ARYA
USER FRIENDLY FLIGHT BOOKING APP
Case study
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Arya project it focused on designing a user-friendly mobile app
for booking flights.
The features will help save you time and improve your booking and
travel experience.
ROLE
UX/UI designer
TEAM
Just me
TOOLS
Figma, Miro, Google Forms, Loom, pen and paper
TIMELINE
6 months
PROBLEM
In order to discover what problems users had when booking flights, I first had to:
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Research what it was like to use other airline apps
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Conduct surveys to find out the needs and pain points of users
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Observe users using the apps to see what difficulties they came across
SOLUTION
The solution I designed after research and user feedback was an app which was focused on being simple and transparent, allowing the user to navigate easily forward and back and see clearly what options they could pick and what was the price for their fare.
After testing the prototype with the same users who tested the Ryanair and Aer lingus apps, they found the app I had created less stressful to use and faster to book flights.
PROCESS
RESEARCH
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Competitive benchmarking
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Online survey
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Usability testing
ANALYSIS
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Affinity diagram
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Customer journey map
CONCEPT
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Flow diagram
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Interaction design
DESIGN
-
Prototype
USER RESEARCH
On the first few months I focused on user research to obtain as much as possible informations in order to try and understand users struggles.
I used different ways to reach them:
- Competitive benchmarking to learn how best-in-class flight booking mobile apps solves the users problems.
Looking at a lot of different airlines was very insightful and fun. To select the apps I wanted to analyse, I looked up the different airlines in Europe and I chose: Ryanair, EasyJet, British Airways and Ita Airways.
Click here to view the research:
- Online survey that I created with Google Forms and sent via
email, whatsapp and social media to 25 people to learn more
about their goals when using airline websites and apps.
I wasn't surprised with some of the responses I received with the
survey, although it was great to group the thoughts of the users
in one place. I surveyed 25 people.
Click here to view the survey in full:
- Usability test to gain rich insights directly from the user behaviours while using a flight booking app.
For the usability test of different apps with the same user, I chose Aer Lingus and Ryanair. It became clear which parts were problematic and also showed places where the app genuinely tried to be misleading!
After this test I concluded that I should make an app that had a clear booking process split up into distinct stages and focus on providing good clear communication.
analysis
The second step I made is the Analysis, to complete this I used all the research data using two techniques:
Affinity Diagram and Customer Journey Map.
- Affinity Diagram to review my research data and taking notes. I used those notes to create groups and subgroups to get to the root of our findings. I learned how to put structure on qualitative research data and the power of collaborative analysis.
Click here to view the all process of the affinity diagram:
- Customer Journey Map to define the high-level steps in the journey. For each step, I documented the goals of the user, any positive interactions or pain points. Whether there were any behaviours the website or app was not facilitating and if each step of the experience was positive or negative.
Where relevant, I added some direct quotes from the customers to help bring the journey map to life.
Click here to view the CJM:
concept
I'm now starting to design my mobile app. My overall objective is to fix the issues I’ve uncovered during the research, which are highlighted in the affinity diagram and customer journey map.
- Flow Diagram: in this step, I defined a high-level flow for the mobile app and sketched the flow from the homepage to the payment screen.
Each screen or state is represented by a box and each interaction, such as selecting "sign in", is represented by a circle.
Click here to view the full flow diagram on Figma:
- Interaction Design/Wireframing: I created a list of screens to design based on my flow diagram. I made sure to include screen state when the state differs significantly, based on users’ actions, and I sketched each screen until I have completed the flow.
WHAT I LEARNED
It’s important to understand why travellers want to make the trip as this will influence all of their decisions when booking the flight and also consider the users entire experience from:
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When they start thinking of booking and checking prices and dates.
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How will they get to the airport.
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Going through security.
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Arriving in the airport and picking up luggage.
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Getting from airport to their destination.
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Customer support.
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Return flight.
I learned how to conduct user interviews and surveys to understand the needs, preferences and pain points of potential users, analyzing their behaviors related to flight booking, such as common tasks and challenges.
I learned how to organize content and features in a logical and intuitive manner creating a clear and user-friendly navigation structure to help users find information easily.
Also I learned how to develop wireframes to outline the basic layout and structure of the app focusing on the placement of key elements for a simple UI choosing a color scheme, typography and imagery that enhances the overall user experience.
By addressing these aspects, as a UX designer, I aimed to create a flight booking app that not only meets the functional requirements but also provides a positive and seamless experience for users.