Architecting end-to-end experiences
Nissan LEAF launch & digital dealership
Leadership, Customer Advocate, Journey Map (awareness - ownership), Service Design, Interaction Design, IA
In a game-changing move, people could purchase an electric vehicle online. As the UX lead, I teamed up with Nissan to design a customer-first journey that redefined the buying and ownership experience.
Role
Lead experience architect
Team
Account team, Project managers, Business stakeholders, Nissan factory, Nissan dealers, Electric vehicle charging providers, Marketing, User research, Visual design, Motion design, Engineering, Content strategy
Design problem
A digital experience that educates and builds trust encourages the right audience to purchase. It also gathers qualified leads and customer preferences to accurately forecast nationwide vehicle production.
Business goals
Capture early market share
Reduce operational costs
Enhance lead generation and data collection
Results
A reservation process that delivered 90% conversion.
Seamless customer experience from awareness through to ownership.
Customer demand forecasting model that allowed for streamlined factory tooling and nation-wide distribution
People wanted to experience the vehicle IRL at the dealer.
Through research, I uncovered their needs and addressed them across digital touch-points.
“The pre-launch and launch of the 100% electric Nissan Leaf was a digitally focused, tremendous challenge to take on and Sunny led our development of a seamless user experience with great strength, patience, and brilliance. Turning the complex offline program into an easy-to-use online user experience, unique to the industry was no simple task.”
— Sandy Schadler, V.P. Client Partner, Nissan USA
Here are some of the approaches I used.
1
Mapped the customer journey and the service blueprint
During stakeholder sessions, I gathered requirements and advocated for our new driver, aiming to map the high-level and detailed processes of researching, ordering, and maintaining the LEAF.
The components were distilled into a service blueprint. For ease of use, I split it into two documents; pre-reservation and post-reservation. This document depicted multiple, moving parts as an easy-to-read guide that was used by all team members. This 360 degree approach allowed us to thoroughly stress test the process with all stakeholders.
2
Exploratory research research to uncover insights
I engaged our research team to put together a test to validate the purchase process. A moderated online discussion and survey was conducted. Unsurprisingly, the consumer mindset was conditioned by the existing vehicle purchase process and found issue with inability to test drive and complete an in-home charger assessment before committing to a reservation. In response, we;
designed an immersive, sensory online experience,
built tools to help curious shoppers explore the realities of owning an electric car in context to their lifestyle,
developed comprehensive information about the home charger,
provided invitations to the North American LEAF tour to experience it in person, and
clarified that each reservation helped ensure sufficient supply.
3
Guided concepting, sketching & storyboarding to generate ideas
To create a feeling of ownership and excitement our team embraced the concept of a new driver. Throughout the experience we used modular tools and data visualization to harness the idea of technological advancement. As part of this, I led concepting sessions to brainstorm a dashboard exclusively for those that have reserved a LEAF. This would include all the tools, content and actions necessary to attain ownership of this completely new car.
Multiple scenarios guided a storyboarding exercise. This helped to define content prioritization and page sequencing.
4
Created the flows, wireframes & design
Although exciting, the electric vehicle would not be right for everyone. Setting realistic expectations about limited charging infrastructure, battery range and vehicle storage was key. I created a suitability sequence for the reservation flow which embedded tools from the shopping process. Working with a roadmap of vehicle feature releases, I designed the sequence to also calculate delivery timeframe. Next, I created interaction patterns and the detailed logic. My responsibilities included creating wireframes, defining logic with the Nissan factory, business and electrical charging station stakeholders, and collaborating with visual design, content, engineering, and QA.
Wireframes and design
