Device Onboarding Experience

Client:

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

 
 

Overview

The IoT Device Onboarding project aimed to simplify how developers connect and configure their devices—known as Things in AWS IoT Core. The original setup required multiple prerequisites, including authentication files, SDK setup, and network access, often taking over an hour to complete. By redesigning the experience into a guided, contextual wizard, we helped developers connect their first device in minutes instead of hours.

 

Challenge

Early testing revealed that users weren’t struggling with technology—they were struggling with clarity.
In research sessions, most first-time participants failed to connect a Raspberry Pi within 90 minutes, and even highly technical users took close to an hour. The blockers were consistent: devices weren’t connected to Wi-Fi, authentication files were missing or misplaced, and corporate firewalls prevented successful connections.

A major pain point emerged during the “connectivity kit” download step, where users were unsure whether the package was intended for their local machine or for the IoT device. Many downloaded it onto their laptop and attempted to register the laptop as the IoT device itself. These missteps highlighted how assumptions about context and environment led to repeated failure loops and unnecessary frustration.

Approach

Working closely with engineers and solution architects, I redesigned the onboarding flow around clarity, readiness, and feedback.

  • Readiness check: Added a pre-setup checklist prompting users to confirm that their device was powered on, connected to the internet, and had the correct credentials and firmware before proceeding.

  • Implemented a pre-setup readiness checklist to reduce setup failures—prompting users to confirm device power, connectivity, and credentials upfront.
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  • Contextual guidance: Clearly differentiated actions performed on the developer’s computer from those on the IoT device, reducing confusion during the connectivity kit download and transfer steps.

  • Progressive flow: Streamlined the multi-step setup into a linear, guided sequence with inline validation and real-time feedback.

  • Collaborative validation: Partnered with internal developers to test usability across real device environments while maintaining AWS IoT Core’s security standards.

Impact

The redesigned experience reduced setup time from over an hour to under five minutes for most users and dramatically improved first-attempt success rates. It also reduced onboarding-related support tickets tied to misconfiguration and connectivity issues.

Verified successful bidirectional communication—messages published from the device and acknowledged by AWS IoT Core.


This project reinforced what I value most about design—using clarity and collaboration to remove friction and help people reach success faster.