control. This page is about giving the user they they are in control.

Context

• Many new technology solutions advertise all of the features that are available to the user. Many fail to get user acceptance.
• The new products that grab user's attention are often the ones that give the user the feeling that they are in control

Anti Patterns

• In 2022 Comcast created a new internet connection experience so that customers could pick it up at their Xfinity store, take it how and just get it running by them selves. They were vary proud of the nature and the packaging of their new solution. So what actually happens when the user gets home?

1. Sleek new packaging that takes its cue from that created by Apple when Steve Jobs and Jony Ive ran the show.
2. The only instructions are:
   1. Get the XFinity app. - but you do not have Internet yet - If you don't have good reception for. your phone, or a good data plan, you go to Starbucks for coffee and the 15 mins or so it takes to download the app. But they you find that there are 3 XFinity apps in the App Store, and you left the instruction card at home, so you need to pick the best looking one, or go back home to get the card.It might be nice if this was clear on the outside of the box, then you might have downloaded it on the way home.
   2. Sign into the app with. your Comcast account. Most people I know that have a Concast account have stopped using it and cannot even remember what they user name is. On first connect using the Apple version it can fail with "unable to make a secure connection". Not what.you want when establishing a trust relationship. If you a save enough to back up and start over, it often does create a secure connection. This sounds like they not asking for https from the start.
   3. Run the app - the first thing it asks for is the QR code on the bottom of the modem, but they you need to give the app access to the camera and other stuff that seems excessive. Not only that but when you try to read the QR code with the phones camera, it is not able to focus on the code. That takes better lighting and lots of patience. But it does work.
3. Now you are give a bunch of sales pitches for other features that you didn't know about and are not sure if they sound like you in control at all.
4. If you enable notifications, you will be asked on every join to the wifi if you want to control your device from the XFinity app. Each is an opportunity to loose more control.