Context

Ford SVT is a specialized branch of the company, dealing with high trim off-road and sports vehicles. Although all Ford vehicles have Drive Modes, predefined settings of the vehicle depending on outside conditions, Ford SVT vehicles have an additional mode called MyMode, that can be customized for corner circumstances. User can adjust their steering, suspension, exhaust, traction, 4x4 state, sta bar, and elocker, all of which affect how their vehicle drives.

The ask

The SVT product team approached me as the lead UX Designer for the upcoming 2022 Ford Raptor IP Display, to add in some adjustments to their legacy MyMode screen.  They requested two components to update their legacy product:

1. An "R" button on the steering wheel that the user can press for quick activation
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2. Adjusted text in the legacy screen to indicate use of the "R" button, otherwise carry the design

Current state

The current MyMode feature had very minimal information. It had a screen that showed the saved state of the custom Drive Mode, with an option to press/hold OK on the steering wheel. The OK served two functions:
- Save function: Driver can adjust the vehicle settings to what they want and then hold OK to save
- Activate function: Driver can press OK to enter their saved MyMode and allow the vehicle settings to change

Concerns

I had several concerns with the proposed approach.

When encountering MyMode, there is no explanation to users about what the feature is. There is a paragraph in the user manual, which per research most people do not read.

How do we ensure users understand what they are about to activate?

No visual indication for customer when they enter MyMode. This can be extremely problematic because driving a vehicle in incorrect circumstances can be dangers.

How do we convey to users they are in MyMode?

Other modes are entered using a separate dial. MyMode is the only drive mode that uses a different activation.

How do we bridge the gap between entering MyMode one way and other modes another?

Research

This prompted some questions to the product team, and a need to understand who is using this feature, and for what goals.

What is the true goal of this feature? What are the most important parts of it?

This feature sets the Raptor vehicle apart. The Raptor driver is a specialized driver that will drive on different terrain requiring different settings. The most important part is having a quick way to get in.

According to research, a large majority of Raptor customers were not aware of MyMode, or didn’t understand it. Because they did not understand the feature, they were hesitant to use it.

The three themes that emerged were: Quick Access, Education, Visual Indication

Design proposal

I created a proposal based on the concept of intuitive integration. It indexed on the following solutions:

Quick Access
- Retain easy access with R button
- Integrating into existing Drive Mode rolodex allows mode to be accessed as other modes do

Education
Two Step Activation: Upon press, provide quick explanation and then second button press into activation. Protects against accidental activation & meets regulations

Visual indication
‍Create unique MyMode visual color language for clear indication that user has entered MyMode

Fighting the good fight

I took my proposal to the product team, to showcase why this would be a better solution that will keep the customer. The sequence of events went as follows:

Compromise: How do we still have a user friendly experience and contain the feature within the budget?

Iterated Solution

Although the original solution was great for the customer, it was time to compromise into an adjusted solution that will still fit in their budget, but still provide value to the user. It maintained the core goals of the designs.

Quick Access
Retain easy access with R button only

Education
Two Step Activation: Upon press, provide quick status of saved state and then second button press into activation. Protects against accidental activation & meets regulations

Visual indication
‍Added a visual representation of the R to the screen when MyMode is active. Created an additional MyMode view (not drivemode) that can be added with a much smaller cost

Deliver

The final solution was well received within the Raptor community, but I wanted to ensure that it had a path to an optimized user experience in the future. With that in mind, my deliveries went as follows:

Delivered full logic and flow specs to the engineering team and created three variations for each Raptor vehicle brand.

Delivered a north star vision for the feature with the future touch screen display, to ensure the product team has the details needed to a better path in the next refresh year.

Deliver