Mercedes-Benz RDNA SmartDrive 3.0

Platform: iOS, Android

At Mercedes-Benz Research & Development Center, I worked on the SmartDrive app, which was a landscape only mobile app used in conjunction with the Smart car in which it was attached to the radio console.  It provided infotainment features such as navigation, media and guidebook.


My role was UX designer on the SmartDrive Generation 3.0 mobile app.  I collaborated with the development managers, product owners, visual designers and design managers to create wireframes with specs and user flows for the full suite of apps of SmartDrive, which included navigation, music, parking, Eco drive and guidebook that applied to infotainment-type services.

Team:

1 UX Designer (me)

1 Project Manager

1 Visual Designer

2 Engineers

1 User Researcher

1 Product Manager

the challenge

The challenge was to create a third-generation SmartDrive that utilized landscape mode and was used in conjunction with driving.  So, factors such as distance since the phone was mounted on the radio console on the Smart car meant it was a couple of feet away from the user.  We had to consider visual indicators such as font size so users can read and understand the elements clearly as well as providing a contextual experience with the driving task.

discovery sessiosn and user interviews

I conducted several discovery sessions with key stakeholders to gather insights about the project and understand the user problem. Also, I interviewed salespeople from the nearby smart car dealership. The questions I asked the salespeople dealt with customer preferences with respect to digital features in the car, most popular features customers looked for in a car and their thoughts on incorporating a mobile phone to be used as a telemetry to capture driver stats like their speed, g-force and presenting these finding in a ‘trip history’ after a drive. 

initial designs and user flows

Based on the responses of the interveiws with salespeople from the car dealership, we found that the salespoeple really liked having a mobile app in the car because it would enhance the driving experience of their customers. I developed the following user flows for several use cases, navigation, music and eco drive.

Wireframes

I developed the wireframes and user flows for the SmartDrive suite of apps.  The navigation app clearly incorporated the findings from the user interviews by allowing quick and contextual actions to be available while in the Smart car. 

final designs

The findings from the interviews and the discovery sessions with the stakeholders informed the final designs.