Ultraluxury IVI Concept Design & Evaluation
Iterative Concept Evaluation
Working with a small UX team at GM, we helped explore and evaluate design concepts for Cadillac's first ultra-luxury model, the Celestiq, with the goal of defining an interaction model for the vehicle's pillar-to-pillar display using a combination of steering wheel controls and a console-mounted multi-function controller (MFC).
My Role
- Overall project lead and UX strategy
- Plan and coordinate research activities, analyze data, and create reports/video summaries
- Lead design explorations, scenario & use case development, wireframing, prototyping
Formative Interviews
Recruit
Target 6-8 ultraluxury vehicle owners for formative interviews
Balance demographic variety with access
We used a specialized recruiter for ultralux participants
Session Design
We discussed overall interest in vehicles, ownership history
Deeper dive into likes/dislikes, opinions on technology, purchase drivers
Walkthrough existing IVI systems and in-vehicle experiences
Analysis & Synthesis
We conducted a design thinking session with the GM team to generate ideas and prioritize concepts to explore
We created task models and low-fidelity prototypes to explore and refine our concepts. We conducted an initial round of user testing on our low-fidelity prototypes prior to moving to higher fidelity.
Final Concept Evaluation
Recruit
Target previous participants, as well as additional ultraluxury vehicle owners
Relax ultraluxury ownership requirement for usability feedback
We used a specialized recruiter for ultralux participants, standard recruiting service for others
Session Design
Users walked through basic tasks using a protoype in a vehicle buck
Participants provided qualitative feedback on ease of use, satisfaction with each feature
We measured task completion, time on task, and ease of use ratings
Artifacts & Outcome
Our final deliverable was a results and strategy report for the client team to share with senior leaders, summarizing the project as a whole, the results of the final concept evaluation, and strategy recommendations. One of the key insights was how users relate technology (specifically software) to luxury, with the report detailing ways to ensure the IVI experience complements the overall experience in the vehicle.
"Sometimes I look in the mirror and have to slap myself before I get in the car and say 'You can do this! You really are a person who owns this car!"