University of Michigan: Tripmate
Overview
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When we are planning a trip, it can be so difficult to find everything we need in one place. It can also be hard when other people are involved in the planning process.
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Trip Mate allows users to work collaboratively to plan their dream trips. There is access to flight aggregators, the best prices for accommodation, and searches for activities, which can all be accessed via this app. No longer do users need to visit several sites to find the best prices. Personal itineraries are created in-app, and can be viewed and updated by all contributors, as well as there being a handy To-Do list where contributors can add things to do and allocate a user to complete the task.
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The target users for this app are travellers of all ages, who plan trips with others in their network. This could be friends, family or even work colleagues. We aspire to make trip planning easy for all.
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My RolE
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I worked as a UX researcher and designer on this project. Some of my responsibilities included :
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Planning, defining scope and strategy
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Sketching and wireframing
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Creating a working prototype
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Conducting user interviews, usability tests and heuristic analysis
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Completing a user needs analysis and a competitive analysis
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Analyzing data
Process
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Planning
I made a plan of the methods I would use and how the research and design process would look. I considered our target users and the best way to extract information from them. While being considerate of working with users during a global pandemic, all research was conducted remotely to ensure the safest environment.
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Design Goals
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The design goals were to produce an application, which eliminates the need for users to access many different websites, as the information will be accessible through the app.
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It would be a one-stop-shop for travellers to plan their trips, book flights, and view accommodation as well as adding activities directly onto the itinerary and map.
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The product would be collaborative, as it is important to users to create an experience with others
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It will be a simple and intuitive interface that users can easily use. ​
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Included in the interface will be an itinerary to add information that users have compiled, a to-do list which will notify users when there are things left to action, there is a map that can be viewed for directions and also to add activities and places of interest that can be made to be colour coded to help users to identify certain elements of their trip.
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Target Audience - Personas and Scenarios
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I created personas and scenarios based on our target users. The personas represent a large proportion of our client base and both the personas and scenarios helped to keep our users in mind throughout the project.
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Interviews
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Interviews with eight participants were conducted. A screener was used to find the right participants.. All of the interviewed participants were travellers, making trips at least once per year. The participants were of all ages ranging from 21- 65 years old. All of the participants travelled with other people, either their partners, family members or friends. All participants were internet savvy and used the internet to plan their journeys/. The goal of the interviews was to explore the user needs in order to work out what users were looking for in a trip planning app. The interviews were completed remotely, over Zoom and Facetime.
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User Needs Analysis
It was clear through speaking to users what their pain points from planning a trip were:
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Most users had been using several different websites and apps to plan their trips.
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Users had been accessing many flight aggregator sites to find the best prices for flights, or trains. Most users were accessing 5-10 sites and applications each time they planned a trip.
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Users were looking for the most convenient departure and arrival times, as well as being conscious of the cost.
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None of the users went through an agent to book holidays, nor were they interested in package deals.
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Users enjoy curating their own experiences.
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Users visit up to 20 different accommodation booking sites so that they can find the right place to stay for the trip.
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The process, according to users, was ‘messy and confusing’, ‘irritating’ and ‘time consuming’. There was no one site that they trusted to provide them with the best, or most reliable information.
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Many of the users were building their itineraries in shared documents so that family members or friends could update them. They also stated that using the tools and then having them in a shared document was easier since they could then set their document to be accessed offline.
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Competitive Analysis
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Four similar competitors of TripMate exist, and all have different things to offer:
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TripIt has a great and clear interface that is easy to use. There are flight ratings, sharing options, an itinerary that users can add to, as well as a calendar sync. However, users must sign up in order to gain access to the site and see more.
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Pebblar is a map-based itinerary service. There is a trip wish list on this site which seems like a great idea. This site is also collaborative. Again, users must sign up to see this product.
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Roadtrippers has a very clean looking interface. It contains a step by step planning tool which makes things really easy for users, however some users may feel this takes away some independence. This site is for road trip planning alone.
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Travefy helps users to build an itinerary. A really positive thing about this site is that it allows users to create a library of their favourite content for any future itineraries. There is no collaborative option, but the itinerary can be shared. There is also a chat available that you can invite others to. This interface was not such a clean and clear one.
Design Methods
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I sketched out some initial design ideas and then moved on to some wireframing to imagine how the product might look and to map out some possible layout options.
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Prototype
Trip Mate Homepage
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Here the Home Page of the app can be seen. The user can return to the homepage by selecting the Home menu function or via the large Trip Mate logo at the top of the screen.
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The menu also contains links to the following pages of the app: Itinerary, To Do List, Hotels/Flights and Map functions.
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The home page also acts as support for the user to understand the function of the app, and supports this with brief descriptions of helpful tasks that can be completed through the app.
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There is a Sign Up! Button, which users can access in order to sign up to the app.
A key task of Trip Mate is to build an itinerary. Users will travel through from the homepage to the itinerary page. They can then add to the itinerary with whatever information they wish to add. They also have the option to add existing travel information, such as flight information, to assist the user experience and minimise the time the user spends typing text into the interface.
Another key task of the app is to sign up. Users can browse the features of the app without signing up, to get a feel for the app so that they know what to expect, but to save anything to the app, a sign in is essential so that the information can be later retrieved. This process takes the user from the Sign Up button to the opportunity to type in their email and password, and this then takes them to a confirmation page so that the user knows the sign up was successful.
