Wharton Venture Lab Incubator Program Collaborations
Connecting dots to reshape the Auto Repair experience
Timeline
July 2022 - May 2023
Role
Design Lead -
user research, design, testing
Tools
Figma / Miro / Notion
Collaborator
1 Product Researcher, 1 UI Designer, and 2 Software Engineers
01 - Research
How do car owners go through auto repair nowadays?
I conducted 12+ in-depth interviews and received 500+ survey response from car owners. Analyzing their varied experiences in auto repair, I was able to identify a common pattern in the process:
Problem 01 - Anxious after an incident
Regardless of the incident's severity, car owners often feel anxiety over their next steps. This anxious feeling can persist for hours or days until they are able to leave their cars at the auto body shops for repair.
Problem 02 - Lack of communication and expectancy
Car owners often complains about being left in the dark after dropping their cars off at auto body shops. This lack of information can disrupt their original plans and cause inconvenience.
Auto body shops aligns with our interests
We know “a desk is a dangerous place from which to view a world”. Therefore, I visited 10+ auto body shops to examine their willingness to change and pain points during daily work
02 - Ideation
Approach 01 - A clear and customizable post-incident guidance
Rather than feeling overwhelmed and uncertain, I offer car owners customizable guidance to help them navigate the situation with ease, enabling them to find appropriate services in a practical and time-efficient manner in 3 simple steps:
Approach 02 - A coordinated system to provide transparency
The newly developed system provides car owners with insights on what to expect, offering transparency through two distinct channels: Direct Contacts and the Progress Tracking.
03 - Car Owner Solution
/ How might I support car owners to stay calm and transparent throughout the auto repair process?
PROTOTYPE. TEST. REPEAT
Started from the initial prototype, I conducted 10+ rounds of iteration with A/B tests. Based on user behaviors, I decided to develop a solution for car owners on mobile devices. The test results provided me insights ranging from detailed visual corrections to redesigns of the flow. Here are two major learnings:
Learning 01 - Guidance hierarchy is crucial for anxious users
The guide aimed to be comprehensive, but users struggled with information overload when anxious. To address this, I created a three-step content hierarchy for different situations and urgencies: 1. Service tailored by severity; 2. Key guidelines; 3. Custom checklists for service.
Learning 02 - User behavior evolves as platform changes
Users love our platform! However, their preference have evolved since they started using it. Phone call was the most common channel to receive information, but when they switch to the mobile app, the progress track become their favorite option to receive updates effortlessly. Therefore, I highlighted and expanded progress track feature on the interface, reflecting its increased importance to users. Messaging has overtaken phone calls as the preferred method for proactive contact with auto body shops.
Example 01 - Automatic repair updates become the most favored option to receive information
Example 02 - Messaging has overtaken phone calls as the preferred method for proactive contact
FINAL DESIGN
100+ Car Owners reported a 92% satisfaction rate, with an 36% reduction in repair process time
04 - Auto Body Shop Solution
/ How might I involve auto body shops in the process to ensure they provide relevant assistance to car owners?
Solution 01 - Translate car owners' needs into actions for auto body shops
Auto body shops align with our goal of enhancing car owners' experiences. They would like to provide repair updates to keep car owner transparent through 2 distinct portals we've built for users.
Portal 01 - Responsive automatic repair updates
Portal 02 - Responsive Messaging
Solution 02 - Digitize the internal operations into the platform
Noted from the previous research, most auto body shops still use the paper-based processes, significantly impeding their ability to connect with car owners and resulting in low work efficiency. Therefore, I decided to incorporate their daily operations into the platform.
Example 01 - Review repair request in just a few clicks
Example 02 - Service, assignment, and personnels are all in one place
FINAL DESIGN
13+ Auto Body Shop reported a 78% satisfaction rate, with an 18% reduction in repair process time
05 - Reflection and Next Step
Break down the long and complex journey into small segments
Our team dedicated considerable time to analyzing the user flow for car owners and auto body shops, recognizing it as a lengthy and complex journey. In developing our designs, we discovered that excellent user experience hinges on breaking down this complexity into manageable segments, ensuring all stakeholders are aware of their position and what to anticipate throughout. This concept continued to apply to the interface's visual design, aiming to offer users intuitive interaction and navigation.
Digital transformation would take extra efforts
You may have noticed that our ecosystem begins with addressing the problems of car owners. Initially, I viewed auto body shops as key partners in meeting the needs of these owners. The auto body shop industry, being quite traditional—predominantly relying on paper-based processes—faces significant challenges in adopting digital transformation, beyond merely transitioning from paper to digital systems, despite having the necessary hardware. Moving forward, we plan to further explore their challenges in digital transformation and solidify our partnership.
Thank you so much for making up here
I'm always happy to chat!
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