Project Overview: SiriusXM Dealer App Redesign



Project Overview: SiriusXM Dealer App Redesign

Overview:
The SiriusXM Dealer App is an essential tool for automotive dealerships, designed to help staff reactivate SiriusXM services in pre-owned vehicles, assist customers, and manage vehicle accounts with ease.

As a critical touchpoint during the used car handoff process, the app ensures a seamless experience that boosts customer satisfaction and supports subscription growth.

Why Redesign?
The existing app struggled with usability challenges, an outdated interface, and missing features critical to dealer workflows. These gaps created friction for dealership staff and risked undermining SiriusXM’s ability to deliver seamless customer experiences at a key touchpoint.

The redesign aimed to create an intuitive, modern tool that streamlines workflows, reduces dealer pain points, and drives higher activation rates, supporting both user needs and SiriusXM’s subscription growth objectives.

Legacy App Design
[Core Screens]

Legacy App Design

Updated Experience
[Core Screens]

Updated Experience
[Core Screens]

Updated Experience
[Core Screens]

Role:

Role:

UX/UI Designer, Automotive

UX/UI Designer,

Automotive

Timeline:

Timeline:

Jan 25' - May 25'

Tools:

Tools:

Figma

Team:

Team:

Research, Engineering, PM, Dealer Support


Research, Engineering, PM,

Product


Challenge

Dealership personnel were frequently frustrated by SiriusXM’s legacy dealer tool. Core tasks like VIN refresh and radio pre-activation were slowed down by cluttered interfaces, inconsistent navigation, and sluggish performance. One of the most critical UX pain points was that essential tools were hidden behind a hamburger menu, forcing users to hunt for features they needed daily.


These usability gaps led to high support volume, slower customer handoffs, and missed opportunities to demo SiriusXM during test drives, ultimately impacting customer satisfaction and trial activation rates.



Dealership personnel were frequently frustrated by SiriusXM’s legacy dealer tool. Core tasks like VIN refresh and radio pre-activation were slowed down by cluttered interfaces, inconsistent navigation, and sluggish performance. One of the most critical UX pain points was that essential tools were hidden behind a hamburger menu, forcing users to hunt for features they needed daily.


These usability gaps led to high support volume, slower customer handoffs, and missed opportunities to demo SiriusXM during test drives, ultimately impacting customer satisfaction and trial activation rates.



Dealership personnel were frequently frustrated by SiriusXM’s legacy dealer tool. Core tasks like VIN refresh and radio pre-activation were slowed down by cluttered interfaces, inconsistent navigation, and sluggish performance. One of the most critical UX pain points was that essential tools were hidden behind a hamburger menu, forcing users to hunt for features they needed daily.


These usability gaps led to high support volume, slower customer handoffs, and missed opportunities to demo SiriusXM during test drives, ultimately impacting customer satisfaction and trial activation rates.



Goals

  • Reduce support ticket volume related to usability issues and task confusion

  • Accelerate core dealer workflows, especially VIN refresh and radio activation

  • Increase dealer confidence and satisfaction through clearer UI and faster navigation

  • Boost demo activations to support SiriusXM’s trial exposure and subscription growth goals




Discovery & Research


We conducted 6 moderated online interviews with UserTesting.com with dealership staff to gather insights into their daily processes and identify key usability challenges in the app.


Key Insights: Dealers often work in fast-paced environments where they need to complete core tasks like VIN refreshes and trial activations quickly and without errors.


The app’s existing workflows required too many steps, leading to frustration and frequent calls to SiriusXM support.

Notifications about dealer programs and updates were often missed because they weren’t prominent in the interface.


