Challenge

GM API partners were facing growing friction across onboarding, support, and day-to-day service management. Slow support, complex onboarding steps, and outdated integration guidance made it harder for partners to adopt and scale GM’s API and Data services with confidence. The lack of a clear experience for tracking and managing APIs and data added even more operational strain.

The opportunity was not just to improve a portal, but to create a more connected partner experience that simplified onboarding, improved service visibility, and supported long-term growth.

My role

As the Lead UX Designer I was responsible for designing the first-ever end-to-end digital experience for GM API and Data services and revamping GM’s developer portal to seamlessly integrate powerful enablers that simplify data management into new envisioned application to serve partners like Samsara, Fleetio, Geotab and others with care.

I worked closely with business, product, engineering, and subject matter experts to align priorities, define the right experience model, and influence a solution that was useful for partners, feasible for the organization, and positioned for growth.

The proposal aimed to reduce onboarding time by 50%, improve collections by 95%, and support a $100M+ revenue target by 2027, earning support from key fleet line-of-business teams.

UX PROCESS…

Exploring…

• Competitive Analysis – I analyzed top developer platforms, including Tesla Developer, Amazon Developers, and Apple Developer, to identify opportunities and draw inspiration.
• SME-Centered Research – I worked closely with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to gain deep insights into user needs and pain points, ensuring my design strategy was informed by expert perspectives.

 

 

 

I collaborated with other partners from business, engineers, and product teams to conduct sessions focused on understanding key desired goals.

Defining…

As I mapped the ecosystem, I identified case management as a critical enabler. That led me to explore Salesforce Lightning integrations more deeply as part of the experience strategy. Rather than treating support as a separate downstream function, I integrated it into the product experience and ensured the solution aligned with Salesforce capabilities, GM Envolve branding, and OnStar’s broader digital transformation goals.

 

Value-driven partner success framework 

 

 

The example below highlights a journey slice for client requests.

 

Experimenting…

I led multiple rounds of ideation and refinement across interaction patterns, labels, content structure, and support touchpoints.

This phase focused on testing how the experience could become:

• easier to understand
• more efficient to use
• more supportive across partner and agent needs
• scalable across future service capabilities

Partner interviews helped guide the direction. Users responded positively to the simplicity of the interactions, the clearer task flow, and the overall ease of use. Internal agents also saw value in quicker tracking and faster issue resolution.

Concept I – Dynamic help (95% demand)

Concept II – Attracting outstanding (98% demand)

Converged designs (99% demand)

Executing…

The final concept transformed a fragmented and operationally heavy experience into a clearer, more scalable service model. It created a stronger foundation for partner adoption, service visibility, and future platform growth.