As for advice (specific to these smokers and other similar electrics)...
1) Do NOT measure the box temp - there is no value in it unless you truly have cause to believe there is a malfunction. Otherwise it's going to cause you completely unnecessary stress and provide zero value.
2) Trust the smoker and don't mess with it... put your food in, set the temp, and let it do its thing. Don't open the door, don't futz with it.
3) This is really #2 in another way... when the stall hits go have a beer, take a nap, whatever... just leave the smoker alone and let it do its job. Do NOT open the door, foil/crutch, etc.
4) Get a good meter that you can trust to give you a reliable internal temp as this is the best way to know when briskets, butts, and similar are done. A dual probe meter is extremely handy.
5) Don't panic that there is no smoke ring... a smoke ring is purely aesthetic and you're not going to get one with an electric smoker without extra (unnecessary) effort.
6) I like to brine butts, briskets, and turkeys. It's not absolutely necessary, but I prefer it as it seems to reduce the length of the smoke, retains more moisture, and allows even lesser cuts of meat to be very successfully smoked.
