Empowering fleets with cameras

| Lead UX Designer – General Motors | 2023 – 2024

As the Lead UX Designer for the OnStar DualCam solutions, I was responsible for the development of a state-of-the-art safety experience that leverages Lytx technology and AI monitoring through advanced visual recognition and sensor detection. This solution is aimed at enhancing driver behavior with respect to their privacy, and improving operational efficiency, positioning GM as a leader in driver safety and telematics innovation.

Challenge

For new fleet managers, the lack of camera discoverability prevents them from fully benefiting from our OnStar safety services and OnStar DualCam designed to promote positive driver behavior and safeguard lives. Experienced managers, on the other hand, may find the services and technology but are often hesitant to install cameras due to privacy concerns, which limits opportunities to enhance driver safety and reduce costs.

To address these issues, we adopt an experience-driven approach that improves camera discoverability while prioritizing safe driving and data privacy. For example, once cameras are installed, the system tracks the driver’s journey, detecting unsafe behaviors like harsh braking and speeding, and provides real-time feedback using visuals, sounds, and haptics. Managers can also customize security configurations, camera encryption, and data privacy settings to meet their needs, building trust and enabling access to valuable insights for improved safety and efficiency.

Let’s uncover the journey

Discovering…

Our fantastic UX research team uncovered valuable insights and statistics, showing just how powerful camera solutions can be in enhancing safety and saving lives. These findings clearly demonstrate the exciting potential of our technology to make a real difference!

Feeling confident about the project, I started by diving deep into our core services and safety offerings for standard content experience customers, laying the groundwork to showcase value and create compelling upsell opportunities for adding cameras. Next, I explored dynamic ways to highlight the benefits, such as enhancing driver behavior, reducing insurance costs, and preventing vehicle depreciation, by creatively leveraging in-vehicle and camera sensors and events to promote next steps and actions.

Defining…

Then, I focused on identifying key touchpoints and enablers to address our customers’ main concerns. I recognized that drivers have a lot to handle while keeping their eyes on the road; the instrument cluster, infotainment system, mobile device, and cargo storage (if applicable) can all be potential sources of distraction. We need to understand how these factors can make their jobs more challenging and potentially hazardous.

With that in mind, I focused on designing a solution that enhances the desirability and usability of our driver safety features as a priority. The event recording framework was designed with a driver-first approach, tracking the journey and detecting unsafe behaviors like harsh braking and speeding. It provides real-time feedback through visuals, sounds, and haptics, giving drivers a 15-second window to correct their actions. This helps prevent automatic recording and avoids negative impacts on driver scores and insurance rates. Clear, multi-modal alerts keep drivers informed and allow timely adjustments. If no corrective action is taken, fleet managers are notified and given guidance on the next steps to ensure driver safety.

Additionally, I defined clear and simple ways for configuring data, security, and camera settings, so fleet managers and drivers have full control over the system based on their needs. Protecting data privacy is crucial, just like keeping drivers safe, and this approach empowers customers to manage their people and business confidently, knowing they are making responsible choices. Our designs also needed to embrace simplicity and clarity. By focusing on a clean, minimalistic design, I ensured that users could easily discover and navigate features like settings, video feeds, performance dashboards, and safety events. Using consistent visual cues and clear labels made the experience seamless and enjoyable, reducing cognitive load and letting users focus on what they do best—driving safely!

Validating & testing…

We tested our designs with a small fleet of customers leveraging the user testing platform, gathering both qualitative and quantitative insights. Our research team asked open-ended questions, avoiding leading prompts to ensure honest feedback.

Qualitative research revealed that customers could easily find safety widgets and alerts but were confused by parameters like alerts per 10 miles and the differences between vehicle and driver metrics.
Quantitative data showed that 57% of users who were informed about data encryption and opt-out options felt more confident enabling safety features, as they could maintain privacy while enhancing safety and reducing costs.

These insights led us to refine the visual design of our widgets, making it easier for users to understand and navigate. By clearly presenting privacy options, encouraging users to adopt the system for better safety and cost efficiency without compromising their privacy.

Shipping…

To close the loop, I polished the final designs and refined the flows to ensure they not only met product requirements but were also pixel-perfect. Utilizing Figma, I created prototypes that developers could easily interact with, making the flows intuitive and easy to understand. I aimed to make this process enjoyable and simple for everyone, so I carefully documented and annotated all flows, designs, and UI components, ensuring they adhered to accessibility guidelines and clearly communicated the design vision to the engineering team.