Connected Car
Hum by Verizon is a connected car system and mobile app that monitors your vehicle’s performance via an OBD II reader. It offers live assistance, maintenance reminders, roadside support, and more to keep you informed and secure on the road.
Project Activities
Design Thinking Workshops
Sketching
Wireframes
Information Architecture
Prototypes
User Testing and Research
Case Study: Journeys & Location Feature Development for Connected Vehicle Experience
The Product was supported by feature tribes, with a critical focus on the Journeys/Location feature. This allows vehicle location data to be visualized and provided to customers via a mobile app and web portal, enabling tracking, analytics, safety monitoring, and the ability to set alerts. Additionally, location-based discount incentives are offered through partner merchants.
My Role:
As the UX Lead for the Journeys/Locations feature tribe, I worked as part of a cross-functional team operating in design sprints, following lean methodology. My responsibilities spanned research ideation, design testing, and working closely with executive leadership to align product goals.
Research & Discovery:
To kick off the project, I immersed myself in understanding both the product and the users. I began with a secret shopping exercise to assess how the product was positioned both online and in-store, as well as how it was sold by the sales team. This included store visits and analysis of the sales process. I documented my findings and provided recommendations for improvements to enhance the user experience.
I then became a user of the product myself – signing up for the service, installing the product, and exploring the mobile app. This hands-on experience allowed me to explore the product’s capabilities from the customer’s perspective, including features like onboarding new users, multi-vehicle usage, setting location alerts, and managing permissions and notifications.
Competitive & Market Research:
In parallel, I conducted competitive research to evaluate how our product compared in the market and identify opportunities for differentiation and improvement, I regularly reviewed app store ratings, customer feedback, and industry trends to stay informed and extract actionable insights for the tribe.
Collaboration & Strategy:
Throughout the project, I participated in research readouts with the team, presenting verbatim feedback and insights from our research efforts. I also contributed to strategy sessions with executive leadership, providing UX perspectives to inform product roadmaps and goals.
Additionally, led brainstorming sessions and workshops with stakeholders to align on product goals, ensuring the UX approach supported the broader vision. These collaborative efforts helped co-create solutions that addressed both customer needs and business objectives.
Design & Development:
From ideation to production, I was responsible for generating sketches, low-fidelity and high-fidelity prototypes, screen designs, and UI components. These designs were used for testing and later refined for development. I employed both qualitative and quantitative methods for user testing, observing real users and gathering feedback to validate design decisions and iterate on proposed solutions.
Innovation Challenge:
My team introduced AI chatbot-based troubleshooting. To optimize this, we implemented a phased approach starting with the replacement of the static FAQ section with a contextual FAQ. This allowed users to quickly access relevant information directly from their current screen, reducing the need to navigate to other sections for answers. We also used progressive disclosure on the feedback mechanism for contact, ensuring that users were able to engage with support at the right moment in their journey.
The integration of these features was incorporated into the product roadmap as part of an incremental improvement strategy, ensuring continuous value delivery over time.
Conclusion:
This comprehensive approach to UX design helped the team deliver a product that not only addressed core customer needs but also created opportunities for continuous improvement and user satisfaction. By focusing on research-driven design and collaboration across departments, the Journeys/Location feature successfully enhanced the user experience, increased engagement, and contributed to the overall success of the product.
Key Outcomes:
- Conducted extensive user and market research, including secret shopping and competitive analysis.
- Led ideation, strategy sessions, and design workshops to align product goals with user needs.
- Developed and tested low- and high-fidelity prototypes and UI components for seamless integration.
- Delivered an intuitive, self-service experience through contextual FAQs and AI-powered troubleshooting.
- Ensured continuous improvement through incremental design updates in collaboration with cross-functional teams.
This case study highlights my ability to combine user-centered design with strategic product development, demonstrating the importance of research, collaboration, and iteration in delivering high-impact solutions.
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