I inherited and rescued Driveway's most crucial—and most troubled—product initiative from the brink of abandonment. After burning through multiple teams, countless resources, and two years of false starts, this make-or-break project landed on my desk. With a fresh perspective and ruthless prioritization, my team accomplished what many thought impossible: we shipped a working solution in just six months. Not just a band-aid fix, but a genuinely improved experience that delivered measurable results for both the business and our customers. This project, which had become infamous within Driveway.com's design team, transformed from a cautionary tale into a testament to the power of focused design leadership.
Problem
Driveway’s vehicle order experience struggled to keep up with the needs of the growing business and wasn’t meeting customer expectations. I was asked to lead the redesign of this flagship experience for the product.
Driveway—The better way to buy, sell, or trade your car.
Research
Customers who engaged with the finance estimator earlier were more likely to complete their purchase
Trade-in credit was the single most influential factor in determining affordability
Users needed clearer visibility into the complete purchase process upfront
Address entry errors were causing significant customer support overhead
Exploration & Iteration
After conducting a thorough project review, I identified opportunities to reduce scope while maintaining core user needs. Our streamlined solution focused on three key areas:
Restructured Flow
Moved affordability checks earlier in the process
Maintained trade-in evaluation before financing steps
Consolidated duplicate data entry points
Enhanced Navigation
Implemented a linear stepper design showing all major phases
Added progress indicators within each section
Created clear pathways for customers to move backward when needed
Improved Transparency
Added persistent total cost summary
Created immediate feedback for decisions affecting costs
Designed clearer selection interfaces for options
Outcome
Successfully shipped project within 6 months after two years of delays
Reduced total steps and average completion time for vehicle orders
18% improvement in navigation ease (from 68% to 86% user satisfaction)
23% increase in users' understanding of how their decisions affected final costs
Nearly eliminated address entry errors through Google/USPS integration
Increased customer trust through improved price transparency