Peugeot, Citroën & DS

Introduction

This project saw the activation of the world’s first automotive ecommerce platform; an end-to-end journey guiding users from vehicle model research through complex tasks, such as vehicle configuration, part exchanging, financing and ultimately, purchasing a vehicle.

The ecommerce platform, which would later be repositioned as a standalone organisation known as Driven, would then allow PSA Groupé's three brands; Peugeot, Citroën and DS, to tailor the userflows of the platform according to each of the brand's audiences and replace the interface with a branded UI.

My role in the project was to design and develop prototypes for the vehicle discovery and vehicle configuration stages of the platform. These experiences needed to provide an environment where a user could easily (and enjoyably)  appease their interest in a vehicle model, before empowering them to configure their chosen vehicle, navigating challenges such as specification incompatibility issues and managing cost and lead time expectations.

Team

A team of 6 represented the agency for this project. 

My task of delivering the vehicle discovery and vehicle configuration stages of the platform complemented the Senior UX Designer's task of delivering the vehicle part exchange and vehicle financing stages of the platform. Despite both completing two separate halves of the platform, we worked incredibly closely to ensure we both understood the experiences of the user throughout the platform, from setting user expectations when begging the configuration stage, through to closing feedback loops when the user reviews their order before purchasing. Also in the team were two Business Analysts, a Project Manager and an Account Director.

This was an international project, with many PSA stakeholders involved in the project situated in Paris and throughout Europe - this platform was going to be launched globally and so we welcomed each territory’s involvement (also each territory was required to approve the project!)

Effective collaboration with the multidisciplinary teams across Europe was key to the success of this project and required organised and constructive communication strategies, utilising stand ups, sprint meetings and workshops.

Tools

Research

User empathy mapping

Card sorting

Interviewing

Focus group

Design & Prototyping

Concept sketching

Axure - low and high fidelity prototypes

Activation & Testing

User testing

Eye tracking

Discovery

I had made two key assumptions ahead of the design phase of the vehicle configurator which were confirmed when testing my initial concepts.

Firstly, I expected the user’s emotions/attitude when entering the configuration stage to be mostly excitable (relative to audience and brand). Secondly, I expected cognitive fatigue and user frustration to increase once the user encountered two or more incompatibility issues when selecting vehicle specifications.

The level of scepticism from the user when questioning the feasibility of the platform was higher than I expected and I found two reasons for this. Firstly, users questioned the need for such a service. “Will anybody actually buy a car without seeing it?” was a common question. 

The second reason was a result of previous experiences (and perceptions) of shopping for a vehicle at car dealerships. Users worried that the perceived unpleasantries of the experience would transfer from the showroom to the online experience.

I iteratively improved my design with each round of feedback. For the two examples above I introduced progress "signposting", allowing me to inform users of the steps (stages) that lie ahead in the journey. To reassure users that this online experience was far removed from the classic "car salesman" experience, I used our experience maps (image shown above) to identify key points within each stage where a user could save their progress and return in their own time, providing the user with the perception of relaxed, considered experience.

Solution

To capitalise on the initial user excitement when browsing vehicle models and entering the configurator, I wanted a visual representation of their chosen design options/specifications to take centre stage. Providing navigational media controls to allow the user to effectively walk around or climb into their virtual vehicle was a key component.

To minimise cognitive fatigue, I designed the configurator to inform the user if any specification selections would make changes to an existing selection, and how each decision would affect vehicle lead time and cost. I introduced a micro animation to occur each time a selection was made and impacted the vehicle cost and lead time, providing system feedback to the user that a change had taken place.

The progress indicator mentioned above helped to address the user’s worry that configuring a car was a difficult challenge; it provided a step by step process and reaffirmed to the user that they had successfully completed each step of the experience so far.

A design element I wasn’t initially expecting to be so prominent was an in-window breakdown of the finance summary and car specification. This was included to further strengthen the legitimacy of the service offering, reassuring users that they would be able to acquire the vehicle they were designing at the end of the process. In these finer financial details, micro animations were toned down, as not to draw attention to increasing costs and limit user upselling and AOV increases.

Delivery

After completing user testing of the final prototype, I demonstrated the completed platform prototype with the DS branded UI and held a Q&A at the PSA Groupé headquarters in Paris. The design received great feedback, and I worked with the Business Analyst teams to produce the various specifications for the development teams.

The discovery and configurator modules launched alongside the finance and part exchange modules as part of Peugeot’s D2C activation and received positive media attention, being an industry world first.

Reflection

While I completed this project quite early in my career, I still regard it as one of my most rewarding experiences. The opportunity to work with these global brands and push industry barriers with innovative digital products and services is great, but for me the highlight was how enriching I found working with an international network of specialists and being able to 'story tell' and present the deliverables of my team to such a competitive, matured industry; an industry that was ripe for digital disruption / transformation.