ESSIQ had to create something new within the relatively conservative automotive industry when we were tasked with running an in-house project for Lynk & Co. Over the course of several years, the automotive industry has been transformed to focus on software instead of hardware, and on digital connectivity and user experience (UX), instead of engine performance and cool rims. The contract now underway for some of ESSIQ’s Design & UX engineers is just one part of the exciting development.

Challenge
CEVT and Lynk & Co want to be at the forefront of the automotive industry of the future. The vision is to create a seamless integration between the car, the home and the user’s personal life – a whole new way of looking at the vehicle and the driver. So, what is the key to this kind of collaboration that has never been seen before?

Implementation
In-house at ESSIQ, we are now seeing a fast pace of work in creating software for a new gadget or device, focusing on that particular integration: the interplay between the car, the home and personal life. The team consists of UX designers, Android developers and feature managers. We have brought together senior, reliable engineers with newly qualified, keen juniors, allowing us to achieve a stimulating group dynamic.

The team works according to the Scrum methodology and has tight dialog with the team at CEVT. The working method creates flexibility and gives ESSIQ’s engineers significant individual responsibility and a more exciting way to work. We also conduct dialog with other departments, such as HMI, HQ and EI, and external suppliers to the project, which puts the team at the center of development. This enables them to be involved with and work on function, usage and experience – key parts of what will become the final product.

Results
The in-house project for Lynk & Co is in full swing, and it’s not just us who is waiting for the end result; many eyes are focused on the development of electric cars, and not least on Lynk & Co. We are excitedly looking forward to the continuation of the project, and to follow Lynk & Co’s path towards the automotive market of the future.

• Haroun Hajem

  UX-designer