The Brief: Pep Boys, a national chain of auto supply stores and repair shops, is rebranding themselves as your trusted hometown mechanic.

The Opportunity: Telematics uses a car’s Onboard Diagnostics System to help users better understand their cars. A Pep Boys telematics app could drive sales by diagnosing car problems, recommending maintenance and scheduling service.

The Solution:  My Pep Boys answers three basic questions for users encountering car problems:

What is wrong?

What do I do about it?

Where do I go?

It aligns different user approaches to car maintenance, Pep Boys’ brand identity and business goals, and emerging car technology.

For: General Assembly

Timeframe: 2 weeks

My Roles:

Research Design

User Interviews

Competitive Analysis

Data Analysis

Persona Development

App Mapp

Wireframing: Medium Fidelity

User Testing

Design Iteration

Competitive Analysis

I surveyed the competitive landscape, and performed a heuristic analysis, feature comparison, and mapped out competitive user flows.

User research and data analysis

I developed a screener and interview guide, and interviewed 12 users about cars, car maintenance, and repairs. Users varied in their level of car knowledge and trust in mechanics, creating four basic user types.

Personas: Mary, the knowledgable Driver

User flows

Based on personas and business goals, I designed a user flow which serves the car repair needs of each of our three personas.

Initial design

Keeping with Pep Boys’ brand, I assigned each Pep Boy a specific task. Mannie explains car problems, Moe teaches repairs, and Jack schedules service. 

Design and iteration

I created a medium fidelity prototype based on the initial sketches, and refined it through several rounds of user testing.