Family Settings
Custom internet controls for families
Helping parents manage their children’s online access through a new broadband feature.
Company
Xfinity
Role
UX/UI design
Status
Launching end of 2026
Overview
As part of a new broadband add-on, I designed Family Settings to help parents manage their children's internet usage.
The experience gives parents personalised controls to assign devices, set screen time limits, create schedules and manage WiFi access without impacting the rest of the household.
Project outcomes
1
Designed and delivered the end-to-end Family Settings experience.
2
Created new reusable design system components.
3
Scheduled to launch as part of a broadband add-on at the end of 2026.
Opportunity
Parents wanted more control over their children’s internet usage, but needed a simple way to manage restrictions while keeping the rest of the household connected.
Make it easier for parents to manage their kids internet access without disrupting the household.
Collaborating across time zones
I joined the team for six months, working with a distributed team across multiple time zones in the UK, US and India. Async collaboration, clear design documentation and regular stakeholder reviews ensured decisions were aligned and delivery stayed on track.
Reducing friction in everyday controls
One challenge was helping parents quickly create schedules without adding unnecessary steps.
Breaking the design system
I designed a new day selection component that allowed users to choose days of the week directly within the flow, removing the need to navigate to a separate page.
This created a faster, more intuitive experience while introducing a reusable pattern for future settings.
Balancing customer experience and development effort
We explored onboarding modals to introduce new features, but adapted the designs into full-screen experiences as a trade-off to reduce development effort and meet timelines.
Supporting accessible implementation
Accessibility was built into the handover process through a dedicated specification, giving engineering clear guidance on key requirements and helping ensure the experience was implemented as intended.
Reflection
This project reinforced the importance of balancing customer needs, business goals and technical constraints. Working within an established roadmap challenged me to find simple solutions that delivered value while supporting the wider product vision.
Great design isn’t always about adding more, it’s about making the right decisions
Looking back, I would have liked to be more involved earlier in shaping the product strategy and exploring the broader vision. However, working across teams and time zones strengthened my ability to adapt quickly, collaborate effectively and deliver quality experiences within real-world constraints.
