Honda Edge
A Dynamic Support Tool for Honda Internal Teams
The Honda Edge application originated as an internal support tool tailored to aid Honda sales consultants, marking a significant evolution through iterative design thinking methodology. With ten successful releases, this application now stands as a testament to the power of user-centric design and its potential to transform business processes.
MY ROLE
- Lead UX Designer – Research, User Flows & stories, Sketching, wireframing, visual design, prototyping
- Technical Documentation – SRS Documentation, Design Review Sessions
- Design Systems Delivery
DURATION
10 Main Releases | March 2020 – Present
Fun Fact ✨
I started as Jr. Product Design on this Project 5 years ago – and in the most recent release I lead a team of 4 Designers as a Product Design Lead.
Context & Problem Statement
Cognizant of the dynamic landscape of the automotive industry, the Honda Team embarked on a mission to bolster support for their 10,000 sales consultants, service consultants and management.
Research indicated that sales consultants who received robust support on new releases exhibited higher sales rates.
This revelation laid the foundation for the Honda Edge application project.
“How might we support the Honda dealership employees with providing simple, easy and accessible information about the available cars so that they can support their customer journey to purchase or lease a vehicle.”
Problems to solve for
Informational
- Making vehicles stand out to buyers
- Availability and inventory challenges
- Managing and staying updated on new information
Scheduling Tool
- Improve communication with customers regarding billing, invoicing, and reminders for Honda owners.
Delivery
- Make the process during customer delivery much easier
- Allow for management teams to better understand there customer
Our Main Users
Sales team
Meet Paul
- Needs easy access to specs and features on phone
- Easy spec communication with the customer
Pain Points:
- too much info to remember about each vehicle specs, trims and competitors
- needs to be mobile/cordless
Service Admin Staff
Meet Sandra
- Schedule Service Appointments
- Information catalogue to justify cost of service
- Built-in communication feature for emails and follow-ups
Pain Points:
- frustrating to book or rebook service appointments – the current system is old
- difficult to keep track of all the customers and their needs
Management
Meet Greg
- Learns about the new features and car updates
- Communicates sales and service objectives for the month, quarter, year
- facilitate training for new staff
Pain Points:
- difficult to keep track of all of the new launches and features
- hard to know which dealership need more training/help
Our Featured Solutions
OUr solve for : Too much Information
Abundant knowledge, easier access.
Easily navigate and explore details on vehicle models, trim options, and prices.
Customize learning paths for each employee with supplementary tools:
- Bookmarking
- Forums for staff to ask questions
- Learning Preference choice:
- Video Based
- Screen Reader to allow for audio messaging
- Quizes!
- Feedback options built into the app to help us build for the future
Our solve for Easier Scheduling
Virtual Service Desk
The digital service desk provides efficient tools:
- AI integrated scheduling/reminding for regular services based on vehicle type, driving history, and past service apt:
- Email/Text Reminders
- Auto-Quoting service
- Educational documentation to support service advise for the customer
- Tracking and Reporting
Our Solve for enhancing Delivery
Connected Car
- Customer is supported by a Honda Sale member to pair ‘connect car’ thereby enabling functionalities such as auto start, locator, and security features.
- Implement an internal customer management system for efficient lead tracking.
Design Process
We didn’t just jump from A to B! Followed a Human-Centered Design (HCD) approach, encapsulating phases of understanding, research, synthesis, ideation, design, and evaluation.
For a deeper dive: Full Case Study 🔗
Research
Interviews, Synthesis, Journey mapping & Personas
Our intial research journey began with a focused three-month phase. Methods included:
- 1:1 Interviews
- Survey Forms
- Off boarding interview notes
Notably collaborative, the research partnered with the Honda Team for direct insights from key stakeholders.
The UX/UI designer collaborated with the UX Research team to create research scripts that underpinned the design process.
At this stage,
- Organized our research findings
- Informational architecture audit.
- Journey mapping
- Initial lo-fidelity wire-frames
- Prototyping
- User testing
- Hi-fidelity wireframes handed off to developers.
Supporting Work
Email Marketing, Support website & Internal Training Documentation
We created:
- email notifications for new releases,valuable insights, and resources
- Support website
- Internal training documents were crafted, showcasing the prowess of Honda Edge tools for Honda HR Teams during onboarding
Our Reflections and Successes
Reflections:
- power of iterative design and feedback focus product design
- Post launch surveys and reported show average usage of this app per user is approx 260 Mins a day
Successes:
- 10 releases with more tools based off feedback testing and research
- Hired to create an application tool for Acura North America!
