MOTORWAY
Overview
Motorway, a prominent vehicle marketplace in the UK, identified a need to improve the efficiency and accuracy of their vehicle inspection process. The company embarked on developing an internal tool named “Driver Inspection App”.
The app aimed to streamline the inspection and delivery process performed by drivers who collect vehicles from sellers and deliver them to dealers. The goal was to develop the application with a particular focus on improving efficiency, reducing costs, and ensuring the quality of vehicles. The application aimed to transform MotorWay's previously manual and disjointed vehicle inspection process, providing a comprehensive tool for third-party drivers involved in vehicle collection and delivery.
My contribution
Product strategy User research Product design
The team
1 × product manager 1 × product designer 3 × engineers
Year
2021
Process
Objective
Motorway's primary challenge was the lack of visibility and control over the vehicle collection process, managed by third-party delivery companies. The objectives were to:
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Streamline the inspection process for drivers
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Ensure accurate vehicle data collection
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Provide Motorway with insights for optimizing the process
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Enhance communication and trust among sellers, drivers, and dealers
The project sought to significantly decrease the time-consuming vehicle inspection duration, which could take up to 2 hours. Moreover, the tool was intended to offer a fair process for all parties involved: the drivers, the MotorWay company, and the dealers
Challenges
The existing process, managed by a third party, posed communication issues between MotorWay and dealers, due to the lack of shared information. Additionally, the absence of real data on the inspection process further complicated cost management and planning for the business. The design process was tasked to overcome these challenges and bring forth a streamlined, efficient, and transparent inspection and delivery system.
Apart from the communication issues between MotorWay and dealers and the lack of real data on the inspection process, several challenges significantly impacted the design approach:
Restrictions on Inspection Process
Ideally, a panel-by-panel inspection would have been more efficient. However, due to the existing system architecture constraints, the team had to adopt a side-by-side approach for vehicle inspection.
Limited AI Capabilities
While there was potential to harness AI for various aspects of the inspection, the only available trained model was for wheels and tires. This restricted AI's usage only for confirming the quality and damages in these areas.
Data Inconsistencies
The data available, especially from CRM, was inconsistent with varied free text. This demanded a flexible approach in the app design, not only to confirm existing data but also to collect and structure missing or inconsistent information.
Design Sacrifices for Brand Consistency
Testing results indicated that the light mode performed better in terms of usability. However, for brand consistency, the team decided to proceed with a dark mode design, aligning with MotorWay's brand image.
Limited Usage of Video Walk-throughs
The initial design envisioned more extensive use of video to enhance the inspection process. However, bandwidth constraints meant that the usage of videos and walk-throughs had to be limited. This challenge required the design to heavily rely on still images and concise textual information.
Design Process
01 / Research & Ideation
To understand the nuances of the vehicle inspection journey, I began by shadowing real-world vehicle collections and interviewing both drivers and internal ops teams. This uncovered a host of friction points — from missed documentation and poor mobile UX to the lack of real-time inspection visibility for dealers.
In parallel, we benchmarked logistics and gig-economy workflows (e.g., Uber Freight, Deliveroo rider flows) to explore efficient mobile task design in fast-paced environments.
Outcome:
Deep understanding of frontline pain points and the strategic opportunity to digitise and standardise the inspection process to reduce disputes, increase trust, and cut operational costs.
02 / Flow Mapping
Together with the wider product team, I mapped key user journeys — spanning drivers, operations staff, and dealer end-users. This allowed us to identify bottlenecks and define high-risk moments in the inspection and reporting process.
We also worked within several hard constraints:
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System architecture only allowed side-by-side inspection, not panel-by-panel.
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AI support was limited to wheels and tires.
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Bandwidth limitations ruled out high-volume video capture.
These limitations shaped a key UX principle: “one focused action per screen” — minimising distractions and guiding drivers through a linear, reliable inspection flow.
Outcome:
Aligned UX and product vision with system limitations and business needs, while reducing complexity for end-users under real-world pressure.
03 / Wireframes & Mid-Fi Testing
I led the creation of detailed wireframes in Figma covering all major flows: vehicle lookup, inspection capture, damage confirmation, and summary submission. The interaction model followed a clean, progressive disclosure pattern designed for outdoor usability and mental clarity.
To validate early assumptions, I ran moderated usability tests with third-party drivers and ops staff — surfacing key insights around friction points, missed steps, and the need for optional comment fields for edge cases.
Outcome:
A validated wireframe system designed to simplify cognitive load, surface essential details contextually, and reduce the likelihood of missed data.
04 / Visual & Interaction Design
Working within Motorway’s design system, I built a responsive UI kit optimised for mobile usage in unpredictable environments (sun glare, low signal, gloves). Although initial usability tests favored light mode, we committed to dark mode for brand consistency — balancing accessibility with visual alignment.
The interface used large tap zones, subtle animations, and structured layouts that supported both focus and flow — especially critical in solo-driver use cases.
Outcome:
A visually consistent and accessible UI built for high legibility, minimal friction, and fast action in real-world conditions.
05 / Post-Launch Feedback & Iteration
After launch, I helped design a post-release feedback loop, combining driver support queries, ops feedback, and product analytics to surface areas for improvement. We saw immediate wins — such as reordering steps to match drivers’ real-world inspection habits, and reducing steps in low-risk scenarios.
The tool reduced inspection time from ~2 hours to 40 minutes, improved damage reporting accuracy, and enhanced transparency for dealers — laying the groundwork for expanded AI use and future ops tools.
Outcome:
A high-impact MVP that dramatically improved operational efficiency, driver experience, and dealer satisfaction — with a clear roadmap for ongoing evolution.
Outcome
Through countless iterations, real-world testing, and navigating technical and environmental constraints, we transformed a fragile inspection concept into a tool that shaved 80 minutes off each inspection workflow. The project revealed the messy reality behind polished UX—highlighting the importance of designing for real-life conditions, aligning cross-functional teams, and adapting to constantly shifting assumptions. In the end, we built not just a usable product, but one that felt intuitive under pressure, proving that great design is forged in the chaos, not in spite of it.