Outline
Overview
My Role
The Challenge
The Approach
Field Research
Key Insights & Driving Principles
What We Delivered
Impact
Reflection
Overview.
Designing a Unified Service Ecosystem for Agents, Dealer
and Customers.
A global automotive company had spent years trying and failing to modernize the customer and advisor experience behind its connected services platform. Its 20 year old homegrown CRM had become so brittle that even minor changes required months of development. As instability mounted and workflows diverged across business lines, it became clear that the organization needed more than a redesign; it needed a new foundation.
Over the course of our partnership, we replaced that legacy system with a unified, multi-cloud platform that now powers millions of global customer interactions.
I was the experience architecture for this multi-year transformation, partnering closely with agents, dealers and engineering to map out and re-design 100+ essential workflows in an effort to simplify them into a cohesive ecosystem.
Ultimately became one of the strongest examples of “One Team” delivery culture I have been part of.
My Role: Experience Architect.
I partnered closely with operational teams, agents, dealers and engineering to map out and re-architect over 100+ workflows and the overall information architecture of the new ecosystem.
My responsibilities:
Driving cross-functional alignment through workshops, reviews, and executive presentations
Translating complex service needs into clear workflows and scalable information architecture
Reducing ambiguity, maintaining direction, and ensuring the platform could scale across regions, channels, and new lines of business
The Problem.
The company’s legacy CRM and service environment had reached a breaking point — not just because the tools were outdated, but because the organization was caught in what’s often called the build trap.
“The build trap is when teams stay busy shipping features, patches, and incremental improvements, but never address the deeper structural problems preventing the system from truly working.”
Fragmented, Outdated Tools
Customer support advisors navigated up to 12 different systems to resolve issues across service lines. Information was inconsistent, difficult to find, and not oriented around the full customer–vehicle relationship.
Limited Data Connectivity
Critical customer, vehicle, and subscription data lived in disconnected systems. Advisors spent unnecessary time searching, cross-referencing, and validating basic information across multiple tools.
Twenty Years of Technical Debt
The homegrown CRM had been extended repeatedly across business units, resulting in brittle integrations, inconsistent logic, and an inability to evolve at the pace the business required.
No Scalable Operating Model
With no unified governance across product, UX, engineering, and operations, teams made decisions independently. This resulted in duplicated functionality, inconsistent experiences, and substantial rework.
Inconsistent Processes
Service lines operated differently across tools, scripts, and processes, even when customer needs overlapped.
No Path to Scale Globally
The company needed to expand into new service lines, digital channels, and regions, yet the legacy system could not support global deployment, multi-language needs, or scalable operations.
Digging Deeper.
The symptoms at the system levels were quite apparent, but rather than just jumping to band aid the system. We did the research to ask the users, what they really needed.
It’s about hearing what sits underneath: uncertainty, frustration, desire to reassure, fear of losing trust. Observation reveals what people often can’t articulate in interviews. Design needed to reduce cognitive burden, not just clicks. The best questions uncover intention and emotional goals — not just tasks.
The Approach.
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Observe and Listen.
26 interviews with stakeholder and advisor
20+ hours of live call shadowing in three call centers
Full audits of tools, systems, and CTI environments
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Co-create.
Workshops with supervisors, QA, KM, and training teams
End-to-end experience mapping of 100+ workflows
Co-creation sessions with advisors and supervisors to design their dream experience
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Validate.
Early prototypes validation through lightweight testing and quick iteration based on feedback
Key Insights.
The depth of this research gave us a holistic understanding of how advisors think, how advisors work, and what slows them down.
Our research uncovered five truths that shaped the foundation of the work and drove architectural decisions that shaped a more scalable platform:
What we heard.
The Full Picture Gap.
Agents were forced to hunt through multiple tabs just to understand who the customer is. Without a clear view of their vehicles and warranties, the first few minutes of every call are spent on data retrieval rather than problem solving.
The Broken Hand Off.
When a customer called back, they had to tell their story twice. A lack of visible history means agents are "blind" to previous conversations, leading to redundant questions and customer frustration.
Workflow Friction.
Essential resolution tools and workflows reside on disparate platforms, forcing agents to abandon the case context to execute tasks. This results in manual data re-entry and increased customer wait times while systems sync.
Dealer Agent Silos.
Communication with dealers was a one way street. Manual follow-ups and lost file uploads mean cases stall out, leaving both the agent and the customer in the dark about the actual status of a repair.
