Overview
Roles:
UX/UI Designer
Timeline:
3 weeks (25+ Hours)
Tools used:
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Excel, Miro
This project is fictitious and was a final project completed through the UC Davis UX/UI Bootcamp.
The Problem
Covid 19 caused a lot of uncertainty and complicated processes during the pandemic. Understand travelers' pain points about traveling post-pandemic.
The Solution
Make travel planning easier by identifying places that require vaccinations or masks. Make it easier for groups to collaborate on their planning.
Research
User Research
For the research portion of the project, my partner and I planned and conducted 5 total interviews. We wanted to find out how users' travel habits changed pre vs post-pandemic, and what pain points they were experiencing after travel restrictions were lifted.
We would then transcribe the data & create an affinity diagram for analysis. We began with 5 leading questions followed by 15 research-related questions. We focused on collecting qualitative data through this process. The interview process was carried out over a period of 6 days.
Findings
1. Users often plan trips with friends or travel for work with a partner, but find splitting payments for travel expenses difficult.
2. Another user found frustration in having to wear PPE and not knowing what the regulations were. Her only motivation to travel while masked was to avoid getting sick.
3. Users who prefer traveling in groups have difficulty communicating with everyone.
Creating a user persona
Based on my research data, I learned that users love to travel, but don't do so often enough because they are too busy to plan a trip on different platforms. Users want to travel with friends or colleagues but coordinating expenses and communicating with large groups proves uneventful.
Sadie Spector is a travel blogger who constantly takes trips for work often with a colleague and her job doesn't offer the best budget management solutions for her trips. She wants to be able to plan everything in one place, and effectively communicate with travel partners.
"Sadie" finds it frustrating to look at multiple sites offering the "best" travel options.
Problem Statement
After creating a user persona, I formulated a problem statement that reflected the insight & pain points gathered from the interview data.
"Katie, a part-time travel blogger needs to easily find affordable quick trips without having to plan with friends or colleagues in person. This will allow her to be able to spend more time enjoying and blogging her trips."
Focusing on the user
By creating a user journey, user scenario & storyboard, I discovered emotional/procedural moments that a user may encounter when planning a trip at short notice. A user would feel anxiety about having to manage a budget, find the best deal, and collaborate with other travelers all at the same time.
User Insight
Katie needs to find affordable quick trips due to the nature of her job. After the pandemic, she became hesitant to make bookings because she was unsure of covid regulations at different destinations. Searching for quick affordable trips resulted in an overload of online options which became overwhelming & confusing.
During interviews, I discovered that users enjoy trips with groups of friends or family, but find it difficult and frustrating to plan due to a lack of useful apps or resources. I believe users need an easy way to sort through affordable travel options with an option for a collaboration tool that will allow for a range of travel group sizes.
We may do this by creating a platform for users to filter & simply organize search results. Doing this will allow our product to provide the user with a stress-free experience that takes tedious research out of the process.
During interviews, I discovered that users enjoy trips with groups of friends or family, but find it difficult and frustrating to plan due to a lack of useful apps or resources. I believe users need an easy way to sort through affordable travel options with an option for a collaboration tool that will allow for a range of travel group sizes.
We may do this by creating a platform for users to filter & simply organize search results. Doing this will allow our product to provide the user with a stress-free experience that takes tedious research out of the process.
A user journey map exploring Sadie's goal to save money and easily collaborate with colleagues.
Creating the framework
Competitive Analysis
I looked through a few similar travel apps and compared the onboarding process for new users. The companies I analyzed were Tripit, TripCase, Travel by Tilly, and Liberty Travel. A few insights were noted; The onboarding process was tedious and lengthy, with the potential to deter new users.
Apps like TripCase also lacked uniform UI practices and could use some re-branding or brightening of color palates.
Insights
• The onboarding process was tedious and lengthy, with the potential to deter new users.
• Apps like TripCase also lacked uniform UI practices and could use some re-branding or brightening of color palates.
The user flow above showcases the onboarding process for a user to sign up, create a trip & split a payment.
Creating Structure
I used a rapid sketching method to explore various design patterns that are common among travel apps. This helped me understand what features are intuitive, helpful, and well thought out.
Usability testing
After the sketches were complete, I performed a total of 5 user tests on my paper prototypes to guage how easy the onboarding process would be. The initial tests would also provide insight into how a user may plan a trip from start to finish.
The user's task involved creating a new account, creating a trip & splitting payments for shared travel expenses.
Key Findings
• Users all navigate through apps differently based on their personal experience and aptitude.
• Some users were confused about why a group chat option would be better than using text messages.
• A few users do not like having options on a bar at the bottom and prefer drop down menus.
• Some users were confused about why a group chat option would be better than using text messages.
• A few users do not like having options on a bar at the bottom and prefer drop down menus.
High Fidelity Prototype
Using the feedback & data collected from my research, I created a high-fidelity app that addressed the pain points & frustrations of the target user group.
Due to time constraints, I went directly from a paper prototype to a high-fidelity prototype. Iterations were made, improving informational hierarchy, menu option placement, and readability. The final product reflects all feedback received from paper prototype tests.
Lessons Learned
1. I learned that the user research process is quite more detailed than I imagined. I have a newfound respect for UX researchers in general.
2. I found that the best research is done by experimentation and providing enough freedom for the user to discover what they do or don’t like.
3. You can never have too many iterations, every user I tested on would give varying suggestions and tips based on their own experience or technological aptitude.
2. I found that the best research is done by experimentation and providing enough freedom for the user to discover what they do or don’t like.
3. You can never have too many iterations, every user I tested on would give varying suggestions and tips based on their own experience or technological aptitude.