Usability Test
Goals
The goals for the Usability Test were:
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To see what users thought about the general look of the interface. This was to help us to move forward with any changes to palettes or basic design elements.
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To find out how users interact with the interface when asked to complete tasks and to see if the app is intuitive, or whether this requires work.
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To identify any major usability errors.
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For users to share their feedback about the product, which may help us to develop it further.
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Participants
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Six participants took part in the usability test. All participants were regular travellers, taking a trip at least once per year, and did so with one other person. The participants consisted of 4 women and 2 men. The age of the participants was varied and ranged from 34 to 65 years. There were limitations in that the study had to be a moderated remote study due to the COVID19 Pandemic. The tests were conducted via FaceTime and Zoom. A screener was used to find appropriate participants. Recruitment was completed among acquaintances, which may have led to some social desirability bias, since I had existing connections of different levels with these participants.
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Process
Since the test took place during the week of 07 September 2020, during the COVID19 Pandemic. This usability test was a remote, moderated test. The test took place over Zoom, where the screen could be shared, and also recorded. Participants were invited via an email link to the Zoom meeting. They were asked some warm up questions, such as ‘where do you like to travel?’ and questions about their trips. They were then presented with two tasks and asked questions about their interactions with the product.
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TASK 1: A friend recommended that you try out a new app. You arrive on this page. Sign up to Trip Mate so that you can start using the app.
TASK 2: Now you are signed up to the app, you are thinking about a trip that you have planned and want to add something to your plan for the trip. How would you do this?
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Questions were asked during the usability test, asking user’s thoughts to find out if the product responded how they expected it to, what were their initial thoughts of the product, and if they could design this themselves, what would they change?
Participants were asked to complete a Post Test Questionnaire
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The test was recorded, with user permission, and this enabled me as the moderator to re-examine the test to ensure that the findings were accurately represented. Notes were also being made of any key issues that were brought up by the user. The results of the test were collated and synthesized through an affinity map, where key findings could be identified. This map consisted of quotes from the users, observations of their behaviour, and statements regarding the interactions with the product. To analyse the usability issues, Nielsen’s Heuristics were utilised (Nielsen, 1994.). The post test questionnaires also added data to the study, which was analysed to look for any patterns to identify further user needs.
Results
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Every participant completed the tasks provided
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Users expressed how they enjoyed the layout of the app
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All users commented on the colour scheme and how they liked the palette.
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Observations of users showed how important it was for the interface to be as intuitive as possible (see Heuristic Analysis below).
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Users value an interface that takes the most minimal effort to work out, as this is much easier, and more enjoyable to use
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The post test questionnaires showed that users would use the product, and that they found the app very easy, quick to pick up, and not complex or cumbersome at all to use.
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Users didn’t feel as if they would require any support to use the app, nor would using the app require them to learn anything new.
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However, users thought that the functions of the app were not as well integrated, which suggests that there is some work to be done in this area.
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Heuristic Analysis
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Usability Severity Rating Explained:
0 = I don't agree that this is a usability problem at all
1 = Cosmetic problem only: need not be fixed unless extra time is available on project
2 = Minor usability problem: fixing this should be given low priority
3 = Major usability problem: important to fix, so should be given high priority
4 = Usability catastrophe: imperative to fix this before product can be released
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Nielsen’s Heuristics utilised to analyse results.
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Findings
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Key Insights
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The To Do List section in the menu is incomplete. It states ‘Do List’. Most users understood what the section was referring to, however, it is unclear and can be changed to ensure that there is no ambiguity. During the test, one of the participants noticed that there was an error and commented that they ‘didn’t know if it was supposed to be a To Do List?’
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The Itinerary section raised issues for some participants. During the test, one user did not like the itinerary box being so specific and said that they would have preferred a free-text box.to type in. Another user attempted to add text to the initial Itinerary screen, before the ‘add’ screen. This is evidently a confusing area of the app. In the post test questionnaires, users also stated that they thought that the integration of the functions of the site were average.
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Users alerted the moderator to the fact that the Trip Mate logo on the page doesn’t return to the home screen. One user commented that they would like the Trip Mate logo to return to the homepage in final design. This was based on the users existing mental models and expectations of how the system should work, since this is how most websites and apps work.
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Observations of one participant showed us that the menu font could be made larger, as the participant leaned in to see closer.
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Some of the participants made comments about the buttons on the app, exclaiming that they were ‘big! and ‘clunky’. The original intention of the buttons, the Sign Up button in particular, was that it could be seen easily by users. Users found the buttons to be not aesthetically pleasing.
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Opportunities
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Tweak the menu so that it states ‘To Do List’
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Work on the design of this area. Consider providing an option for users to add free text if they wish to, as well as the option to use the existing form- system. Make the look of the Itinerary page clearer to the user that type does not belong there. Perhaps by taking away the template form altogether.
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Link the Trip Mate logo on each page to the home page.
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Adjust the font size of the menu to be better seen by users.
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Redesign buttons on the app. Round out some of the corners, and reduce the intensity of the black borders. Consider resizing the buttons to be smaller and more streamlined.
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Reflection and Learning
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Working on this project was very insightful. I learned not to take on too many changes at once, and how to manage iterative design of a product as a UX team of one. Speaking to users and learning about their experiences and habits supports the design of all products and helps to expedite the design process massively. This helped produce a usable prototype that fills a need in users lives.
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