High Stakes Coordination.
In an emergency, seconds make a difference. The current system required too much manual input to find a location, when the agent should be focused entirely on getting the right help to the right place.
"I have to open four different tabs just to see if this customer even has a valid warranty before I can actually start helping them."
"There’s nothing worse than a customer saying, 'I already explained this to the last guy.' I’m looking at the screen and seeing a blank history, so I have to ask them to start all over again. It’s embarrassing."
"Whenever I have to run a diagnostic, I basically have to tell the customer 'hang on a second' while I jump into another system. It creates this awkward silence where they’re just waiting for me to copy-paste data back and forth."
"Once a case goes to the dealer, it’s like it falls off the face of the earth. I’m stuck in the middle—the customer is calling me for an update, and I’m just as in the dark as they are because I can’t see what the dealer is doing."
"When someone is panicking on the other end of the line, I don't have time to ask them for their zip code or search for a service provider. I need to know exactly where they are the moment the call connects so I can get help moving."
The Insight.
From Insights to Actionable Design
Discovery is only as valuable as the direction it provides. To bridge the gap between user pain and product execution, I translated our core findings into "How Might We" (HMW) statements. This framework allowed us to pivot from documenting legacy frustrations to defining strategic design opportunities. By reframing systemic bottlenecks as open-ended challenges, we established a clear set of "Design North Stars" that ensured every UI component we built was purpose-driven and directly tied to a validated human need.
The Problem.
The Full Picture Gap
The Broken Hand Off
Workflow Friction
Dealer Agent Silos
High Stakes Coordination
Defining the ‘solve’.
How might we provide advisors a full 360° customer snapshot at the start of every call so that agents can shift immediately from data-gathering to problem-solving?
How might we architect a transparent, unified workspace for advisors so that that they always have a share context, history of the problem they are assigned?
How might we embed resolution tools directly into the workspace so that agents can maintain focus on the customer while executing complex technical tasks?
How might we bridge the gap between agent and dealer systems so that real-time transparency reduces customer anxiety and manual follow-ups?
How might we automate location intelligence and prioritize critical response prompts so that agents can focus entirely on life-saving support?
What We Delivered
Before expanding service lines or regions, we created a stable, unified foundation the organization could build on.
We designed and implemented a connected service ecosystem that unified dealers, advisors, specialists, customer context, and escalation workflows into a single trusted resolution platform.
The core solution areas included:
Customer 360 — A single, unified view of customer identity, history, and interactions to reduce manual lookup and repetition.
Vehicle 360 — Connected vehicle diagnostics, service history, and coverage context to enable faster, more accurate resolution.
Advisor Homepage — A role-based starting hub that surfaced workload, follow-ups, and key actions with clarity.
Connected Service Workflows — Guided, standardized flows for high-stakes service scenarios, improving consistency and speed.
Dealer Portal — An external resolution experience that allowed dealers to initiate complex cases, track ownership, and receive closure.
Map & Location Services — Embedded real-time vehicle location and routing tools to support urgent and spatially-driven workflows.
Customer and Vehicle 360
A full 360° customer and vehicle snapshot at the start of every call so that agents can shift immediately from data-gathering to problem-solving.
Customer 360
We listened to the users and highlighted all the key pieces of information they needed to
get a complete picture of the customer, everything ranging from their vehicles, open cases, contacts and a history of their account. We organized the information based on the frequency they needed to be accessed.
A full customer centric dashboard. By shadowing agents, I identified the critical data points needed within the first 10 seconds of a call. I reorganized the interface to surface vehicles, open cases, and account history at the top level, ensuring agents never have to hunt for information across different screens.
Impact:
No need to search for a customer when a customer calls in
Agents feel confident greeting the customer
Customer’s feel known when they are calling in
Vehicle 360
We designed a vehicle 360 to support the customer 360. By synthesizing real-time telemetry, warranty data, and service history into a single, instantly understandable view, we moved the needle from fragmented data to "connected intelligence." This visibility allows advisors to focus on the human relationship rather than navigating legacy databases.
Impact:
Instant Confidence: Empowered advisors with real-time data so they can give certain answers without the fear of being wrong.
Reduced Mental Load: By automating the "where" and "what," advisors can focus their energy on listening and empathy.
Solving Problems Early: Important alerts are surfaced automatically, allowing advisors to be proactive rather than reactive.
CASE 360
A unified workspace for advisors so that that they always have a shared context, history of the problem they are assigned.
