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Toyota Financial Services
Toyota Financial Services
North star vision and end-to-end product experience redesign for TFS’s mobile lease end journey.
North star vision and end-to-end product experience redesign for TFS’s mobile lease end journey.
Role
Role
Product Design Lead
Product Design Lead
Core Team
Core Team
1 Engagement Lead
1 Part-time Creative Director
1 Engagement Lead
1 Part-time Creative Director
Timeline
6 Weeks
My Impact
My Impact
Benchmarking & competitive research
Concept exploration & prototyping
UI/UX, interaction design, and user flows
Stakeholder presentation & workshop facilitation
Video production for demo deliverable
Benchmarking & competitive research
Concept exploration & prototyping
UI/UX, interaction design, and user flows
Stakeholder presentation & workshop facilitation
Video production for demo deliverable
Timeline
6 Weeks
Toyota Financial Services had spent years discussing improvements to the lease end experience but remained stuck in piecemeal execution, limited by feasibility concerns and fragmented stakeholder alignment.
Toyota Financial Services had spent years discussing improvements to the lease end experience but remained stuck in piecemeal execution, limited by feasibility concerns and fragmented stakeholder alignment.
Goal
Goal
The goal was to design a North Star vision to unite internal teams, anchor strategic conversations, and give TFS. a clear roadmap forward.
The goal was to design a North Star vision to unite internal teams, anchor strategic conversations, and give TFS. a clear roadmap forward.
My Role
My Role
I served as product design lead, owning north star vision, concept development, UX design, along with stakeholder alignment.
I served as product design lead, owning north star vision, concept development, UX design, along with stakeholder alignment.
Discovery & Research
Discovery & Research
I led design exploration and competitive benchmarking to ground the vision in evidence rather than assumption.
Current state analysis made the gap clear. Lease end is a loop with a break in it. Customers are forced to decide before they understand their options, then push through the process across scattered forms and channels. The relationship goes quiet after, until the next lease resurfaces it.
I led design exploration and competitive benchmarking to ground the vision in evidence rather than assumption.
Current state analysis made the gap clear. Lease end is a loop with a break in it. Customers are forced to decide before they understand their options, then push through the process across scattered forms and channels. The relationship goes quiet after, until the next lease resurfaces it.
Today’s lease end journey is linear and engagement diminishes after the car is returned or replaced.
Today’s lease end journey is linear and engagement diminishes after the car is returned or replaced.
In the future, customers will expect a more continuous relationship with TFS.
In the future, customers will expect a more continuous relationship with TFS.
I co-created a North Star vision with three design principles folded in to transform lease end into a rewarding experience for TFS customers.
I co-created a North Star vision with three design principles folded in to transform lease end into a rewarding experience for TFS customers.
Concept Development
Concept Development
With the strategic foundation established, we developed three catalytic opportunities as our framework and generated 14 lease end concepts underneath them.
With the strategic foundation established, we developed three catalytic opportunities as our framework and generated 14 lease end concepts underneath them.
I developed the concepts internally through iterative refinement, then validated and deepened them by leading a generative workshop with TFS stakeholders.
I developed the concepts internally through iterative refinement, then validated and deepened them by leading a generative workshop with TFS stakeholders.
Not every concept with strong early support survived. Direct Dealer Chat, an in-app messaging concept that allowed customers to directly message dealer contacts, tested well going into our stakeholder workshop. But workshop discussion with TFS stakeholders raised two concerns that outweighed it. TFS had no way to correct a bad dealer interaction after the fact, and a separate dealer channel risked confusing customers about who they were actually talking to.
The Lease End Progress Tracker scored lower on customer impact on paper. I advocated for including it in the MVP anyway. Lease end feels disorienting because it’s scattered across dates and paperwork, with no single place to see where things stand. A tracker that consolidated every step and made each one actionable in one place turned that invisible process into something customers could see and finish.
Not every concept with strong early support survived. Direct Dealer Chat, an in-app messaging concept that allowed customers to directly message dealer contacts, tested well going into our stakeholder workshop. But workshop discussion with TFS stakeholders raised two concerns that outweighed it. TFS had no way to correct a bad dealer interaction after the fact, and a separate dealer channel risked confusing customers about who they were actually talking to.
The Lease End Progress Tracker scored lower on customer impact on paper. I advocated for including it in the MVP anyway. Lease end feels disorienting because it’s scattered across dates and paperwork, with no single place to see where things stand. A tracker that consolidated every step and made each one actionable in one place turned that invisible process into something customers could see and finish.
Those two decisions reflect how we worked through the full set of 14 concepts, weighing early enthusiasm against what would actually hold up for customers and for TFS.
Those two decisions reflect how we worked through the full set of 14 concepts, weighing early enthusiasm against what would actually hold up for customers and for TFS.
Feature Spotlight
Feature Spotlight
The centerpiece was the lease end decision side-by-side comparison view that functioned as a launchpad where users could compare all options and directly initiate their replacement, return, or purchase.
The centerpiece was the lease end decision side-by-side comparison view that functioned as a launchpad where users could compare all options and directly initiate their replacement, return, or purchase.
Inspired by product comparison views, I designed this feature to help customers compare all lease-end options side-by-side and explore real replacement vehicles from local dealer inventory.
Inspired by product comparison views, I designed this feature to help customers compare all lease-end options side-by-side and explore real replacement vehicles from local dealer inventory.
I wireframed different iterations to ensure that all three lease end options were immediately visible, providing users with a clear picture of their choices upfront.
I wireframed different iterations to ensure that all three lease end options were immediately visible, providing users with a clear picture of their choices upfront.
Impact
Impact
Our concepts were brought to select Toyota dealerships in New York for dealer review and are currently in the piloting process.
The work transformed years of fragmented discussions into tangible features moving toward implementation, demonstrating how interactive prototypes can serve as powerful alignment tools that accelerate decision-making and build organizational momentum.
Our concepts were brought to select Toyota dealerships in New York for dealer review and are currently in the piloting process.
The work transformed years of fragmented discussions into tangible features moving toward implementation, demonstrating how interactive prototypes can serve as powerful alignment tools that accelerate decision-making and build organizational momentum.