The Problem
The automotive industry is experiencing a technician turnover that is drastically affecting everyone involved. Shop owners and managers are dramatically trying to navigate a shortage of well experienced technicians, workload demands, and upset clients. Customers are tired of dealing with inconsistent timelines and questionable repairs. Technicians are navigating it all in their own ways, but can feel the retention towards the whole industry as time progresses.
The Solution
The industry needs a system that not only help navigate the problems and concerns that are driving technicians away from the industry and managers into mental turmoil, but also connects customers to the industry in a way that helps them communicate the status of their repairs while understanding fully the 'why'. The industry needs a shift in the right direction.
Design Process
The Research
I conducted multiple field observations, interviews, literature review, and surveys to uncover the real reason for the technician turnover in the automotive industry.
Site Visits & Shadowings
I conducted five site visits; two visit of a small automotive body shop struggling to get by, one visit at a relatively successful mid-sized automotive body shop, and two visits at two different shops owned by a high-volume automotive repair shop. I both observed the work environments of each locations and conducted a different research method to further my research scope. Each site had their own moods and way of operating around their challenges. I also included two shadowing sessions of the owner of a automotive car detailing business and a full work day at Premier Auto Solutions.
The owner of the car detailing business was formerly a automotive shop owner who left the industry due to the multiple shortcomings of a shop currently owned by a personal friend of his that he entered a joint ownership relationship. I kept the shadowing brief in order to conduct an interview after completing my observation. At Premier Auto Solutions, I observed the real-time shop activities by concealing myself in the shop with the permission of the shop owner. I made sure not alert the other individuals involved of my presents until the end of my probe.
Interviews
I conducted seven scheduled interviews and one spear of the moment interview with a mix of four technicians, two shop owners, one former technician and one business owner who was formerly a shop owner. I learned their insight on their current work environment, challenges in their career path and their plans moving forward. It is noted that in the mix of experiences and perspectives in the automotive industry, there are things that some of the participants acknowledge to be concerning while the others didn’t considered them worth much thought. Majority of he participants expressed concern for the future of their careers while the minor were more concerned with specific events moving forward in their lives. Following a interview that I had with a technician in the field, I hear one perspective more commonly expressed in some of the literature review I read up on. He stated “It’s less of a shortage issue and more of an under appreciation of technicians issue. We don’t get compensated as much as we should for the work we put in”. Tenshi is working at a Technician B level and expressed that he feels it is not worth it to take on more work in the field, especially since he is in school furthering his education in the mechanical engineering field. He is not the only individual that feels this way.
Surveys
Out of the technician that responded:
- 80% report pressure to complete jobs quickly
- 66% feel underpaid for complexity of work
Out of the shop owners that responded:
- 80% cite skill gaps for complex repairs
- 80% want structured advancement / role clarity for techs
Out of the customers that responded:
- 75% cite poor communication as primary cause of distrust
- 62% have received unclear explanations for delays
Literature Review
The “tech shortage” is not a hiring gap but a retention crisis. Toxic work culture and lack of respect are top predictors of exit. EVs, ADAS, and diagnostics advances are not fully accounted for. Tool cost and certification barriers limit new entry into the field.
The Results
Through my research, I discovered a few things about the current automotive repair industry. Its not lacking in competent and willing workers, its lacking in a system that values them the way they should be. Technicians try to build themselves up the best way they can, wether or not they earned their knowledge at a trade school, college campus, or through real life experience. Despite that, they experience unrealistic expectations, limited routes to development, inconsistent compensation, and a work culture that doesn't serve them the way it should. These building shortcomings are pushing technicians away from the field.
Shop owners and managers don't see this issue until they are on the bad end of things. Some of these individuals value the industry the way they should, but the upkeep is getting more and more taxing when they don't have the facilities to maintain all of the needs of the technicians they employ and manage.
High-Level Value Proposition
GearShift System is a unified communication and skill-development platform that helps technicians, shop owners, and customers achieve stable careers, efficient operations, and transparent repair experiences by offering clear, fair, and dependable tools that work better than today’s inconsistent shop solutions.
User Archetypes
Customer Relationships
Personas
Marcus needs a more stable and organized work environment that allows him to work safely and affectively, but also with the oportunity to grow as a mechanic.