"I need this app to work in seconds, not minutes, when I’m standing with a customer.” - James, Dealer, Red Rock Ford


My Approach

  • Conducted stakeholder interviews and mapped the current dealer workflow

  • Identified high-friction areas using support data and usability feedback

  • Redesigned the interface with a modern visual language to improve clarity and consistency


  • Added a Dealer Portal: A centralized hub linking to sales materials, checklists, marketing assets, and e-learning reducing the need to leave the app or access other platforms


  • I restructured the navigation by elevating high-use features from the hamburger menu to the main interface, enabling faster access to essential tools and streamlining dealer workflows and reducing cognitive load


  • Collaborated with engineering and QA to test and iterate pre-launch

My Approach


  • Conducted stakeholder interviews and mapped the current dealer workflow

  • Identified high-friction areas using support data and usability feedback

  • Designed a cleaner, responsive UI optimized for dealership environments

  • Simplified the VIN refresh and activation process to reduce cognitive load

  • Collaborated with engineering and QA to test and iterate pre-launch


Projected Outcomes [Based on Research + Testing]

  • Projected 62% Drop in Support Tickets
    Based on design simplifications and user testing, we expect a significant reduction in dealer-reported issues, particularly around navigation and task confusion.


  • Anticipated Decrease in Support Calls
    With clearer workflows and in-app guidance, dealers are expected to be more self-sufficient, reducing the volume of calls to SiriusXM support.


  • Estimated 43% Increase in Workflow Speed
    Usability testing showed that dealers could complete key tasks, such as VIN refresh and pre-activation, in less than half the time compared to the legacy app.


  • Anticipated Boost in Dealer Satisfaction
    Dealers in early feedback sessions described the tool as “faster” and “more reliable,” suggesting improved confidence and user sentiment post-launch.


  • Strategic Business Alignment
    The redesign positions SiriusXM to better support its dealership network and align with corporate goals around increased trial activations and paid subscriptions.

+30%

Faster Dealer Workflows

-25%

Decrease in Support Requests

+58%

More Feature Engagement

Future Explorations

Future Explorations

Future Explorations: Streamlining Dealer Tools

In parallel with redesigning the core activation flow, I explored concepts that would expand the app’s utility beyond just radio refresh. These included:

  • Dealer Inventory View: A visual, brand-filtered inventory browser that lets dealership staff quickly locate vehicles on the lot. The layout prioritizes clarity and speed for busy environments.


  • Vehicle Details & Presets: From this screen, staff can see vehicle specs, access CARFAX reports, and even auto-fill SiriusXM presets, all within a single tap.


  • Vehicle Locator: A map-based tool that helps dealers physically locate a vehicle and initiate actions like unlocking doors or starting the engine.

These explorations aimed to position the app as a more comprehensive daily tool for dealership workflows, not just a single-task utility. While not all features made it to production, they guided future roadmap discussions and demonstrated the app's potential for greater dealer value.

Future Explorations

Stack

Stack

Stack

Conclusion

Redesigning the SiriusXM Dealer App was an opportunity to modernize a high-impact tool and strengthen the relationship between SiriusXM and its dealership partners. While the project is still awaiting full release, early feedback and testing results point to meaningful improvements in usability, workflow speed, and activation behavior.

Beyond the UI, this project challenged me to balance user needs with operational realities, advocate for long-term scalability, and design with business impact in mind.

As the app prepares for rollout, I look forward to seeing how it performs in the real world, and continuing to refine the experience based on dealer feedback and evolving needs.

Designing for the SiriusXM Dealer App taught me the importance of meeting users where they are, both literally and figuratively. Dealers operate in fast-paced, high-pressure environments where seconds matter, and any friction in their workflow can ripple out into customer satisfaction.

One of my biggest takeaways was the value of observing users in context. While analytics and stakeholder input were helpful, sitting down (virtually) with dealers during moderated sessions revealed frustrations and workarounds we couldn’t have uncovered otherwise. Those insights shaped a more intuitive, mobile-first design that genuinely supported their day-to-day tasks.

I also learned to balance business priorities with user needs, navigating technical and organizational constraints to deliver a solution that felt impactful for both sides. This project reinforced my belief that thoughtful UX design isn’t just about interfaces, it’s about enabling people to do their jobs more effectively and with less frustration.

Moving forward, I’m excited to carry these lessons into future projects, especially in designing tools that empower users and create measurable business value.