Product Design for a Next-Generation Driver Dashboard and In-Car Display

You are the product manager asked to design a new car dashboard. Decide who it is for, which problems it solves during a drive, what it shows and how the driver controls it, and how you would judge whether the new design is better. ```hint Attention is the budget Every glance at the dashboard is a moment the driver is not looking at the road. Think about which information and controls truly need to be reachable while the car is moving, and which can wait until it is parked. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Is this for a brand-new vehicle where we control the hardware (screens, head-up display, physical controls), or an upgrade for cars already on the road? - Which vehicle and owner are we designing for: a privately owned electric car, a gas car, or a fleet vehicle driven by ride-hail or delivery drivers? - What is the goal: safer driving, easier everyday use, a feature that helps sell the car, or ongoing use of a connected service? - Are we building as a carmaker, a parts supplier, or a software platform that must run in many different cars? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A working definition of the dashboard (instrument display, center screen, controls) and a goal chosen with a reason. - Segmentation of drivers and passengers, a chosen segment, and the moments in a drive where current dashboards fail them. - Solutions shaped by driver distraction: glanceable information, physical and voice controls, and different displays when moving versus parked. - An MVP with phases, acknowledging hardware cost, safety regulation and failure modes. - Success metrics that include safety guardrails rather than only feature usage. ### Follow-up Questions - How would you test a dashboard design for distraction before it ships? - What would change in your design for a ride-hail driver who spends most of the day in the car? - The business wants the dashboard to drive more time in the car's app store. How do you respond?