Safe Guard International, LLC

Dealership Management Portal (DMP)

Project Details

(9 month Contract)

Team

Stakeholders (Director)
Product Owners (2)
Business Executives
Development Team

My Role

UX Strategist
UX Design
UI Design
User Research
Agile/Sprints

Tools

Figma
Adobe Suite
Jira
Microsoft Teams
Zoom Meeting

Platform

Enterprise Application
Power BI
Angular

Problem

Stalled Project, Pivot Under Pressure

Product owners urgently needed a functional DMP solution after the first UX designer's 3-4 months of zero progress stalled the project. Despite my approved modern redesign concepts, the dev manager couldn't code them in time for executive deadlines, forcing a pivot to legacy-template updates incorporating those redesign concepts—under tight initial oversight and a January 2026 freeze.

Legacy Design

Non-Intuitive UI/Poor Feedback/Low Subs

Usability Issues

Providers found the legacy DMP application difficult to navigate, unintuitive in its task flow, and overly dependent on guidance or prior training to complete submissions correctly.

Functionality Issues

The system lacked streamlined submission workflows, clear status visibility, and efficient document management tools, leading to frequent errors, resubmissions, and administrative delays.

Aesthetic Issues

The interface appeared outdated and inconsistent with Safe Guard’s modern digital standards, reducing user confidence and perceived system reliability.

Business Objectives

Enable dealership Finance and Insurance (F&I) teams to independently manage Safe-Guard protection products—from contract registration to claims—eliminating constant sales team hand-holding that diverted reps from selling to tech support. Originally planned as a complete redesign, they pivoted to legacy-compatible updates for faster rollout ahead of the January 2026 deadline.

Boost Dealer Self-Sufficiency

Cut reliance on sales reps for demos and updates, freeing them to focus on selling warranties, GAP, and tire protection.

Streamline Contract Workflows

Deliver intuitive tools for registration, status tracking, and reporting to accelerate F&I operations without added support burden.

Hit Aggressive Timelines

Incorporate approved modern concepts into existing legacy template, minimizing dev effort for on-time executive freeze delivery.

My UX Process

This is a general overview of my UX process, with further details provided below. My process comprises of three phases: understand, discover, and design. In the understanding-phase, I conduct walkthroughs, interview Product Owners and develop user flows. Transitioning to the discover-phase, I review analytics, conduct client interviews, and create personas and journey maps to prioritize design elements. Finally, in the design phase, I conduct competitive analysis, gather design inspiration, create wireframes and high-fidelity mockups, build fully interactive prototypes, then user-test them before handing off to development.

Phase Two

Discovery/Research/Analyze Data

During the Discovery Phase, I'll analyze the data from adobe analytics, past research, and customer feedback, pinpointing trends and opportunities. Organize client interviews, which produce persona creation, journey maps that deepen my understanding of users needs and behaviors, while affinity mapping sessions will help distill key insights and prioritize design directions for the team. By creating a prioritization spreadsheet, I establish a roadmap for design, ensuring that my efforts are focused on delivering impactful solutions aligned with both user expectations and business objectives.

Adobe Analytics

I review the analytics looking for bounce rate, most visited pages, time on pages, etc.

Past Research

I ask for any past research, which can give me insights, an overview on past issues, and see if the designs were updated correctly to solve the problems.

Client Interviews

Our team decided to conduct interviews to better understand user behavior and aim for informed design decisions that enhance usability satisfaction.

Affinity Mapping

Taking detailed notes, categorizing them - using them for further questions with the team and Product Owners and producing personas, journey maps, and gathering key insights gave clear direction.

Key Insights

Key insights gleaned from interviews indicated that clients favored a straightforward system characterized by proactive problem solving.

Personas

The primary pain points revolved around their reluctance to engage with the complex systems, as they desired assurance that their proof of service statements would be submitted correctly.

Journey Maps

The journey map revealed critical touchpoints and pain points experienced by users throughout the areas for improvement in document submissions.

Design prioritization

I organized the list of redesigns with the team and product owners. I created a design prioritization sheet of work to be done.

