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Enhancing User Experience for OOC Android Devices

By Debopam Sikder posted 6 days ago

  

Authors - @Debopam Sikder and @preethi-t-m

In this blog, we have discussed and worked on two new enhancements to the OOC UX of the MaaS360 MDM Android app. 

 

Enhancement 1 
 

Overview 

In the world of enterprise mobility management, ensuring device compliance is critical for maintaining security. However, when devices fall into out-of-compliance (OOC) due to passcode policy violations, the user experience often leaves much to be desired. End users are frequently left in the dark about why their device is non-compliant and what steps to take to fix it. This lack of clarity can lead to frustration, increased support tickets, and delayed compliance.
In this blog, we’ll explore a new initiative to improve the user experience for OOC devices by providing clear, actionable messages when devices violate passcode policies. We’ll also discuss how this feature enhances the overall user experience and simplifies compliance management for IT administrators. 

 

The Problem: Lack of Clarity for OOC Devices
 

Currently, when a device goes out of compliance due to passcode policy violations, the system does not clearly communicate the specific passcode rules that were violated. This creates confusion for end users, who may not understand why their device is non-compliant or how to resolve the issue. For example: 

  • A user might see a generic message like “Device is out of compliance” but has no idea what went wrong. 
  • They might not know whether the issue is related to passcode length, complexity, age, or history. 
  • Without clear guidance, users are left guessing, which delays their devices coming out of compliance and increases the burden on IT support teams. 

  

The Goal: Enhancing User Experience for OOC Devices 

The goal of this initiative is to improve the user experience by providing clear, actionable messages when a device is out of compliance due to passcode policy violations. Specifically, we aim to: 

  • Show Custom Messages: Display a custom message on the device agent that clearly explains why the device is OOC and what the user needs to do to fix it. 

  • Improve UX for Password OOC: Make the OOC experience more user-friendly by providing specific details about the violated policy. 


How It Works:

We’ve designed a new user interface that clearly communicates passcode policy violations to end users. This feature generates messages that are generated based on settings applied in the Android MDM policy

The ‘Passcode’ section on the MDM policy has configurations like passcode quality, passcode complexity, passcode length, passcode age and passcode history based on which the below scenarios are generated.

Here’s a sneak peek at the scenarios:

Scenario 1

Scenario 2

Your device is out of compliance. The passcode should be of ‘Complexity Low’ where at least a numeric PIN or a pattern is required. The PIN has to be at least 4 digits long. The new passcode should not match your last 3 passcodes.

Your device is out of compliance. The previously set passcode has expired. The new passcode should be of 'Complexity Medium' where an alphanumeric or an alphabetic passcode or a numeric PIN is expected. The given PIN should not have repeated or sequential numbers. The new passcode has to be at least 4 characters long. It will expire in 4 days and should not match your last 3 passcodes.

Scenario 3

Scenario 4

Your device is out of compliance. The previously set passcode has expired. The new passcode should be of 'Complexity High' where an alphanumeric or an alphabetic passcode of 6 characters is expected, or a numeric PIN of 8 digits is expected. The given PIN should not have repeated or sequential numbers. It will expire in 4 days and should not match your last 3 passcodes.

Your device is out of compliance. Your admin wants you to have two different passcodes, one for the user profile and one for the work profile. The passcode should be of ‘Complexity Low’ where at least a numeric PIN or a pattern is required. The PIN has to be at least 4 digits long. The new passcode should not match your last 2 passcodes.

Enhancement 2

Overview

The current OOC screen on the Android agent shows a list of information stating why the device is out of compliance. The screen also shows a list of rules that the admin for individual OOC reasons can define. The below screenshots show the current view of the OOC screen. However, note, that each OOC information row is clickable which takes steps to resolve the OOC state, but the list of rule items is not clickable and is only meant for informational purposes. This rule disappears after few hours from the time the OOC has been resolved.

The Problem: Lack of Clarity on clickable rows for OOC Devices

  • For the end user, there comes a lack of clarity on which rows on the OOC screen are clickable and which are not.
  • More often, the users leave the OOC screen with the impression that all rows are only informational which delays their devices from coming out of OOC.
  • A user might see a generic message like “Device is out of compliance” but has no idea how to come out of it.
  • In spite of resolving the OOC state, users see the rules for the same reasons still visible on the screen and are confused about the reason behind this.

The Goal: Enhancing User Experience for OOC Devices

  • Redesign the screen and come out with a clearer view of which items are clickable
  • Make a proper distinction between which items on the screen require user intervention and which are only for information.
  • Show proper information on the rules to disappear after resolving an OOC state.

Benefits of These Features

✅  Clear Communication: End users receive specific, actionable messages about why their device is OOC and how to fix it.

✅  Reduced Support Tickets: By providing clear guidance, users can resolve compliance issues on their own, reducing the burden on IT support teams.

✅  Improved Compliance: Faster resolution of OOC issues leads to better overall compliance rates.

How This Feature Helps You
If you’ve ever faced these challenges, this feature is for you:

  • End Users: “Why is my device out of compliance? What do I need to do to fix it?”
  • IT Admins: “How can I reduce the number of support tickets related to OOC devices?”
  • Security Teams: “How can I ensure faster compliance with passcode policies?”

By providing clear, actionable messages, this feature simplifies the compliance process for everyone involved.

Conclusion
This new feature is a game-changer that improves the user experience of out-of-compliance devices. By providing clear, actionable messages, we empower end users to resolve compliance issues quickly and reduce the burden on IT support teams. With customized messages and a user-friendly interface, this feature ensures that your organization’s devices remain secure and compliant.

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