Reimagined for mixed fleets

| UX Lead – General Motors | 2023 – 2024

As the Lead UX Designer for a new reimagined fleet management product with OnStar Business Solutions, I was responsible for designed a solution that seamlessly unified and intelligently integrated the powerful capabilities of account management, insights, and operations into a scalable architecture, resulting in an innovative digital product tailored for mixed fleets (GM and non-GM). The navigation is intentionally designed to lead with value, evolve cohesively, and support scalability. By deeply understanding user needs, roles, and leveraging research, we transformed the way fleet directors and managers operate, delivering an exceptional, design-focused experience.

Challenge

Commercial services had three different platforms for our fleet customers, all offering almost the same features. This left our clients scratching their heads and left us with hefty maintenance bills! Each product was created by different teams, leading to a jumble of free and paid options.

To fix this, we needed a one-stop shop that would cut through the chaos, eliminate the overlaps, and supercharge our services. We wanted a scalable setup that lets users effortlessly access all GM product suites in one spot, while also creating fun and easy ways to discover and upgrade to even more awesome GM Envolve subscriptions they haven’t tried yet.

 

 

Unfolding the journey

 

Mission

Offer a single platform for business customers to access GM Envolve commercial services, boosting engagement and upselling opportunities.To achieve this, we need a scalable product architecture so users can easily explore all GM products in one place, seamlessly discovering additional subscriptions.

 

 

Discovery

I had the pleasure of teaming up with Lextant, Escalent, and the OnStar business strategy team to bring this project to life. We conducted three rounds of research with 15 fleet managers from various industries, like construction and transportation.

We found that managers were juggling multiple tools—Excel, our telematics solutions, and internal finance tools—making their work cumbersome. They craved a one-stop solution to streamline operations, save time, reduce costs, and enhance vehicle health and driver safety. This research was key to uncovering insights and setting the stage for our innovative solution.

 

 

 

Strategy

After getting a good grasp of the competitive landscape and really digging into users’ mental models, I teamed up with other designers and cross-functional teams to shape a design strategy focused on leading with value and seamlessly evolving. I made it a point to regularly check in with key partners to keep the product on track and aligned with our broader business goals. As someone who’s passionate about human experience, I always came to planning meetings armed with top-notch designs and artifacts, ready to push boundaries and create designs that would truly make a difference.

Conceptualization

Next, I focused on crafting a variety of design approaches to explore and refine the best concepts for unifying experiences and capabilities that bring value to commercial clients. Naturally, these designs were tailored to address the well-defined Jobs to be Done (JTBDs). We combined the best features from our initial solutions to create a final framework for navigation and information architecture. This structured the navigation and organization in a way that resonated intuitively with users.

 

Execution

To ensure a smooth handoff and close the loop, I dedicated significant time to collaborating with the product and engineering teams. My team and I created detailed style and interaction guides to clearly communicate the final designs and interactions, ensuring the navigation was responsive across different screen sizes. These guides complemented our high-fidelity prototypes. In our Agile environment, I prepared comprehensive documentation for each sprint, championed design thinking, and fostered a collaborative spirit. This approach not only kept the team supported and aligned but also led to the successful delivery of high-quality solutions we could all be proud of.

 

Highlights

It took real courage—and a 3-day workshop—for the design team to propose unifying the experiences and aligning all product teams to remove redundancies. Our goal was to reimagine new ways of serving commercial customers with meaningful and powerful capabilities, addressing the gaps and opportunities in the market we serve today. We spent long hours thoughtfully discussing the pros and cons from resourcing, budgeting, and timing perspectives, always keeping our commitment to delivering an exceptional customer experience at the forefront. Our vision as the GM Envolve service solution team was to ensure every decision made a positive impact on our customers.