Phase Three

Design / User Testing / Development Handoff

In the Design-phase, the focus shifts towards creating, refining, and polishing the design. This involves conducting a competitive analysis to understand market trends and gather design inspirations. Ideas are then sketched out and translated into high-fidelity designs using Highmark's Digital Design System (DDS), bypassing wireframing. These designs are subjected to rigorous user testing, involving both the internal team and specific clients, to gather feedback for iterative improvements. Once refined, the designs are organized and prepared for seamless handoff to the development team, ensuring a smooth transition from design to implementation.

Competitive Analysis

I analyze competitors' strategies, strengths, weaknesses, and designs to glean insights into market trends and user expectations.

Design Inspirations

I draw inspiration from various sources, including industry trends and innovative solutions, to fuel my creative process and inform the design direction.

Sketching Ideas

I express my concepts and ideas by sketching them out with pen and paper, allowing for rapid exploration and iteration of design possibilities.

High-Fidelity (DDS)

By leveraging Safe Guard's Design System, I save time and bypass wireframing, ensuring that my conceptual designs adhere to brand guidelines. This facilitates user testing while maintaining UI consistency.

User Testing / Iterations

I conduct comprehensive user testing sessions, gathering feedback from both internal team members and targeted clients, to refine the design through iterative improvements.

Development Handoff

Upon finalizing the design, I organize and prepare the assets for seamless handoff to the development team, ensuring clear communication and smooth implementation of the design vision.

Challenges

DMP Non-Stop Designing Mission

Redesigning the Dealership Management Portal (DMP) was planned as a full-year project. But after the original UX designer failed to deliver for five months, I faced not only complex usability and workflow challenges but also severe timeline compression. I was then directed to halt the already-approved modern redesign and pivot to updating the legacy application within three months—balancing business goals, technical limits, and shifting stakeholder demands. The development manager lacked time and resources to build the full redesign before the January 2026 executive deadline, so leadership tasked me with reworking the legacy system instead—while still achieving the core goal of eliminating sales staff as the dealers' "help desk." Despite these constraints, I delivered a complete legacy redesign on time. The solution met executive expectations, fixed key usability issues, streamlined workflows, and created a scalable foundation for future work.

Fired UX Designer

Previous designer delivered nothing in 5 months, burning through planned timeline and creating panic.

Mid-Project Pivot

Halted approved modern redesign; pivoted to legacy updates when dev couldn't meet full rebuild deadline.

Tight 3-Month Sprint

Delivered complete solution before January 2026 executive freeze despite compressed schedule.

Sales Team Burden

Dealerships relied on sales reps as "help desk"—core goal was F&I independence.

Outcome Conclusion and Lessons Learned

In conclusion, the redesigned DMP delivered independent usability to dealership F&I teams, eliminating sales reps as constant "help desk" support while hitting the aggressive January 2026 deadline. My ability to deliver high-quality, user-centered solutions under intense pressure demonstrated to Safe-Guard that I am a strong senior product designer—capable of untangling complex problems, adapting to shifting constraints, and producing work that meets business requirements while staying focused on end-user needs.

Lessons Learned:

1.
Prototype Early, Pivot Smart: Initial modern redesign concepts provided reusable assets for the legacy pivot, saving weeks of rework.
2.
Timeline Recovery is Possible: After a 5-month stall from the previous designer, I delivered an approved full redesign—then pivoted in the final 3 months to integrate those concepts into the legacy app.
3.
Unified Goals Trump Perfection: Focusing on core F&I independence over full redesign aligned business needs with technical reality.
4.
Visual Demos Build Confidence: Showing before/after workflows convinced execs and devs faster than specs or meetings.
5.
Legacy Constraints Breed Innovation: Working within existing templates forced smarter, more efficient UX solutions than blank-slate builds.

The projected subscriber growth is a testament to the effectiveness of the redesign and the value it brings to the users. It's a clear indicator that investing in UX design can lead to tangible business benefits and enhanced customer satisfaction.