Interaction Designer @ Ford Research
Aug 2016 - June 2021
DRIVING STYLES INTERACTION
for Personally-owned Autonomous Vehicle
Ford is looking beyond 2030 and exploring UX strategy for the personally owned autonomous vehicle. I took the lead in UX research to explore the driving-related user interactions while the vehicle is in fully autonomous mode. However, there is no user who has owned an AV and using it on a daily basis that we can get insights directly.
I partnered with a Human Factors scientist and conducted analogous research focusing on participants’ experiences of having someone else to drive their cars. We found that in different scenarios, they would concern about different aspects of safety, ride comfort, efficiency, convenience, cost, and law abidance. We discussed in detail with the participants about each topic on the details and causes of their behaviors. It provided design insights and I synthesized and transformed them into 9 design principles. Then I created a few concepts that addressed different selections of those principles and tested them with the same set of participants. After I improved those design principles, I collaborated with software engineers and fabricators and built a prototype with controllers and screens in a driving simulator.
We successfully used the prototype to showcase an example experience the company can accomplish using the research outcome and design principles to the executives. Now the principles are widely used by Ford teams to create the future of Autonomous Vehicles.
AUTOMATIC TRAILERING PROJECTS
First product coming soon in 2022 Ford F-150
Ford identified a few user needs for automated trailering features. I took the lead in Interaction Design for a few features with defined functions. The goal was to deliver user flows and design requirements to the Product Development teams, and they apply visual design language for production. The projects involved phone apps and in-vehicle controls and displays.
I consolidated research outcomes from UX strategy and Marketing groups and developed personas, journey maps, and key scenarios. I started creating ideas based on different analogies and worked with truck users to narrow them down to the ones that they could build correct mental models with. Then I visualized the experience with storyboards. All the stakeholders quickly aligned with the ideal experience. After a few rounds of quick design sprints and iterations, low fidelity prototypes with visual design examples were proven to provide a satisfying experience to the users. However, at later stages of the project, it got challenged by safety requirements, regulations, performance limitations, integration with other systems, and organizational politics. I closely monitored communications with key stakeholders and led the team to come up with solutions. We managed to preserve user satisfaction while developing alternative approaches, as I constantly let the team revisit the ideal experience and key criteria along the way.
Along the process, I managed to contribute to 45 US/EU/CN patent applications. The earliest patent application (https://uspto.report/patent/app/20200148258) was granted. I earned a technical achievement award and got promoted after I successfully shipped the first project to production.
INTERIOR aND EXTERIOR DISPLAYS
for Autonomous Taxis
Sep. 2016 - July 2018, handed off to Ford AV LLC
Before Ford announced its commitment to autonomous vehicles, the research department started early looking at how the vehicle should interact with its passenger and other road users. I collaborated with Human Factor Scientists and other Interaction Designers to create the design strategy. I created the information architecture, initial concepts, interaction logic, animations, and supported user studies done in a Virtual Reality environment.
HIGHWAY AUTOMATED DRIVING PROJECTS
Aug. 2016 - June 2021
Coming soon with 2021 F-150 and Electric Mustang
I took over the project as the lead in Interaction Design when the preliminary research work and baseline concept is done. I discovered misalignments between the user’s mental model and the system design. I modified the design strategy based on hallway user tests with low-fidelity prototypes. I further created storyboards, screen flows, and visual design. Then I helped the team to develop the functional prototypes and test vehicles to conduct simulator and on-road studies. The major challenge for this project was the complexity of the legacy driver-assist features that I had to integrate with. Clear communication of the rationales and strategies helped the team to get supported by stakeholders from various departments. Their supports helped me to move the ideal strategy forward. I extracted the essence of all the learnings into design guidelines to be used by the production team to create the production model.
DESIGN SYSTEM FOR HMI RESEARCH PROJECTS
Aug. 2017 - June 2021
All the projects in the research department are one cycle before the product development. During those projects, we need to present the systems we are developing coherently to the users for user research, and to the stakeholders for project reviews. Comparing to the design language of the production UI, It has to be easier for designers and developers to prototype, and it should look more modern and futuristic so it can bring the participants in the user researches to a future mindset. I started the system by modifying the materials I created for my previous projects into an asset library. Then as I shared the library with other designers, they added items as they create new assets for their project needs. I started reviewing and discussing the additions regularly. Eventually, I started to develop principles for the system and frameworks for collaboration. The material based UI immerses with a rich physical element environment in the vehicle, and it follows the color, typography, and spacing principles used in Print Design.
The design system is helping designers to work efficiently work with developers. More importantly, it is helping the projects to move forward by conducting more effective user studies and getting more buy-ins from stakeholders.