Product Derivatives
A strategic UX research and product discovery project aligning Ford South America’s C-level leadership strategy with market opportunities for an established vehicle line. As part of the research team, I collaborated on the stakeholder discovery process and conducted user interviews, while taking ownership of the audiovisual qualitative synthesis and conceptual video creation to align regional leadership on a unified product derivative roadmap. NDA - The following references use non-revealing, consented, or obfuscated data in compliance with enterprise confidentiality agreements.
Year
2024
Client
Ford Motor Company
Category
UX Research & Strategic Design
Scope
Stakeholder Interviews, Secondary Market Research, Audiovisual Qualitative Synthesis & Editing, AI Conceptual Exploration
Personal Contributions
UX Research, Concepts Generation, Visual Communication
Impact
Supported leadership alignment to secure C-Level buy-in, mapped key criteria for a future product derivatives framework, and generated new design demand for upcoming vehicle programs
The Challenge
The Product Derivatives project sought to align Ford South America's leadership strategy with market opportunities for an established regional product. Operating with low initial resources, the goal was to analyze market trends, resolve strategic C-Level tensions, and build a persuasive, research-backed case to establish a repeatable product derivative process.
The Solution
The team executed a lean research and immersion strategy combining secondary market data, user feedback, and in-depth C-Level interviews. To secure executive buy-in, insights were condensed into a 6-minute storytelling video supported by rapid AI/Photoshop vehicle derivative concepts, successfully aligning regional leadership behind a multi-initiative product roadmap.
3 Big Takeaways
Audiovisual Executive Alignment: Condensed over 3 hours of C-Level and key department interviews into a 6-minute video that highlighted direct quotes, strategic tensions, and market opportunities, providing the Chief Engineer with a solid foundation for next-year goals.
Lean Research & Resource Optimization: Overcame initial resource constraints by analyzing public user feedback/reviews and conducting independent semi-structured interviews with former owners to ground the team before formal budget release.
Rapid Conceptual Visualization: Generated 4 quick derivative vehicle concepts using Photoshop and AI tools to inspire regional leadership and visually communicate usage contexts for upcoming executive meetings.
Key Research Insights
Synthesizing internal reports, secondary market data, and semi-structured interviews across C-Level executives and key product domains (Marketing, CX, Engineering):
Diverse Strategic Perspectives: Synthesized perspectives across key product development areas (Marketing, CX, Engineering) and C-Level executives to capture strategic priorities and clear points of tension.
Strategic Gap: While extensive quantitative marketing data existed, leadership lacked a compelling visual and narrative synthesis to confidently define next-year product goals.
Unmapped User Ecosystem: Secondary research across social media and user reviews, combined with exploratory owner interviews, revealed user ecosystem details and usage contexts that formal reports missed.
Trade-offs & System Prioritization
Low-Resource Pre-Research: Due to approval-stage budget limitations, formal user testing was deferred in favor of free semi-structured interviews with volunteers who were former product owners and low-cost online secondary research.
Phased Rollout: Initial focus was strictly kept on research and strategic alignment, which successfully laid the groundwork to later branch into separate, ongoing product development initiatives.
Prototyping & Iterative Artifacts
6-Minute C-Level Compilation: Captured and edited hours of executive video interviews into a succinct 6-minute storytelling video summarizing strategic opportunities and leadership quotes.
Rapid AI & Photoshop Concepting: Developed 4 derivative vehicle sketches illustrating potential vehicle types and usage contexts to spark inspiration during high-level review meetings.
Derivative Process Proposal: Formulated an initial proposal outlining the structured processes required to develop mature, impactful product derivatives in the future.
Results & Deliverables
Executive Buy-in & Alignment: Secured full backing from the Chief Engineer and the Director of Product Development for South America, turning abstract strategic debates into a unified direction.
Strategic Roadmap Input: Defined core strategic goals, next-year pre-research parameters, and a summary of leadership perspectives for regional direction.
Design Studio Momentum: Expanded a strategic research project into multiple ongoing initiatives, generating new design demand and derivative explorations for the Design Studio.
Collaborative Team Role Summary
Strategic Researcher & Visual Storyteller: Conducted secondary immersion research, executed independent user interviews, and synthesized C-Level perspectives into persuasive report structures.
Audiovisual Capture & Video Editing: Filmed and edited over 3 hours of executive interviews down to a 6-minute narrative video to drive C-Level alignment.
Rapid Concept Illustrator: Utilized Photoshop and AI tools under tight deadlines to produce 4 conceptual vehicle derivative sketches for leadership presentations.
Product Derivatives
A strategic UX research and product discovery project aligning Ford South America’s C-level leadership strategy with market opportunities for an established vehicle line. As part of the research team, I collaborated on the stakeholder discovery process and conducted user interviews, while taking ownership of the audiovisual qualitative synthesis and conceptual video creation to align regional leadership on a unified product derivative roadmap. NDA - The following references use non-revealing, consented, or obfuscated data in compliance with enterprise confidentiality agreements.
Year
2024
Client
Ford Motor Company
Category
UX Research & Strategic Design
Scope
Stakeholder Interviews, Secondary Market Research, Audiovisual Qualitative Synthesis & Editing, AI Conceptual Exploration
Personal Contributions
UX Research, Concepts Generation, Visual Communication
Impact
Supported leadership alignment to secure C-Level buy-in, mapped key criteria for a future product derivatives framework, and generated new design demand for upcoming vehicle programs
The Challenge
The Product Derivatives project sought to align Ford South America's leadership strategy with market opportunities for an established regional product. Operating with low initial resources, the goal was to analyze market trends, resolve strategic C-Level tensions, and build a persuasive, research-backed case to establish a repeatable product derivative process.
The Solution
The team executed a lean research and immersion strategy combining secondary market data, user feedback, and in-depth C-Level interviews. To secure executive buy-in, insights were condensed into a 6-minute storytelling video supported by rapid AI/Photoshop vehicle derivative concepts, successfully aligning regional leadership behind a multi-initiative product roadmap.
3 Big Takeaways
Audiovisual Executive Alignment: Condensed over 3 hours of C-Level and key department interviews into a 6-minute video that highlighted direct quotes, strategic tensions, and market opportunities, providing the Chief Engineer with a solid foundation for next-year goals.
Lean Research & Resource Optimization: Overcame initial resource constraints by analyzing public user feedback/reviews and conducting independent semi-structured interviews with former owners to ground the team before formal budget release.
Rapid Conceptual Visualization: Generated 4 quick derivative vehicle concepts using Photoshop and AI tools to inspire regional leadership and visually communicate usage contexts for upcoming executive meetings.