FordPass China
Ford Motors • 2016
With more than 600,000 FordPass members in the United States, Canada and select markets in Europe, FordPass’ arrival in China is a milestone in the company’s global commitment to transform every aspect of the Ford customer experience
12,000
Authenticated users at 2017 launch
4.5
Stars rating in the Apple App Store
Challenges
Not being a citizen and not living in China presented significant challenges. I had to quickly learn about the users and their culture.
We conducted intensive research every step of the way to understand which design updates should be considered. We also carried out a landscape analysis of China to grasp the latest automotive trends, consumer issues, and mobilityscapes in the region.
Collaborating with Chinese partners was difficult because they often lacked well-established processes and documentation. Moreover, all communication had to go through our Ford client.
Despite these limitations, we ensured the feasibility of every implementation quickly and consistently using a well-planned set of checkpoints.
Initially, I had concerns about how our Research Team was conducting user studies. I voiced these concerns, which led to improvements over time. For instance, we started with surveys asking users to choose between a List View or a Grid View. However, simply asking for preferences didn't help us empathise with users or understand why they had a preference. Later, we combined surveys with user testing/interviews to obtain more comprehensive results
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Guerrilla testing on cultural bias on icons/infographics with our local colleagues and clients
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3
Days of intensive workshop with stakeholders flying in from all over the world.
Define
Added ambiguity
Though it wasn't my first time defining requirements, it was my first experience in outlining backstage service processes. I believe the team didn't realize we were using uncertainty management to deal with the increased ambiguity around us.
At the start of each sprint, we looked over our research to find and reframe customer problems. We then imagined the service or feature using a service design blueprint. We based our user stories and backend processes on the "happy path". Each day, we added to this blueprint to handle special cases and noted the outcomes in user stories.
Our approach was lean, focusing on quick sketching, prototyping, gathering user feedback, and creating design mockups. This strategy allowed for faster, incremental iterations without concerning ourselves with pixel-alignment in the design tools until later stages.
One of our most biggest ideas was a car servicing feature. It enabled car owners to hire proxies through the app to drive their car for servicing or repair at the dealer’s workshops. This feature assured car owners that their vehicle was safe for them and their families, without necessitating long hours spent negotiating and waiting at the workshop.
We had to define:
How do we simultaneously schedule an appointment with the workshop and hire a proxy?
How can we ensure the proxy are dependable?
What's the best process for arranging car pick-up and handovers?
How can the workshop communicate with the car owner about the necessary work and pricing through the app?
How can the owner confirm the completed work is satisfactory?
Define
Sample work
Final user flow documentation for a feature for car servicing by proxy.
Design
Grid vs List view
During our initial workshop with the Ford China Team, many believed that the List View design of the FordPass North America (NA) app Dashboard wouldn't appeal to Chinese users. To confirm this, we conducted a study on Chinese apps and a user survey, which led us to conclude that a Grid View design was indeed the best solution.
In the survey, we presented two versions of the app Dashboard—Grid View and the NA app's List View—to 68 VML and Ford staff in Shanghai and Beijing. We hypothesized that Chinese users would accept a List View Dashboard.
The Grid-based versions of the Dashboard received positive feedback. In fact, 18% of Shanghai users and 28% of Beijing users stated they wouldn't use the app if it had a List View design.
We presented our findings and recommendations to Elena Ford, heiress to the Ford Company and the leader of the Ford Smart Mobility initiative. As a result, it was decided that the Grid View design would be used for China.
Grid vs List
Quick design explorations
Design
Iconography
To ensure FordPass's success in China, we conducted research to identify necessary design language updates, including typography, color, layout, imagery, and iconography.
Iconography was the most significant due to cultural and behavioral differences between China and North America (NA). This led us to hypothesise that certain icons might not translate well across the two cultures. To test this, we conducted a survey.
In collaboration with our Research Team, we tested several icons from the NA app. We found that some were difficult for Chinese users to understand. As a result, we recommended changes to these problematic icons.
Our suggestion was approved, and we proceeded to design alternate versions of these icons for user testing. We opted for user interviews over surveys to gather qualitative feedback and better empathise with our users. This approach helped us understand how users interpret the icons and make necessary iterations.
Design
User flows
To adapt the app for users in China, we needed to modify the owner’s feature user flows. Some changes were straightforward. For instance, Chinese users prefer using mobile phone numbers as usernames, rather than emails, for account creation. It was crucial to ensure such changes didn't break the app.
However, we faced several complex flows that required adaptation due to Ford's different operations in China compared to North America. For instance, we had to adjust the car servicing and payment processes. We introduced a pick-up and delivery flow for car servicing, a feature not present in the North American app.
Design
New Applets
We worked with partners like Dida and Parkopedia to develop applets, which are mini-apps within the FordPass app. Although the implementations of these applets may vary, they all aim to promote smart mobility. The ideas for these new applets and their use cases were developed during several workshops based on personas we created.
For the Ride Hailing applet, we partnered with a leading on-demand transportation service provider. This applet offers services related to ride hailing, such as Taxi, Express, and Private Cars. Like all new applets, it required the development of new flows and screens.
We faced several challenges while working with our Chinese partners, primarily due to their lack of internal processes and documentation.
A key issue was that many of their services included processes that interrupted the app flow. For instance, after an evaluation was completed, the workshop had to call users to discuss the quote. Before the user could confirm, the workshop had to submit the quote via the app. If any changes were needed, the user had to reject the quote on the app, prompting the workshop to submit a new one. This introduced the risk of oversight by the user. To mitigate this, we included a flow to notify the user if no confirmation was received over a certain period.
Conclusion
Since its "soft" launch in August 2016, the app has achieved over 18,000 downloads (on both iOS and Android) and over 12,000 authenticated users by January 2017. The numbers are gradually increasing, and the usage signs are promising. With the official launch in March 2017, we anticipate similar growth. It has also received a 4.5-star rating from 16 users on the China Apple App Store.
However, the Ford Smart Mobility initiative did not meet its global expectations, leading to the Ford CEO stepping down in the same year as the official launch due to falling stock prices. Since then, the FordPass app transitioned back to a dedicated owner's app from a super app.
For me, this was a valuable learning experience where I had to:
Design and innovate amidst ambiguity.
Adopt the Agile methodology.
Collaborate with a global team from the USA, Canada, Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen.
Given the chance, I would gladly repeat this journey.