Anthony is experiencing setbacks from less experience technician making errors after errors and customers fed up with being caught in the crossfire.
Vanessa is a customer who just wants to know what the mechanic is doing to her car, when it will be ready, and how much it will cost. When the shop pporly communicates these things, the customer has problems.
Empathy Maps
Journey Maps
Design Fiction
Adaptive AR Diagnosis for Tech I
A Tech I technician, Mike, receives a new AR job assignment while finishing routine work. The system recognizes the task is outside his experience and adapts, offering step-by-step guidance to support his first throttle actuator diagnosis. Using spatial AR overlays, Mike inspects connections, performs a multimeter test, and identifies unstable voltage. The system interprets the data in real time, confirming a likely throttle body failure and automatically logging the diagnosis. The system recommends a replacement part and handles ordering through a quick confirmation. A ghosted AR preview then guides removal and installation, showing exact motion paths, bolt locations, and safety steps. After installation, AR prompts guide a throttle relearn procedure and verification. The system confirms the repair, logs performance, and closes the job while notifying the customer. Finally, the completed work contributes to Mike’s skill progression, reinforcing growth through Bridge Mode, and is recognized by a senior technician. This highlights both technical success and career development.
Sketching it Out
Agile UX Process
Designing Prototype Mockup
I began by identifying the key modes & features of the system I envision to really make an impact on industry.
Creating the Story
The design needs a story to truly capture some of the key feature that represent the system, specifically the AR glasses system intended for the technicians that work in these shops. Revising was made after reviewing key elements of my design that weren’t properly portrayed in the first storyboard design.
Developing the Real Prototype
I continued to develop the prototype that will completely portray the full GearShift Bridge system. From the tablet capable of running the technician, manager, and bridge modes, to the AR glasses display.
Refining the AR System Design
While continuing the development of the prototype, I set out to further define the way the AR system is supposed to operate in multiple different senarios and conditions prominent in a mechanic shop.
Redefining the System’s Flowchart
Technician Mode
The technician mode is built the breakdown their daily schedules by the compensation, realistic timelines, clear ways to complete the repairs without having skill issues. It also allows them to communicate with the management, their piers, and the customers if needed.
The AR part of the system is meant to make the repair experience practical in the moment. Peered with the bridge mode, the AR glasses allow them to respond to the layout repair process in real time, review potential steps they may have skipped, and contact another pier or professional. This experience is meant to be the end all tool, not another voice telling them what to do without a clear understanding of the process.
Manager Mode
The shop managers see and manage everything. Through the manager mode, the user handles observing shop operations, identifying potential and active bottlenecks, and addressing them as needed. They actively coordinate with technicians and communicate repair progress to customers.
Bridge Mode
The bridge mode is not just a way for technicians to develop their skills and communicate with professionals more skilled than them, but the glue to the whole system. The bridge mode acts as a culture pulse by giving technicians the appropriate information about how they should be compensated, ways to report bad shop behavior, and how to navigate conflicts with the jobs that management accepts. Bridge mode gives managers a second hand in distributing jobs and addressing technician retention. Bridge mode is what communicate to customer the plain and simple who, what, where, and why without exaggerate stories.
Customer Mode
This mode is meant to connect the customers to the whole experience. The customers are the ones who are caught in the middle of this whole experience. The customer mode offers brief job description with explanations for the importance in simple terms, approval confirmation, progress timelines, ands immediate routes to communicate with either the manager or the technicians.
Takeaways
This project helped me address potential ways to fix issues in an industry that I genuinely care about. I have personally worked in the field, so I have seen and experienced some of the issues that my researched uncovered.
It was very challenging but fun to create different ideas and visualize them. It felt tangible and promising every time I worked on it. The possibilities were there, and it all made sense to me the more I worked on different deviations.
I can compile a list of different things I would do if I had all the time I wanted and more to work on this project. I certainly wouldn’t hold back on including more features for the bridge mode, I would develop more functions for the AR glasses, and I also would develop more functions for the customer mode. All four of the modes have high potential to be more interactive and developed than they currently are. I can see even more ways to fully design and produce tangible features of this system. It was never just about the visuals, but the affect this system can have to an industry that desperately need a change. There is plenty of room to grow and this project is only just beginning.