My Contributions
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Product Designer
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Led feature design vision
Project Overview
During my last months at Ford, I played a key role in refining the service and maintenance messaging strategy and contributed to the design of an app aimed at enhancing the overall user experience. By conducting competitive analysis and drawing insights from leading automotive brands, I helped develop a messaging approach that categorized error codes by severity and advocated for keeping these features free for users. My team also identified the need for a live vehicle health report, leading to the creation of an in-vehicle app that provided users with real-time status updates, error details, and easy access to service scheduling.
Service & Maintenance
Ford Service & Maintenance Messaging and Walk-around App Feature
I focused on enhancing the service and maintenance experience for users by leading the design efforts on a messaging strategy and an in-vehicle app feature aimed at keeping customers informed about their vehicle's health without overwhelming them with notifications.
Design Process
During the early stages of this project, I conducted a detailed competitive analysis of leading automotive brands like GM, Toyota, Subaru, Hyundai, Honda, and Tesla. During this process, I noticed that many manufacturers charged extra for service and maintenance features, which I viewed as a potential trust issue. Since service and maintenance play a crucial role in vehicle safety, charging for these features would contradict Ford's goal of becoming the "Most Trusted Automotive Manufacturer." I strongly advocated for keeping these features free for users.
Mock of Competitive Analysis
Additionally, I incorporated valuable elements from competitors, such as Toyota's "call dealer now" button and Tesla's cloud-based updates and remote service capabilities, into our design process.
Toyota Call Dealer Button
Tesla's maintenance approach intrigued me—they either send updates via the cloud or dispatch a technician to the user's location. We incorporated these insights into our design process and regularly updated stakeholders on our findings and analysis.
After gaining a deep understanding of automotive service and maintenance, my team identified a gap in the market for a live vehicle health report, not just a static snapshot. This insight led us to conceptualize an in-vehicle "health" app that would provide users with a virtual vehicle "walkaround," displaying the current status of their vehicle. The app was designed to offer a severity-based, color-coded vehicle view, allowing users to easily identify and address any detected issues. They could tap on a specific area of the vehicle image for detailed error information, access tutorial videos for DIY repairs, or schedule a service appointment with a "call dealer" button.
Mockup of the intial design
As we progressed, we collaborated with engineers to account for a list of prognostic and diagnostic codes, which represented the potential issues users might see in the app.
Alert Examples
Recognizing the risk of information overload, we revised our approach to avoid overwhelming users. We streamlined the design to feature only the 3-5 most frequently checked vehicle parts and displayed additional details only when specific issues or warnings arose. This adjustment aimed to improve the clarity and usability of the app, ensuring users received relevant information without unnecessary complexity.
Having a list of all features was information overload, so we went with a more streamlined approach with only high priority features and features with alerts
Having a list of all features was information overload, so we went with a more streamlined approach with only high priority features and features with alerts
Project Vision
Initially, the service and maintenance messaging system provided basic text notifications on the instrument cluster behind the steering wheel. These notifications appeared repeatedly at the start of each key cycle, prompting users to dismiss them multiple times. While this approach ensured that users received important messages, it was limited in its ability to offer detailed information and lacked engagement.
Previous Alert Approch
My team took over the design and identified a need to enhance the user experience. We conceptualized an in-vehicle health app that provided a virtual vehicle "walkaround," offering a detailed view of the vehicle’s status with a severity-based, color-coded display. This approach aimed to give users a comprehensive look at detected issues.
We also incorporated proactive notifications, which were displayed on the center stack and within the FordPass mobile app, providing users with a more integrated and accessible way to receive alerts. This update included reminders for regular service needs, helping users stay informed about the status and needs of their vehicle.
Final Design Mockup
For the more distant future, we envisioned allowing users to customize their service and maintenance notifications according to their preferences. This included integrating with personal profiles to ensure that crucial information was communicated to the vehicle's owner, even if other drivers were using the vehicle. We also explored the possibility of allowing users to schedule service appointments directly from the vehicle, sending a detailed vehicle report with the request. Additionally, we considered integrating over-the-air updates and remote service capabilities, inspired by Tesla's current approach.
Outcomes
When I left Ford, the project was advancing towards a comprehensive integration with the overall vehicle messaging strategy. We were working closely with the team responsible for ensuring consistency across various messaging components, while also reviewing specific error codes for potential exceptions to their severity designations.
We had also begun prioritizing and planning the app's release for the model year '24 vehicles. This included finalizing the design details, conducting user acceptance testing, determining where this app would live within the user interface, and preparing for a smooth rollout to ensure that the enhanced service and maintenance experience would be delivered effectively to users.
The development of this app aimed to set a new standard for user experience in automotive service and maintenance, aligning with Ford's commitment to safety and user trust.