Ford Motor Company Product Designer Case Interview — SYNC + FordPass EV Towing and Service Journey

This case simulates a real Ford design challenge centered on the end-to-end ownership experience across SYNC in-vehicle HMI and the FordPass app for an F-150 Lightning owner who tows on weekends and relies on public charging, plus a Ford Pro fleet manager with E-Transit vans. What you will do: - Frame the problem: Reduce range and charging anxiety during towing trips while ensuring safe, compliant in-vehicle interactions; streamline service scheduling and over-the-air (Power-Up) update communication. - Clarify constraints typical at Ford: NHTSA/driver-distraction limits, regional regulations (NA/EU), in-vehicle latency and hardware limits, OTA rollout stages, dealership operations, BlueOval Charge Network realities, and accessibility/dark-mode/HMI legibility. - Map journeys for two personas (retail truck owner and Ford Pro fleet manager) across discover-plan-drive-charge-service, including dealership touchpoints and roadside contingencies. - Propose IA and key flows spanning mobile (FordPass), embedded (SYNC), and web/fleet portal: dynamic tow-aware route planning with charger reliability signals and reservations; charge taper and preconditioning cues; offline fallbacks; service triage and remote diagnostics; OTA update consent, scheduling, and rollback. - Sketch 2–3 critical screens per surface (low/medium fidelity is fine) and narrate safe states while driving vs. parked; define error and edge cases (charger down, trailer detected mid-route, no data coverage, VIN mismatch with fleet). - Define success metrics: trip completion without unplanned stops, charger success rate, time-to-first-charge, scheduled service completion time, update adoption, CSAT/NPS for ownership moments that matter. How Ford-specific evaluation works: - Human-centered, truck-and-fleet empathy: practical, durable solutions that respect real towing and commercial use. - Safety and compliance first: clear delineation of what is allowed in motion; voice-first patterns; distraction-minimized HMI. - Systems thinking and feasibility: designs that could ship on current SYNC hardware and through FordPass with staged OTA; awareness of dealer/service realities. - Collaboration style: plain talk, data-informed decisions, ability to trade off desirability, viability, and feasibility with engineering, research, legal, and dealer operations. - Craft and clarity: crisp IA, readable states (day/night), consistent patterns with Ford UI conventions, understandable handoff notes. Interview flow (suggested): - 10 min: brief + clarifying questions - 20 min: journey mapping and problem framing with metrics - 25 min: solution ideation and wireframe walkthrough (mobile + in-vehicle) - 10 min: trade-offs, risks, and rollout plan (pilot markets, telemetry, success criteria) - 10 min: Q&A and reflection on how you would validate with D-Ford research and live data. Materials provided in-session: basic charger dataset excerpt, towing range curve, service capacity constraints for a sample dealer, and abbreviated Ford UI pattern references. Deliverables: photographed or digital whiteboard sketches, a prioritized opportunity list, and a short measurement plan for a 6–12 week iteration.