Led the research and redesign of Honda's Help Me Choose vehicle discovery tool, incorporating the growing EV range and grounding decisions in qualitative and quantitative data.
→ Enhanced tool live across all high-value Honda buying areas.
Problem
Honda's Help Me Choose vehicle discovery tool hadn't kept pace with the business as the EV range grew and customer needs shifted, and customers were struggling to find the right vehicle using it.
Context
This sat within my role as European Digital Platform Section Manager, where Help Me Choose was one of several customer-facing tools I owned across the platform.
Business objective
Redesign Help Me Choose so EV vehicles were properly represented and the tool reflected how customers actually shopped, grounded in evidence rather than opinion.
Customer/user objective
Customers needed a tool that genuinely helped them compare EV options alongside combustion vehicles, not one that treated EVs as an afterthought bolted onto an older design.
Constraints
The redesign had to launch across all of Honda's high-value buying areas rather than a single pilot market, and decisions had to be grounded in both qualitative and quantitative evidence rather than internal opinion.
Stakeholders
Customers using the tool, the development team building the enhanced version, and internal stakeholders who needed to see EV representation improve as the range grew.
Research and discovery
I ran a research phase that combined the two, talking to customers directly to understand where the existing tool was failing them, and pulling quantitative data to see where people were dropping out or getting stuck.
Options considered
I considered a light refresh that added EV filtering to the existing structure, versus a proper redesign grounded in the combined research. I chose the redesign, since a light refresh wouldn't have addressed customers dropping out partway through.
Prioritisation
Making EV options easier to find and compare came first in the redesign, since that was the most immediate gap between the tool and how the business was actually changing.
Delivery
I worked with the development team to get the enhanced version built and live, and pushed for it to cover all of Honda's high-value buying areas rather than launching in a single pilot market.
Decisions made
Launching across all high-value buying areas at once, rather than piloting in one market first, was the more consequential decision, it meant less room to course-correct early but got EV representation live everywhere sooner.
Trade-offs
Skipping a single-market pilot meant less opportunity to catch issues before wide release. I accepted that because the EV range was growing quickly and a slower rollout risked the tool lagging the business again.
Business outcome
The enhanced tool launched across every high-value buying area targeted, with customer journey metrics improving and engagement with EV model pages increasing.
Customer outcome
Customers comparing EV options had a tool built around their actual buying journey rather than one adapted from a combustion-first design.
Lessons learned
Combining qualitative and quantitative research gave a fuller picture than either would have alone, the drop-out data showed where the problem was, and the customer conversations showed why.
What I'd improve today
I'd build in a lightweight way to keep tracking EV-specific engagement after launch, so the tool could keep pace as the range kept growing rather than needing another full redesign later.
