Interview with Betty Yagis, Hyundai Connected Mobility
“The most meaningful KPI is feature retention or stickiness”
UX/UI design specialist with more than 18 years of experience: Betty Yagis.
Hyundai
As vehicles evolve into connected ecosystems, seamless user experiences across apps, cars and services become critical. Betty Yagis, Hyundai Connected Mobility, explains how UX strategy, identity and AI shape scalable digital ecosystems.
As vehicles become part of broader digital ecosystems, the
challenge is no longer limited to in-car interfaces but extends across mobile
apps, cloud services and connected environments.
Creating seamless interactions across these touchpoints requires not only
technological integration but also a consistent and intuitive user experience
strategy.
Betty Yagis, UX/UI Strategy Manager at Hyundai Connected
Mobility, has more than 18 years of experience in automotive UX design. In her
role, she focuses on building scalable, user-centred ecosystems that connect
mobile applications, in-vehicle systems and digital
services into a unified experience.
In the following interview, she outlines the key challenges
in creating seamless ecosystems and explains which strategic decisions will
define long-term success.
ADT: Looking ahead five years, what will be the single
biggest challenge in building seamless ecosystems across apps, vehicles and
services, and why?
Yagis: The biggest challenge will be contextual fluidity.
Today, users experience systems that are technically connected but still
operate as silos. Over the next five years, expectations will shift towards
ecosystems that intuitively anticipate user needs based on context and
environment. The difficulty lies in synchronising real-time data from
smartphones, vehicle sensors and third-party cloud services, such as smart home
systems or charging infrastructure, without creating notification fatigue. The
transition from reactive user interfaces to proactive, AI-driven orchestration
must feel seamless and invisible rather than intrusive.
Which decision being made today will have the
longest-lasting impact on ecosystem scalability and customer lifetime value?
Without a doubt, it is the identity model. While
architecture and data models form the technical foundation, identity is what
connects the entire experience. Without a single, frictionless identity that
follows the user across the vehicle, mobile applications and digital services,
the continuity of the customer journey is lost. A unified identity is therefore
essential to transform a one-time vehicle buyer into a long-term ecosystem
user.
The Bluelink Store enables post-purchase feature
activation. What makes customers perceive ongoing digital value rather than
paywalls in the car?
The key lies in feature empowerment rather than feature
restriction. It is essential to demonstrate that digital features evolve over
time and continue to improve the user experience, including features that may
only be developed years after the vehicle has been delivered. To avoid the
perception of paywalls, the value must be tangible before any purchase decision
is made. High-fidelity visualisation and trial experiences help illustrate how
features, such as lighting patterns or display themes,
enhance the vehicle. If a digital service solves a real problem or adds
emotional value, it is perceived as a meaningful upgrade rather than a
limitation.
Where do ecosystems most often break in practice?
Ecosystems most commonly fail during the transition from
mobile to vehicle. This handover moment is critical. If a destination sent from
a mobile app does not immediately appear in the vehicle, the promise of a
seamless experience is broken. This is often caused by inconsistent user
experience patterns, where the mobile application reflects modern design
principles while the in-vehicle interface still feels outdated. When the mental
model changes too drastically between devices, the ecosystem is perceived as
fragmented.
What is the most difficult cross-functional interface to
get right when building an end-to-end ecosystem?
The greatest challenge lies in balancing user experience
with legal and security requirements. From a UX perspective, the goal is to
create frictionless journeys, while security demands measures such as
multi-factor authentication and legal frameworks require extensive terms and
conditions. Finding the right balance between protecting the user, complying
with regulations such as GDPR and maintaining an intuitive and enjoyable
experience is one of the most complex challenges in ecosystem design.
Which KPI best proves that your ecosystem approach is
working, and which KPI do you deliberately avoid?
The most meaningful KPI is feature retention or stickiness.
It is not about how many users purchase a feature once, but how many continue
to use it over time, for example after 60 days. This indicates real and
sustained value. In contrast, metrics such as app session duration can be
misleading in the automotive context. Longer sessions may indicate that users
are struggling to complete tasks or waiting for system responses. The goal
should be efficiency, not prolonged interaction.
