0 → 1 • Dashboard • Omnichannel Communications

Title Tracker Reimagined: Turning a 6-Month Black Box Into a Guided Experience

Helping refinance customers understand, track, and complete their auto title transfer, instead of wondering where it went.

Highlights

Feb 2023 – Feb 2024

+16% title perfection rate, +10-point NPS, –60% title-related complaints

Lead Product Designer & Researcher

Capital One

Executive Summary

When someone refinances their auto loan with Capital One, their vehicle title has to be transferred from their previous lender — a process that was confusing, largely non-digital, and averaged 6 months to complete. Untransferred titles created real business exposure: $20M in charge-offs, and 80% of all customer complaints in this space traced back to title issues. I led the redesign of the customer-facing tracking experience and partnered on the internal process changes needed to support it.

The Problem

20% of refinance customers weren't transferring their title at all. Of those who were, the average completion time was 6 months, and the NPS for the experience was 38. There was no way for customers to see where they stood in the process, what was still required of them, or why any of it mattered.

User Insights & Business Opportunity

Empathy interviews with refinance customers surfaced four consistent gaps:

  • 51% weren't aware they needed to transfer their title at all

  • 80% didn't understand why transferring mattered

  • 20% were given incorrect information and asked for the wrong documents

  • 100% wanted to complete the process digitally

I used these findings to build personas that shaped both the on-screen experience and which notifications and communications each customer type received.

User Personas & Flow Mapping

I used personas generated from discovery to craft personalized experiences for each customer type. This ranged from what they saw on their online account to which notifications we showed them and the communications they were sent.

Ideation

Key improvements included:

  • Step-by-step progress tracker

  • Clear explanation of title transfer requirements + FAQ

  • Digital document upload and completion via Docusign

  • Improved guidance for mail-in steps when needed

  • Notifications when documents are sent

  • Detailed document list with statuses

  • Timestamps showing last update and document receipt

Usability Testing

In usability testing, the redesigned flow (Group B) outranked the original in every category customers were asked about — the progress bar, clarity of requirements, process detail, FAQs, and document statuses. The main remaining frustration: the process still wasn't 100% digital, which became the top priority for the next iteration.

The Solution

A personalized dashboard and omnichannel communications strategy, paired with a simplified internal process that reduced requirements and processing time. The final experience included:

  • A step-by-step progress tracker

  • Plain-language explanation of requirements, plus an FAQ

  • Digital document upload and completion via DocuSign

  • Clear guidance for the cases that still required mail-in steps

  • A detailed, status-stamped document list with last-updated and receipt timestamps

The Results

Title perfection rate: 80% → 96% (+16 points)

Reaching 86% within the first few months of launch

NPS +10 points

Rose from 38 → 48 (+10 points)

Title-related complaints down 60%

From 80% of all complaints to 20%

Next Steps

Expand digital signing and upload to close remaining mail-in edge cases.

Continue personalizing communications by customer segment across email, text, and push.