All Access companion app for wearables.
Client
CBS Interactive
Year
2015-2016
Role
UX, UI, Interaction, App, Product Design, UI Kit
Project overview.
What is Ford Trident?
Ford owns work and play. Trident is the smart accessories and upfit platform that will grow with our customers so they can expand into new possibilities and own their time, space and gear, fully leveraging our shift toward electrification and connected services.
Validating the problem.
The Trident vehicle and product platform is the next step into the iot of things. A connected ecosystem for retail and commercial customers, Ford and their partners, who want to achieve more and enjoy more with the ease of a digital experience driven by value and productivity.
The solution.
Taking a two stage approach we first created a pilot app for mobile and IVI (in-vehicle interface), Trident 1.0 which will prove out the concept of smart, connected accessories, vehicles and digital services through user testing. The results will fuel the strategy for the future vision of Trident 2.0, which holds the solutions that will address the core needs of users by leveraging cutting edge technologies, ultimately establishing the value of the Trident ecosystem. Smart, buildable, reliable, accessible.
Project overview.
What is CBS Interactive?
CBS Interactive in Los Angeles is responsible for designing and developing several digital products including mobile apps, CBS.com website, mobile website, Roku, Apple TV, and more.
Validating the problem.
The Watch Now, Watch Later wearable app is the perfect companion to CBS' All Access app for the busy viewer. Favorite shows easily prompt videos to your phone or OTT device, and set Live TV reminders.
The solution.
With the new CBS app you can watch the latest episodes of your favorite CBS shows for free at your convenience, no log-in required to instantly stream anytime, on any device. All for free, no additional subscription or monthly fee required.
About Jeff...
The process.
Empathize
Know your users Find the pain/frustration
Define
Frame the right problem,get the right solution Define problems and goals
Ideate
Exhaust as many ideasas possible
Prototype
Build to test
Test
Usability testing Learn about your solutionsand users
About Jeff...
The process.
Empathize
Know your users Find the pain/frustration
Define
Frame the right problem,get the right solution Define problems and goals
Ideate
Exhaust as many ideasas possible
Prototype
Build to test
Test
Usability testing Learn about your solutionsand users
Empathize.
We started with our pilot plan by conducting initial concept testing via paper prototypes to define the pilot mobile app objectives and approach. The results gave us valuable insight on what key use cases to focus on.
Pilot plan
8 minimum customers split between commercial and retail.
5 commercial transit vans, 5 commercial F150 trucks, 5 retail F150 trucks.
6-8 garage and fleet depot locations.
50-75 Trident accessory nodes.
Retrofit existing accessory with Trident attachment feet and pilot technology (e.g. DeWalt toolboxes with batteries, Bluetooth radio and inductive charging components).
Network via smartphone Bluetooth radio (off the shelf hub TBD).
Pilot app by Ford Advanced Engineering.
1-3 months in the field.
Competitive analysis
We also conducted a competitive analysis across any and all relevant industries that utilized cutting edge technologies and the internet of things (IoT).
KEY USE CASES
-Pilot roles-Accessory connection-Accessory settings-Accessory controls-Accessory status-Accessory tracking-Pilot notifications-Virtual configurators-Pilot customer support-Pilot analytics
Empathize.
As with every project, we started by learning as much as we could about our subscribers and viewers, their needs and current frustrations when viewing CBS content from any device. The results gave us valuable insight to move forward with.
Customer interviews
Interviews with current CBS subscribers and viewers revealed three key takeaways:
Users want to stay up to date with their favorite shows, current news and sports events.
Users want to be able to schedule, get reminders and add their favorite shows and live events to MyCBS.
Users wanted to have a wearable app with simple functionality that enhances the existing user experience.
KEY FINDINGS
Users would benefit from an easy to use wearable app to keep up to date with the prime time schedule, see sneak peeks and add shows to their MyCBS.
Define.
With the key findings gathered during our initial concept testing and competitive analysis, we began defining personas, refining the diverse needs of our user groups and outlining the overall scope of the experience.
USER PERSONAS
PILOT MOBILE APP SCOPE
Define.
With the key findings gathered during user interviews, we began defining requirements and the overall scope of the experience.
KEY REQUIREMENTS
Simplified user app experience by having basic functionality that enhances the existing app user experience.
Keep up to date with our prime time schedule, see a sneak peek of video and add shows to MyCBS.
Get detailed notifications to the shows and events you've added to your MyCBS.
Ideate.
Now that we have defined our user groups and what they need, we began to flesh out the information architecture and flows for the experience. There was much to consider as multiple disciplines of design teams; hardware, engineering, product/ux and development create feasible solutions in parallel that all have to work together, bridging the physical and digital worlds.
Information Architecture
Ux strategy diagram.
Digital services diagram.
Pilot mobile app (mvp) IA diagram.
User Flows
Pairing/onboarding accessory to mobile app (smart box shown here).
Connecting and testing accessory use with mobile app and IVI.
Vehicle to vehicle and network switching functionality with mobile app and IVI.
Voice assist and chat bot with mobile app and IVI.
Permissions/guest access/multiple user controls with mobile app.
Accessory power away from vehicle experience with mobile app.
Ideate.
Now that we have defined what our users are looking for in a wearable companion app, we can began iterating on the four user flows that encompass the app experience.
User flow
Prototype.
Mid-Fidelity
Since low-fidelity designs were presented in the previous Ideate section in the user flows, we'll focus on the mid and high-fidelity as they take shape in this Prototype section of the design process.
Mobile app sign in screens.
Mobile app connecting accessory screens.
Mobile app my accessories screens.
Mobile app accessory details screen (smart toolbox shown here).
Mobile app share and find accessory screens.
Design System
We used the Ant Design System which integrates with Figma (our primary collaboration, design and prototype tool), and dev and engineering's front-end frameworks.
Prototype.
Ui kit
We utilized a ui kit optimizing the small amount of real estate on the watch with a variety of controls and potent data visualization elements.
Branding
This first of its kind project also necessitated the need for unique branding called CBS Innovations, which I was tasked to design.
High fidelity
SIGN IN SCREENS
CONNECTING ACCESSORIES SCREENS
MY ACCESSORIES SCREENS
ACCESSORY DETAILS SCREENS
SHARING SCREENS
Share your accessories with multiple people, set and easily change preferences.
FIND ACCESSORY SCREENS
High fidelity
HOME SCREENS
SCHEDULE SCREENS
SETTINGS SCREENS
NOTIFICATIONS SCREENS
NEW EPISODES SCREENS
Testing and future state.
REVOLUTIONIZING THE VEHICLE EXPERIENCE
The Trident electric vehicle and product ecosystem is revolutionizing the way Ford customers experience their personal and commercial vehicles. Testing results and prototype success has driven the creation of a new brand under Ford called Gridrack (I was not involved in the design of the Gridrack site).
Keep scrolling to view slides from the Trident 2.0 experience strategy deck.
