{"id":595,"date":"2023-07-07T03:38:08","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T03:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.benhaagdesigns.com\/?page_id=595"},"modified":"2026-05-17T04:06:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T04:06:36","slug":"autozone-app-refresh","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.benhaagdesigns.com\/?page_id=595","title":{"rendered":"AutoZone App Refresh"},"content":{"rendered":"
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002 \u2022 AutoZone Retail App Refresh\u00a0 \u2022 2018-2019<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\n

AutoZone Retail App Refresh \u2014 Lead UX<\/h2>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]\n

Role<\/h5>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\n
Lead UX Designer<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]\n
Scope<\/h5>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\n
Research \u00b7 Experience Mapping \u00b7 Usability Testing \u2192 Agile Delivery<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=””]\n
Platform<\/h5>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\n
iOS + Android (retail app)<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_text_separator title=”Challenge” title_align=”separator_align_left” color=”custom” css=”” accent_color=”#4ABFB2″][vc_column_text css=””]The AutoZone retail mobile app served millions of customers \u2014 DIY drivers and everyday shoppers who expected a fast, intuitive experience to find parts, check compatibility, and get back to the job at hand. By 2019, the app needed a meaningful refresh: feature gaps, inconsistent interactions, and an aging experience were creating friction for users and leaving performance on the table. The challenge was to define, map, and validate a better user experience across a complex app while working within a true agile delivery model \u2014 moving fast without sacrificing quality or practicality.[\/vc_column_text]
<\/div><\/div>[vc_text_separator title=”Process” title_align=”separator_align_left” color=”custom” css=”” accent_color=”#4ABFB2″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][vc_column_text css=””]\n
01<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Competitive Research & Analysis[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\n

When key product decisions arose \u2014 such as how to handle search term behavior \u2014 I went outside the organization to analyze how leading retail apps approached the same problems. This competitive benchmarking gave the product owner clear, evidence-based options to evaluate rather than relying on assumptions.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][vc_column_text css=””]\n

02<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Experience Mapping & Technical Drawings[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\n

Rather than jumping straight to high-fidelity UI, I produced detailed technical drawings \u2014 precise, lo-fi documents that mapped user flows, decision points, micro-interactions, and edge cases. These artifacts became the shared source of truth for the team, ensuring design intent was clearly communicated to both UI designers and engineering.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][vc_column_text css=””]\n

03<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Agile Collaboration[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\n

Worked co-located with the lead developer, allowing design and engineering decisions to happen in real time. I led and collaborated with two mid-level UI designers, guiding visual decisions while keeping the experience strategy on track. The team ran true agile practices \u2014 tight feedback loops, regular review, and continuous iteration informed by usability testing.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][vc_column_text css=””]\n

04<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Usability & Validation[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]\n

Conducted usability testing throughout the process to validate decisions and surface issues early, ensuring the experience we were building actually served the way real users thought and behaved \u2014 not just how we assumed they did.<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner]

<\/div><\/div>[vc_text_separator title=”Outcome” title_align=”separator_align_left” color=”custom” css=”” accent_color=”#4ABFB2″][vc_column_text css=””]The two-year effort delivered measurable results: the AutoZone retail app achieved record sales in consecutive years following the refresh, along with increased downloads and improved conversion rates. Beyond the numbers, the project established a repeatable model for how design and engineering could work together \u2014 co-located, agile, and grounded in real user behavior. The experience mapping work on the Vehicle Card also uncovered opportunities that laid the groundwork for the full redesign of the Vehicle Card, completed years later. The impact of this work was recognized with a promotion to UX Manager \u2014 marking the beginning of a leadership path that has since grown to managing teams of up to eight designers and coaching senior designers into management roles of their own.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1778656307013{margin-left: 24px !important;border-left-width: 1px !important;padding-top: 16px !important;padding-right: 16px !important;padding-bottom: 16px !important;padding-left: 16px !important;border-left-style: solid !important;border-color: #344946 !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1778656539504{margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 16px !important;padding-right: 16px !important;padding-bottom: 16px !important;padding-left: 16px !important;}”]\n
Skills & Tools<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1778975835524{margin-bottom: 8px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 4px !important;padding-right: 8px !important;padding-bottom: 4px !important;padding-left: 8px !important;background-color: #344946 !important;border-radius: 4px !important;}”]\n
User Research<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1778975851110{margin-bottom: 8px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 4px !important;padding-right: 8px !important;padding-bottom: 4px !important;padding-left: 8px !important;background-color: #344946 !important;border-radius: 4px !important;}”]\n
Competitive Analysis<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1778975868825{margin-bottom: 8px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 4px !important;padding-right: 8px !important;padding-bottom: 4px !important;padding-left: 8px !important;background-color: #344946 !important;border-radius: 4px !important;}”]\n
Experience Mapping<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1778975883406{margin-bottom: 8px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 4px !important;padding-right: 8px !important;padding-bottom: 4px !important;padding-left: 8px !important;background-color: #344946 !important;border-radius: 4px !important;}”]\n
User Flows<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1778975897639{margin-bottom: 8px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 4px !important;padding-right: 8px !important;padding-bottom: 4px !important;padding-left: 8px !important;background-color: #344946 !important;border-radius: 4px !important;}”]\n
Information Architecture<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1778975916942{margin-bottom: 8px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 4px !important;padding-right: 8px !important;padding-bottom: 4px !important;padding-left: 8px !important;background-color: #344946 !important;border-radius: 4px !important;}”]\n
Usability Testing<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1778975934327{margin-bottom: 8px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 4px !important;padding-right: 8px !important;padding-bottom: 4px !important;padding-left: 8px !important;background-color: #344946 !important;border-radius: 4px !important;}”]\n
Agile<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1778975952343{margin-bottom: 8px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 4px !important;padding-right: 8px !important;padding-bottom: 4px !important;padding-left: 8px !important;background-color: #344946 !important;border-radius: 4px !important;}”]\n
UI Direction<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1778975968697{margin-bottom: 8px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-right-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;border-left-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 4px !important;padding-right: 8px !important;padding-bottom: 4px !important;padding-left: 8px !important;background-color: #344946 !important;border-radius: 4px !important;}”]\n
Technical Drawing<\/h6>\n[\/vc_column_text]
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