BMW Connected Car

Automotive manufacturer BMW doesn’t need an introduction. At the time this project took place, BMW was in the midst of updating the software and interfaces inside of their vehicles as well as the consumer focused Connected Car apps that connected to these vehicles. My team came in to help specifically with the location based features they were planning to implement in both their combustion and electric line of vehicles.

Role | UX Lead

 
 

  • The project took over 8 months to complete, where we assisted with everything from research planning & execution, strategy, UX/UI design and development.

  • Implementing the feedback from BMW owners was key to updating the experience. Users wanted a more modern, private and customized location based feature set, which became the challenge we needed to overcome.

  • I was the UX Lead on a multi-disciplinary team including visual designers, junior UX designers and front-end developers. We worked closely with the BMW Design team who operated out of the Berlin Office.

 

At a glance

 

My Contributions

  • Conducted 30+ interviews with BMW owners

  • Synthesized data into specific UX recommendations

  • Created interactive wireframes

  • Performed validation tests at BMW dealerships

  • Worked closely with UI/Dev resources from both Salesforce & BMW teams to ensure technical feasibility

Project Obstacles

  • Poor app usage & adoption in previous iterations

  • Outdated vehicle software made it difficult to design a modern app experience

  • Competition came from both other automotive manufacturers as well as other GPS-centric software & hardware

  • Historical location tracking created privacy concerns for BMW owners with multiple drivers

Outcomes & Solutions

  • Increased overall user satisfaction with location based features

  • Researched, designed and deployed a new UI for combustion & electric vehicle connected apps

  • Implemented a more user-centric design approach into BMW’s current design process

Note the following screenshots are not representative of the final product but do show the state of the prototype after user feedback was implemented.

 
 

Upon linking the mobile app to the user’s vehicle, they are brought to this screen which is home to several features. Requirements for this screen included the ability to see all vehicles currently linked to the user’s account, a map showing the user’s current location as well as scheduled and upcoming destinations.

Tapping the arrow attached to the destination card sends that destination to the vehicle’s dashboard, switching modes from mobile focused to active driver.

 

Historical data showed us it was common for BMW owners to own more than one vehicle, so providing a simple interface for the user to swap primary vehicles was critical to the success of the application.

Switching between a combustion engine and electric vehicle significantly changes the user experience since it was important to show charging levels and quick access to charging locations.

We found through extensive qualitative research that it was important for BMW owners to have access to dealership locations in the event of their vehicle requiring maintenance or service. This was one concept that allowed the user to quickly view dealerships in their immediate vicinity with the option of starting a navigation directly to that location.

Users were able to save dealerships and schedule any upcoming service appointments inside of the application.