THE AA · 14M+ USERS · UK
Fifteen services, no shared experience. Twelve months to build it.
Separate services operated in silos, each leaving customers to navigate between them at the moments that mattered most. Competitors were beginning to close the gap and The AA required a connected platform rather than a collection of services. I was hired to define the vision, build the design function from scratch and deliver the first release of connected services.
ROLE
Head of UX Design
AA-X Innovation Division
4 designers · 14M+ users
Research · Product strategy
C-suite & Board alignment · Org design
Designed for 15 services · First release unified 7
SCOPE
27%
Increase in garage bookings in app
43%
Reduction in recovery call outs
18%
Increase in upsell conversion rate
57%
Decrease in customer service call volume
THE PROBLEM
A trusted brand with a fragmented experience.
For over a century the AA has built trust around a simple promise, when something goes wrong with your vehicle, we will get you out of trouble.
The digital ecosystem has grown with services supporting different parts of the ownership journey - vehicle health, breakdown, recovery, garages, insurance and more.
A driver might receive a vehicle warning, speak to the AA about it, book a garage appointment and follow up on repairs, moving between multiple systems along the way.
Each team had optimised its own service. What had never been designed was the experience between them.
Fifteen teams solving fifteen separate problems.
Together they created a powerful argument for maintaining fragmentation. The turning point came when stakeholders saw the experience from the outside.
THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE
A vehicle warning on Monday, calling on Tuesday, booking a garage on Thursday and never once feeling the same organisation had been involved.
Each team had its own legitimate objection. Together they created a powerful argument for maintaining fragmentation.
Insurance had regulatory requirements.
Breakdown had operational complexity.
Vehicle health depended on data systems still being built…
The turning point came when stakeholders saw the research and saw the breakdown experience from the outside, multiple calls, multiple apps, disconnected services, lots of friction.
Previously resistant stakeholders across the programme, changed their position during that session.
THE STRATEGIC SHIFT
The foundation for a single product platform.
There was no design team when I joined. I defined the research approach, hiring criteria and how design would operate inside the innovation division. The principle from day one was simple, weeks with customers before any wireframes, vision documents or internal presentations about what we might build.
Building the design function
01
02
Establishing the platform operating model
Fifteen independent teams needed to feel part of the process. I defined the cross-functional delivery structure, shared principles and governance model needed to hold platform decisions when individual team pressures pushed against them. Platform thinking cannot be retrofitted, it has to exist from the beginning.
03
Align leadership around the platform vision
The vision for AA-X was not handed down from leadership. It was built collaboratively across the CEO, product and engineering leadership, using customer research as the common reference point that kept the conversation grounded whenever it drifted toward internal priorities.
04
The first release unified seven services, including vehicle health, breakdown, recovery, garage and insurance. Built into a single connected platform. At this stage of transformation the fastest way to make a vision real enough for an organisation to commit, is to build it.
Design the first platform iteration
HOW IT SHOWED UP
Creating a service that no competitor can compete with.
Many competitors can handle a couple of services, The AA’s advantage is its full eco-system, garages and vehicle network. Not only did we combine services, we unlocked services that drove further revenue streams and more convenient product offerings.
Starting with seven services in one continuous experience.
AA-X was designed as an intelligent ownership system rather than a portal linking services.
We designed for the full 15 services, but scoped the first build to the seven that gave the highest immediate value, creating experiences that never existed before.
01
Warns in real time before minor issues become serious breakdowns.
More issues are now fixed before they become serious, saving money, time and stress.
02
Guides users with clear next steps, from triage to booking.
Addressed confusion, prevented being ripped off and provided huge confidence for customers.
03
Stays with them through repairs, coordinating recovery and garages.
Kept customers informed, reassured and massively reduced stress for customers by enabling repairs in any location - even at your home.
04
Builds confidence and trust, turning moments of stress into reassurance.
Combined experiences surpass the stress and isolation of legacy apps. Customers are reassured, saving money, time, stress and maintaining trust in the brand as technology progresses
27%
Increase in garage bookings in app
43%
Reduction in recovery call outs
18%
Increase in upsell conversion rate
57%
Decrease in customer service call volume
LEADERSHIP INSIGHT
Fragmentation breaks brand trust faster than bad design.
The hardest part of this programme was not the product. It was creating enough shared understanding of the real problem that fifteen teams could agree on a direction and hold it under pressure.
“Research did not just inform design, it aligned the organisation”
A brand is not what an organisation says it is. It is what happens to people when they need it most.
The AA had earned trust at the roadside for a century. AA-X was the attempt to extend that trust into every moment before and after. When the product finally matched the promise, the metrics followed.