Ford’s first direct-to-consumer VEHICLE subscription service

Ford Drive is a new business model offering flexible lease terms for rideshare drivers built to improve their earnings and lifestyle—while reducing carbon emissions in urban areas. The service offers drivers the ability to lease an all-electric Mach-E Mustang on a weekly basis with no upfront costs or long-term commitment. I led design efforts across the entire digital platform including the marketing website, sign-up flow, and mobile app (iOS + Android) utilizing a centralized design system while collaborating with Marketing, Product, Development, Engineering, Security, and Leadership teams from discovery to delivery.

DISCOVER

I joined the team towards the beginning of the platform’s concept phase. Early discovery work consisted of coordinating workshops between product and engineering teams to develop ideas and viability within the constraints of the intended product offering.

From there, initial design concepts were created to display the intended features and functionality to share externally with executive stakeholders. Eventually, the early designs and prototypes were shared with the CEO for feedback and ultimately approval to proceed with the project.

DEFINE

Once the project was approved, the early concepts were tested using quantitative studies across 1,000 US-based rideshare drivers. After synthesizing the results of the research, our team was able to rank the concepts as shown below in the Impact vs. Effort framework. We then collaborated with the Product, Engineering, and Business teams to define the product roadmap.

DESIGN

The interface design went through many iterations as the viability of features and functionality evolved during the product lifecycle. Working through a two-week sprint velocity, our team utilized quick research studies to examine feedback of new directions and interface solutions. This included online usability testing for information architecture changes for improved navigation in addition to in-person desirability interviews with some of the first drivers to sign up for the service.

Tests were led by research scripts in combination with clickable prototypes of fully developed UI to gather feedback on specific features and the overall flow of the app.

DELIVER

As refinements were completed, the team worked hand-in-hand with Product, Development, and Engineering teams to deliver v1 of the app and website experience. Throughout following iterations and updates, the design team attempted to stay 1-2 sprints ahead in order to continue any discovery/testing necessary before pushing to development.

An improved naming convention and file structure was created to make handoff with development more streamlined and efficient. Our team also worked to better define design/interaction patterns with additional documentation for other stakeholders to reference, ultimately improving QA and delivery velocity.

RESULT

• The companion app allows drivers to track and manage their mileage, payments, and gives access to vehicle controls.

• Currently available for iOS + Android devices, the app has an 85% weekly usage rate with a 90% return rate.

• Continued improvements to features and UI have led to significantly reduced customer care calls while increasing on-time payments from customers.