CONTEXT
During my time at Audi's Innovation lab in San Francisco, our team was tasked with identifying new digital products and services to enhance the experience of owning an Audi vehicle. The company had recently built the foundation for their digital ecosystem, called 'myAudi', so they were looking for valuable and distinctive new apps to attract users, while also helping their dealers to sell more vehicles. This also coincided with the launch of the Audi e-Tron, Audi's first ever electric vehicle, which provided the technological foundation for additional innovations. While 'Wag Mode' did not get launched in the end, this was one of the most enjoyable and promising projects that I had the opportunity to take a leading role on. The total project time from initial exploratory research through final prototyping was roughly 6 months.
CORE TEAM
•Product owner
•UX Researcher
•Multimedia producer
•Dog assistants
MY ROLES
•Product design
•UX research
•UI/UX design
Internal proof of concept video, before updates to the user interface design
WAG MODE FEATURES
Leveraging existing technology available to the e-Tron (such as the auxiliary battery which can run while the car is off) and aftermarket products (such as a dash cam), we identified technically feasible solutions to the most common user pain points that had been identified during our exploratory research.
CONDUCTING USER TESTING
In collaboration with our UX researcher, I helped conduct 12 one-on-one user interviews with individuals in our target market who were both dog owners and car owners. We incorporated their feedback into the prototype as we collected and analyzed the research.
We consistently heard three overarching priorities for our target users, and we were thrilled to hear that Wag Mode could help them to address all of these directly:
Alleviating social pressures
Wag Mode could help reduce anxiety from the pressure to not be viewed as a “bad dog owner”. Completing errands with a dog in the car quickly enough while still being effective is often tough, so this could reduce a lot of that pressure.
Ensuring the wellbeing of their dog(s)
Almost everyone expressed concern about leaving dogs inside of unattended vehicles, due to the danger of overheating in the hotter seasons. Wag Mode's climate control provides a solution to that, while also being able to monitor the dog for extra peace of mind.
Ensuring the safety of their vehicle(s)
Dog owners are fearful of concerned pedestrians who may take extreme actions to advocate for pets that are in unattended vehicles, such as busting windows or calling the police. Wag Mode's external signage helped to alleviate this concern.
Alleviating social pressures
Wag Mode could help reduce anxiety from the pressure to not be viewed as a “bad dog owner”. Completing errands with a dog in the car quickly enough while still being effective is often tough, so this could reduce a lot of that pressure.
Ensuring the wellbeing of their dog(s)
Almost everyone expressed concern about leaving dogs inside of unattended vehicles, due to the danger of overheating in the hotter seasons. Wag Mode's climate control provides a solution to that, while also being able to monitor the dog for extra peace of mind.
Ensuring the safety of their vehicle(s)
Dog owners are fearful of concerned pedestrians who may take extreme actions to advocate for pets that are in unattended vehicles, such as busting windows or calling the police. Wag Mode's external signage helped to alleviate this concern.
REFINING THE PROTOTYPE
After synthesizing all of the user research and stakeholder needs, I leveraged Audi's UI kit and design system to build a more hi-fidelity prototype of the infotainment screen and Wag Mode app. The end prototype is mapped closely to the initial user journey map, with each feature designed to seamlessly address common use cases as they occur, such as leaving your dog in the car while running a quick errand.
MMI screen prototype. This interaction would be triggered after turning off the vehicle.
LEARNING FROM THE PROCESS
Although Wag Mode was not prioritized for development in the end, there were some highly valuable takeaways from the process that I strive to apply to all of my work:
- Sharing the process of customer research with internal stakeholders can generate greater enthusiasm and emotional buy-in.
- Tapping into existing networks and communities (such as those of EV enthusiasts and dog owners) provides deep insights and inspiration during the ideation phase, which can translate into more loyal and happy customers once the product has launched.
- Adding features to a product is meaningless unless they seamlessly integrate into the customer journey.
- Tapping into existing networks and communities (such as those of EV enthusiasts and dog owners) provides deep insights and inspiration during the ideation phase, which can translate into more loyal and happy customers once the product has launched.
- Adding features to a product is meaningless unless they seamlessly integrate into the customer journey.
