Overview

About the project

This high-revenue ($45M increase) application, rolling out to a projected 500 users, was created to fill the communication gap between customers needing service for their vehicle and our clients, GM dealerships Business Development Agents, scheduling them for that service. Creating a consolidated list of service leads, offering customer and vehicle information, as well as adding the ability schedule an appointment in a dashboard-like environment, will allow agents to fulfill their daily goals quickly and efficiently.

Active Team Size:

Design: 1 Product Designer, 1 Visual Designer
Business: 1 Project Owner, 1 Sr. Project Manager, 1 Project Manager
Development: 1 Lead dev, ~20 devs

Duration:

June 2022 - current

My Role:

I was the lead UX resource on this project. My responsibilities included:

• User research
• Ideation
• Wireframing & prototyping
• User testing
• Communication with stakeholders
• Handoff and consultant to developers

The Challenge

Agents lacked a central area to view leads connected to customers’ vehicle service needs. This led to fewer successful scheduling attempts being made, and of those, opportunities to upsell customers were missed due to available offers and vehicle service information being difficult to find.

The Solution

A consolidated list of vehicle service leads, each linking to a dashboard-like view of more information about the customer, the vehicle, flagged service needs, and available offers, for the agent to act upon.

User Research

Get to know the user

This project was preceded by visiting the clients dealerships in the area. There, I was able to interview actual users to identify their goals, current processes, and identify any gaps and/or painpoints that may be hindering their daily tasks. I was then able to create User Personas based on these findings:

Design Jam

How to solve the problem

The next step of the process was to hold a design jam, which is a ~4hr collaborative brainstorming activity, geared towards generating solutions in a fun and creative environment, by analyzing the problems/challenges as well as ideas to come up with potential design solutions.

Design Challenge

How might we empower BDC agents to identify new prospects and research existing customers to help them efficiently, improve relationships and as a result, shape sales and growth strategy?

Attendees

There was a total of 14 participants, consisting of Project Owners/Managers, Business Analysts, and Product designers

Activities

• Persona and field research reviews
• Expert interview + How Might We
• User journey mapping
• Lo-fi sketching consolidated into Mid-fi wireframe
• Moderated user testing

Journey Mapping

Concept to Mid-fi Wireframe

After completing the user flow, a lo-fi ideation concept (to the right) was created taking into account all the most important features needed for the user. This idea was then explored further, creating a more intuitive flow/layout, and turned into a mid-fi first iteration (below) of the application to be taken into user testing.

Improvements made to mid-fi first iteration:

• Adding the ability to click into each lead, allowing the agent to view more information about the customer than previously offered in the expanded rows. This includes more in-depth customer and vehicle information sections, and areas of opportunity to add additional services to the appointment (Service Maintenance Schedule, Alerts, Service Recommendations)
• Included a section for “Quick Actions”, making it easier for agents to quickly assist customers that call in
• Created a “Metrics” page, giving managers the ability to keep track of performance, and agents a way to track goals.

User Testing

Strategy & Findings

The first round of user testing, consisting of 4 users (employees at the client dealerships), was a moderated walk through of the application. Each user was asked to navigate through the screens and offer feedback on flow, was asked questions about layout, important information that was missing/not necessary, and their overall opinion of the experience.

Major Findings

• Appreciates all information in one area, in an easy to digest format
• Order of table columns need rearranging, focusing on lead score, status, and distance from dealership to determine value of lead.
• Better search and sorting capabilities
• Add ability to create notes on a specific lead
• Needs more information about why the customer is calling and how they can help
• Focus metrics page on most important KPIs

Visual Design

High Fidelity Design

Findings from user testing opened many opportunities to better the design of the application, making it more intuitive, and allowing for a more delightful user experience.

Leads List

Table of current leads that is filterable and searchable, populated by pertinent information with a row expansion feature, allowing for more information at a glance. Also includes a section for quick actions, allowing for easier access to additional functionalities.

Lead Details

Dashboard of any customer information related to a lead. All information is beneficial to assisting a customer in scheduling an appointment, as well as offering opportunities to add services to the appointment.

Metrics

The metrics section allows managers to keep track of agents progress, and gives agents a space to track goals.

Conclusion

Reflection & Moving Forward

The strategy behind the design for this application was centered on the users experience. We were able to explore the most important facets of what would make this application a delight for customers to use. Though this walkthrough was a lot to consume (thanks for making it this far!), this is not the end.

The iterative design process follows multiple steps, and these were just the first few. From here, the high fidelity mockups were reviewed by stakeholders before being delivered to the developers. After delivery, I have continued to collaborate with developers, ensuring any questions they have are answered, and any edge case scenarios are covered. Having these relationships with other members of the application creation process, and working in an agile mindset ensures alignment and keeps the door open for improvement.

Thank you and please check out some of my other work!