Behind the Scenes of DriveBuddy
AI-powered app that detects driver drowsiness and suggests rest stops
Role
UX Research
UX / UI Design
Branding
Prototyping
Team
5 designers
4 developers
Duration
January – April 2025 (13 weeks)
Highlights
Best In Show & Development Excellency – 2025 Showcase
🎬 Demo First?
Here’s a quick demo if you’d rather watch than scroll.
(But if you stick around, the case study goes deeper—because I want to show just how much heart, teamwork, and thinking went into this project 💛)
The Problem
21%
2,100
400
The Solution
Meet DriveBuddy
Discover
We kickstarted our process with two user interviews, then brought the whole team — designers and developers — into a hands-on discovery workshop.
We ran a design thinking workshop with our whole team. Everyone — including developers — contributed to empathy mapping and user journey mapping based on our data and prior knowledge.
I’m especially grateful for our developers’ support — their insights made our early-stage decisions stronger.
Together, we mapped out key user needs and experiences to align on pain points and priorities.
Define
With the problem space clear, we brainstormed all potential features, from the must-haves to the wish list. Then we ran a team voting session to narrow down what we could realistically build
We compiled a comprehensive feature list and rated each one. This helped our team align on priorities and stay focused on what really mattered during the build.
We wrote user stories to frame each feature around real user goals.
We created a user flow showing the key steps in the user journey. It gave us a shared blueprint before diving into design.
Develop
We translated our feature scope into wireframes and iterated quickly based on team feedback and developer input.
How We Worked Together
Each designer owned a specific feature or flow (I worked on Settings), and we collaborated through regular design reviews.
We met often to:
- Share progress and give peer feedback
- Iterate based on critiques and reviews
- Align with developers during sprint meetings
Branding Explorations
To define DriveBuddy’s visual identity — vigilant, safe, and simple — we each explored logo and style directions.
For the logo, I explored a concept combining an owl (wise and vigilant) and a map pin— while my version wasn’t chosen, its core idea shaped the final branding. I took it as far as I could, then handed it off to teammates with stronger visual design skills to refine.
A round of applause for Trang Nguyen for the final logo and color choice.
Pivot Points
As development progressed, priorities shifted.
We adapted by dropping some features and adding new ones — staying true to agile.
Mockups and UI Kit: Built as We Designed
With 5 designers and just 13 weeks, we took a flexible approach:
- Each designer built components for their assigned screens
- We spotted overlaps and aligned through quick syncs
- Updated the shared library as we went
This kept us efficient and consistent without a dedicated design systems lead.
Deliver
QA & Bug Hunts
Everyone pitched in to catch bugs before code freeze — every issue was logged in Jira.
In our Scrum process, we believed: the more bugs we catch, the better the product — so everyone was motivated to test repeatedly and thoroughly.
Final Delivery
With smooth collaboration and open communication, delivering the final product felt like a well-earned team victory — not a scramble to the finish line.
Takeaways
If DriveBuddy taught me anything, it’s that some lessons only really stick when you live through them. Here’s what I’m walking away with:
Scrum Works
I’ve understood ideas like “progress over perfection” from past projects — but this time, I truly lived them.
Staying flexible, delivering in small steps, and adjusting quickly helped us keep momentum without getting stuck.
Jira is secretly great.
It helped us track sprint goals, manage bugs, and stay on the same page.
Tools like the burndown chart made our progress visible in real time — helping us spot blockers early and stay on track.
Turns out, Jira is secretly perfect for Scrum.
Ask for help — early and often.
Whether it was getting feedback on logo design or handing off my first draft of the project proposal for teammates to refine in InDesign, I learned asking for help isn’t a weakness — it’s how good work gets even better.
Less is more.
Not everything needs to be complicated to be impressive. I learned this the hard way while iterating on our admin dashboard charts — cutting down from overwhelming data sets to one clean, simple chart made the story so much stronger.
Teamwork matters — a lot.
From aligning on components to jumping in to support each other during crunch times, being each other’s cheerleader made a huge difference. I’m genuinely proud of what we built and how we built it together.
Let’s Work Together!
Now accepting new projects, cool collaborations & cat memes.