GAYLE
BARTON
Sr. User Experience Designer
Sr. Product Designer
Digital Design Manager
ALLSTATE ROADSIDE SERVICES
I am going to show you a case study that focuses on these two business problems:
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Enhancing Digital Retention in Allstate Roadside Assistance
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How Might We Improve the Intake and In-Rescue Experience to Reduce Drop-Offs?
MY RESPONSIBILITIES AND CONTRIBUTIONS:
Collaborated in User Research: Worked closely to analyze extensive past research and gain a deep understanding of our target users’ needs, pain points, and behaviors. Partnered in reviewing existing data and implementing various research methodologies, including interviews, surveys, and usability testing, to gather additional qualitative and quantitative insights.
Design and Prototyping: Created wireframes, prototypes, and high-fidelity designs based on research insights. Ensured designs were user-centric, intuitive, and aligned with business goals.
Testing and Iteration: Facilitated User Zoom testing sessions to validate design concepts and gather feedback. Iteratively refined designs based on user feedback and test results to enhance usability and user satisfaction.
Collaboration with Development Team: Delivered detailed Figma design wireframes, visual assets, and specifications to the development team. Worked closely with developers to ensure the seamless implementation of designs, providing ongoing support and clarification as needed.
Project Management: Took over the management of the user journey assessment project after it had already started. Coordinated with cross-functional teams, ensured project milestones were met, and maintained clear communication with stakeholders.
TEAM:
1 UX Designer (me)
1 UX Researcher
5 Product owners, Roadside, Omni, Dispatch,
1 Digital transformation manager
1 Senior software engineer
2 Overseas developers
1 UX content writer
DESIGN TOOLS
Figma
UX SKILLS & TECHNIQUES
User journey mapping
User Zoom
One on One User interviews
Wireframe user testing
MANAGEMENT
SKILLS
Planning, 2 week Sprints
Design ops planning
Managing stakeholder expectations
DESIGN THINKING
Started the non-linear process that contains five phases:
Empathize
Background
Customers rely on Allstate Roadside Assistance during high-stress situations, yet data revealed a significant drop-off rate in the digital intake and in-rescue experience. To uncover the root causes and drive solutions, I facilitated workshops, collaborated with a UX Researcher, product managers, and engineering teams to identify pain points and ideate improvements.
Problem Statement
Why are customers abandoning the digital experience during roadside assistance intake and in-rescue tracking?
Through a user journey analysis and existing research, I identified common friction points, that we needed to focus on.
WE KNOW WHERE THEY DROP OFF BUT
WE DON'T KNOW WHY
I identified common friction points from my own heuristic review and gathering insights from pre-existing documentation.
CONFUSING INTAKE FORMS LEADING TO FRUSTRATION
LACK OF REAL TIME STATUS UPDATES CAUSING ANXITEY
UNCLEAR COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL
DID NOT KNOW THE NEXT STEPS, WAS CONFUSED
Define
Approach: The HOW MIGHT WE (HMW) Workshop with the team
I facilitated a How Might We (HMW) Workshop for the Allstate Roadside Assistance app team. It's main goal was to uncover why customers were dropping out of digital channels during their intake and in-rescue experience and identify opportunities to improve engagement and retention.
Workshop Overview
The session brought together stakeholders from product, UX, customer support, and engineering to collaboratively explore challenges and generate solutions through the How Might We framework. We translated key pain points into How Might We questions to reframe problems as opportunities.
HOW MIGHT WE (HMW)
Make the intake process faster and more intuitive?
Provide real-time updates that reassure users throughout their rescue?
Improve transparency around estimated arrival times and service progress?
Sticky notes were organized with a mix of quick wins, long-term innovations, and experience improvements
During the workshop, we also facilitated brainstorming sessions, generating over 30+ potential solutions. Key themes included:
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Streamlining intake: Pre-filled data, fewer steps, and clearer instructions.
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Enhancing real-time tracking: Live GPS updates, proactive alerts, and chatbot support.
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Building trust & transparency: Clearer messaging on rescue progress and ETA updates.
User Research Plan & Timeline
A User Research Plan & Timeline was submitted following the HMW workshop to secure leadership buy-in before beginning the design ideation process. This step helped establish a clear research approach, ensuring alignment with both business objectives and user needs.
Approach: User Journey Mapping / Service Blueprint Workshop with the team
This workshop was a collaborative session designed to map out a user's flow through the emergency roadside assistance scenario, such as a person noticing that their car has a flat tire. This activity aligns cross-functional teams (design, research, product, engineering, and customer service) on the current-state experience and helped us define an ideal future state flow.
Test
User Zoom - User surveys
Two unmoderated user surveys were conducted with 181 individuals to assess the concept Roadside Request Digital Experience. We were testing the existing flow to the UX recommended flow in these areas.
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Service Provider ETA
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Drop-off Location
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Payment Page
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Summary Page
Ideate
Mapped the Current Situation Flow
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Step-by-step user actions (e.g., opening the app, selecting an issue, tracking a tow truck).
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Recorded Touchpoints (digital, call center, SMS updates, etc.).
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Noticed Decision points (e.g., "Should I call support or wait for updates?").
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Took Notes on Pain Points, Breakdown moments (frustrations, confusion, or inefficiencies).
Mapped the a new flow in a low-fi wireframes
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Step-by-step user actions (e.g., opening the app, selecting an issue, tracking a tow truck).
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Recorded Touchpoints (digital, call center, SMS updates, etc.).
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Noticed Decision points (e.g., "Should I call support or wait for updates?").
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Took Notes on Pain Points, Breakdown moments (frustrations, confusion, or inefficiencies).
Tested the recommended flow on a User Zoom Survey
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97% (176) users successfully submitted a Roadside request without calling for help.
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Users found the potential concept UX Recomended flow to be easy to use, simple, fast, and efficient.
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Users who normally call stated they would use the mobile experience instead
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Users found the Service Provider ETA extremely valuable before submitting their request.
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However, they did not notice the placement of the ETA on the Drop-off and Summary Pages.
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Ideate
Stakeholder Design Review
Designed 12 UX recomendations
1. Clearly outlines each step a user must take to request roadside assistance.
2. Helps identify pain points in the flow where users may drop off or get stuck.
3. Clarifies how UI elements interact, reducing back-and-forth during development.
Prototype
Results
Results
The Allstate Mobile app has been very successful overall in terms of adoption and customer usage. On the Apple App Store, it has around 1.2 million ratings with an average score of 4.8 out of 5, which is exceptionally high for an insurance and roadside assistance app.
The app is successful because it combines roadside assistance with insurance tools, claims management, Drivewise, digital ID cards, and emergency services in one experience. My involvement in features like GPS location tracking, real-time tow updates, and quick service requests makes it a strong, user-friendly product.
MSRB - EMMA