A Unified Interaction Workspace to bridge the gap between siloed data and active problem-solving. By consolidating disparate communication channels and resolution tools into a single, chronological interface, I eliminated the "Alt-Tab Tax." This solution transforms the case record into a living narrative that keeps the advisor in the flow and the customer at the center.
Advisor Impact
Context at a Glance: Never ask a customer to repeat their story with a unified, chronological history.
Frictionless Resolution: Trigger diagnostics and updates directly in the workspace without switching platforms.
No More "Dead Air": Maintain a continuous conversation by eliminating the need to put customers on hold.
End-to-End Transparency: Give certain answers with real-time visibility into dealer and back-office status.
Reduced Mental Load: Lower cognitive fatigue by standardizing where all critical information lives.
Embedded Guided Workflows in Cases
Embed resolution tools directly into cases so that agents can maintain focus on the customer while executing complex technical tasks
We embedded Guided Workflows that live directly within the case workspace, allowing advisors to trigger standardized resolution paths without losing their place. By embedding scripts, disclosures, and escalation logic into the active UI, I replaced improvisation with governed precision. This integration ensures that even the most complex, high-risk scenarios feel navigable and compliant, bringing structure to the conversation without having to leave the case or lose context.
Instant Support: Launch step-by-step help exactly when you need it without ever leaving the customer’s screen.
Advisor Scripts: Follow automated prompts for legal scripts so you never have to guess if you're "covered."
Confidence on Demand: Navigate unfamiliar or high-stakes scenarios with the peace of mind that the system is guiding you.
No More Swivel-Chairing: Complete complex tasks from start to finish without jumping between tools or losing your place.
System logged activity: Every action and result is automatically logged to the case history, so you never have to manually record your steps.
Advisor Dashboard
A Role-Based Homepage to transform the start-of-day experience from a state of ambiguity into a state of focus. By engineering a clear starting hub tailored specifically to advisors, supervisors, and specialists, I ensured that the most critical "next steps" are surfaced immediately. This solution reinforces the principle of empowering the frontline through clarity, allowing teams to navigate their day with strategic intent rather than reactive searching.
Advisor Impact
A Clear Starting Line: Begin every shift with a personalized roadmap of your most urgent tasks.
No More Ambiguity: Eliminate the "where do I start?" fatigue with a prioritized daily view.
Focused Productivity: Spend less time digging through queues and more time resolving customer needs.
Empowered Ownership: Gain instant visibility into your follow-ups without needing to run manual reports.
Role : Work within a hub that is dynamically tailored to your specific role and responsibilities.
Dealer Portal
Bridging the gap between agent and dealer systems so that real-time transparency.
We built an external resolution experience that extended the platform beyond internal advisors.
Dealers could initiate complex cases with the right context, track downstream ownership, and receive resolution outcomes directly.
This closed the loop back to the frontline, restoring transparency and trust while reducing repeat follow-ups.
Emergency & Location Services
We designed Context-Aware Emergency Screens to empower agents to act as "calm experts."
Dynamic Context: Instant display of the vehicle’s GPS location, local weather conditions, and live traffic data.
Guided Safety Scripts: UI-driven prompts that help agents extract vital information for emergency services while maintaining a comforting tone.
Rapid Dispatch: One-touch triggers to pass precise coordinates and vehicle data to towing or emergency responders.
The Impact:
Transformed a high-stress "guessing game" into a structured, reliable life-saving service.
Ensured 100% accuracy in location data transmission during time-sensitive crises.
Results & Enterprise Impact
The launch of CX Connect marked the fourth and final US Care deployment:
19,750+ dealer users onboarded since August 11
158,000+ potential users across the network
Peak usage of 7,000+ daily active users
Migrated from legacy DCM with zero operational disruption
Early dealership data showed:
≥75% improvement in case handling efficiency
Faster resolution through shared visibility
Reduced delays from missed communication
Enterprise Delivery Scale
180+ features deployed across four Care initiatives
30+ MuleSoft integration features delivered
10+ third-party file integrations executed
Approximately 7,000 technician cases resolved through the platform
Reflection: Trust as an architectural principle
One of the most meaningful outcomes was the trust built between our Salesforce delivery team, GM stakeholders, and dealer end users.
Enterprise UX succeeds when systems are designed not only for efficiency, but for confidence, transparency, and collaboration.
Hearing direct appreciation from frontline dealers reinforced that experience architecture is ultimately about people — even at massive scale.
