Activation
Notification Update

Case study - Notification quick panel

Project Background

Project intro

During the Android U OS upgrade, Google announced they would no longer support non-dismissible notifications. This decision was made due to various parties' excessive usage of such notifications. However, Verizon is facing an issue as they need to send essential notifications post-setup wizard for phone activation, which is affected by this change.

Stakeholders

Headquarter Project Manager
Headquarter UX Designer
Software Developer
Verizon Principle UX Designer

My Role

I collaborated with the headquarters' Setup Wizard Project Manager, UX Designer, and Verizon Principal UX Designer to develop a new solution for Verizon's post-setup wizard notifications. This solution ensured compliance with Google's new Android U OS policy, met Verizon's requirements, and aligned with our notification behavior.

The design was finalized, and it will be implemented in our flagship devices and incorporated into system upgrades.

The Issue

Google U OS Android Policy is upgraded

According to the Android 14 U OS policy, published 2023, users will be able to dismiss all notifications. Google no longer supports non-dismissable notifications due to due to various parties' excessive usage of such notifications.

New policy regarding non-dismissable notifications

Verizon's phone activation notificaitons are impacted

When users receive their Verizon devices and go through the onboarding screens, including the Setup wizard for phone activation, Wi-Fi setup, Google account setup, etc., Verizon displays a series of notifications to remind users to complete the activation process if they fail to do so.

Previously, most of these notifications were non-dismissible to ensure users completed the setup promptly. However, with the implementation of the new policy, users are now able to dismiss all notifications. To address this, Verizon is collaborating with our company to find a solution that allows them to continue reminding users to activate their phones while adhering to the Android policy framework.

'No SIM found' behavior in Android 13

Above is one of the example notifications - No SIM found. As you can see the 'clear' button is grey out, users won't be able to dismiss it until the error is resolved. By tapping on the arrow on the collapsed notification, the notification will expanded. By tapping on the expanded notification, users will see a pop-up with detailed instructions on how to insert a SIM card.

Discuss project timeline & release target

By the time I received the news, we were already in the later phase of the Android 14 Maintenance Release project on S23. Based on the design and development timeline, it seems unlikely that we can meet the deadline for the current maintenance release. As a result, I had to consult with Verizon PoC to explore the possibility of delaying the release to the next phone launch.

Fortunately, since these notifications primarily concern phone activation, users who receive maintenance release upgrades will not be affected. Verizon PoC agreed with the proposed timeline adjustment.

Timeline about company project milestone

Define project scope

Gather all the notifications

When I received the Google policy change from the headquarters Project Manager, I immediately recognized that it could affect Verizon's notifications after the onboarding screens. My first step was to gather all the requirements that defined 'non-dismissible' and initiate a conversation with Verizon.

I identified 18 requirements and notifications for phones, tablets, physical SIM, eSIM, and various error cases. Based on reviewing the latest Verizon activation requirement.

Narrow down the list

Upon coordinating with internal teams, I quickly discovered that certain requirements were not relevant to our case. One such example is that eSIM cannot be "unreachable" or corrupted, after syncing up with the development team. As a result, I was able to reduce the list from 17 items to 13 items by eliminating these non-applicable requirements.

Reduced list of requirements that impacted by Google policy

Verizon's proposal

New Content and buttons

Verizon PoC has confirmed and shared their initial proposal to comply with the new Google policy. The proposal includes adding extra sentences to ensure users are aware of the situation if they don't activate their phones, along with up to 3 buttons.

Below, I have a mockup illustrating the 'no SIM scenario' based on the proposal received.

The title has been changed from 'No SIM found' to 'Device has not been activated' to ensure users are aware of the phone activation failure and can take prompt action. The content explains the consequences of not activating the devices, and the final sentence instructs users on the necessary actions to be taken.

Regarding the three buttons, they are defined as follows:

1. Show Me: Show an information dialog on how to insert SIM

2. Remind Me: Re-display the notification after 24hrs, if the status is not changed. In this case, re-display if still no SIM is inserted.

3. Close: Dismiss the notification.

Mockup for No SIM pSIM/ Tablet pSIM

Our notification behaviors

Apply our notification behavior

To ensure proper implementation of the notification according to our UI, it is crucial to inform Verizon PoC about certain limitations and behaviors that our notification follows. This will create a different user experience when implementing the proposed solution.

Here are some key points to consider:

By default, our notification is collapsed.
The collapsed notification can display up to two lines of content.
Buttons will only be visible when the notification is expanded.
Buttons need to comply with padding and margins.

Native notification behavior for Android 14

Discrepancy between client's proposal and our behavior

When applying the proposal with our notification behavior, users will only be able to view the first two lines of content. Additionally, since the proposal includes up to three buttons, even though we do support it, the padding area is less than the standard.

Mockup if applying the proposal directly

Our counter proposal

Increase notification's content visibility

Given the global notification behavior, which only allows a maximum of two lines to be displayed, I propose adding another way for users to view the full content.

In addition to tapping the arrow down icon, users can tap on the content itself, which will bring up a pop-up dialog displaying the full content and its buttons.

To-Be: Tapping on the content to bring up popup

Repeat the dismissed notifications

Our company is also affected by the challenge posed by Google, which has led us to make some of our notifications dismissable. Previously, the charging notification was not dismissable. To gather more ideas, I contacted the 'Charging' team to learn about their workaround. Their solution involves resending the notification 5 seconds after the user dismisses it.

'Charging' behavior in Android 13

'Charging' behavior in Android 14

I would like to implement the same concept in Verizon's activation notification. However, instead of repeating the notification every 5 seconds, I suggest re-displaying it after 24 hours, similar to the 'remind me' button in the proposal.

To-Be: Re-display after dimissing

Reduce the number of buttons used

After evaluating the proposed buttons and our notification button behavior, it appears that the proposed buttons do not fit well with our notification button behavior. Furthermore, I have assessed whether users really require all three buttons and if the button behavior makes sense.

Let us use the 'No SIM' scenario as an example again, and here are my findings:

For the 'Show me' button, instead of displaying a button, we can maintain the current behavior of 'tapping here' to bring out the insert SIM popup. There is no need for an extra button.

For the 'Remind me' button, it is better to dismiss the notification when it shows up again after 24 hours. Otherwise, users might think it's a bug if nothing happens.
As for the 'Close' button, it is duplicated with the 'swipe to dismiss' behavior. Therefore, there is no need to provide this extra button.

To-Be: 'No SIM' Case

Although some buttons may not be necessary, there are still cases where action buttons are required. For instance, in cases where 'Activation NOT successful' occurs, the device needs to reboot to activate again. In this case, it is better to keep the 'Try Again' button so that users are less likely to be surprised.

To-Be: 'Activation NOT successful' Case

The outcome

Final design

After evaluating the initially published requirement and aligning it with the company notification behavior and UX copy writer, I was able to provide the final design with updated text and button behavior.

To-Be: Requirement and buttons

To-Be: 'No SIM' case mockup

More button layouts

Activation Notification Update