A Better Way to Self-Connect
My Role
Sole UX/UI Designer
Tools Used
Miro, Pen and Paper, Adobe XD
Duration
3 Months
The Overview
support flyers as best they can, the traditional support system does not offer help to self-connecting flyers due to how they book their tickets.
Self-connecting flyers purchase tickets through separate bookings to complete a trip from location A to location B and mainly consists of millennials who book their flights themselves. Significant cost savings, increased connectivity options, and greater flexibility with flying have all contributed to the rise of self-connecting flyers. However, self-connecting flyers are more likely to be delayed or miss a connecting flight than any other type of flyer.
AirLink strengthens communication between flyers, airlines, and airports while supporting flyers with a new help system.
Research
To better understand the concerns self-connecting flyers have, I conducted two forms of research; secondary research and semi-structured user interviews.
Secondary Research
The secondary research provided evidence of a widespread problem that self-connecting flyers were experiencing: missing their connecting flights more often than other flyers due to a delay.
92% of flyers are willing to self-connect under the right circumstances.
Oag. (2016, April 13). Airline passengers embrace self-connection. Flight Database & Statistics. Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://www.oag.com/blog/airline-passengers-embrace-self-connection.
55% of self-connecting flyers fear not being able to automatically re-book another flight if they miss their connecting flight.
Oag. (2016, April 13). Airline passengers embrace self-connection. Flight Database & Statistics. Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://www.oag.com/blog/airline-passengers-embrace-self-connection.
Self-connecting flyers are 5% more likely to miss their flight for a 10-minute delay.
Cattaneo, M., Malighetti, P., Paleari, S. et al. Manage with care: the frailty of self-connections in the European airport network. Eur. Transp. Res. Rev. 11, 50 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12544-019-0387-z from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12544-019-0387-z
User Interviews
Knowing that self-connecting flyers were more likely to experience a delay, I interviewed five users to understand their main concerns around delays and how they mitigate a bad layover experience.
“...a lot of my airport stress comes from specifically my luggage and I don't like being separated from it. It's it bothers me.”
“Flying for me is about stress alleviation because it is innately very stressful.”
“...I’m going to miss my other flight, but I can’t get that flight back because it’s not connected, so it’s like I just missed a flight. And that’s my own problem, not the airline. So I just lost X amount of money.”
“I want traveling to be cheaper than staying at home.”
The interviews verified the secondary research, but additional problems also presented themselves. Typical problems all flyers experience, such as trouble navigating an airport or lost luggage, become amplified when a flyer chooses to self-connect.
Synthesizing Research
I developed a few versions of affinity maps to synthesize the research, with each new affinity map based on the last. The final affinity map uncovered the core problems and flyers’ reactions to them. The responses helped construct the empathy map and the users’ Jobs To Be Done.
I divided the final affinity map into sections of what users do/feel at the beginning (green), middle (yellow), and end (red) of their flight experience. The beginning sticky notes act as a reference state of mind to remember while developing features for this type of user. However, the end problems will be the focus of the minimum viable product.
Empathy Map
How Might We Statements
With the empathy map showcasing the emotions behind the Jobs To Be Done, and the affinity map displaying the core problems, the overlapping pain points developed the How Might We statements.
How might we reduce anxiety about checked luggage?
How might we offer support to flyers that have missed their flights?
How might we help a self-connecting flyer before they miss their flight?
How might we help self-connecting flyers communicate that they have been delayed by another airline?
How might we make navigating through an airport easier?
Red Routes
Instead of creating the entire app in one shot, I focused on a minimum viable product that revolved around the end problems displayed in the affinity map. I designed a user flow to determine the three most critical red routes to create first.
Auto Pilot Red Route
Missed Flight Red Route
Adding Flight Red Route
Design
The three red routes were carefully crafted and went tough six rounds of revision and three rounds of testing.
Low-Fidelity Sketches
I started with hand-made sketches that outlined the basic concept of the app and then conducted five guerilla useability tests to confirm the understanding of the concept with users.
Low-fiedlity sketches of adding flight red route with annotations.
Low-Fidelity Mock-up
Low-fidelity mock-ups were created with the feedback from the guerilla usability tests and checked for a strong visual hierarchy.
Low-fiedlity mock-up of adding flight red route with annotations.
Style Guide
AirLink is informative, caring, helpful, encouraging, and empowering, and I curated a style guide to help bring those characteristics to life. Colors were appointed to stimulate those feelings in users while keeping accessibility guidelines in mind. The app also utilizes modern-style components that users feel comfortable using and trust.
AirLink’s color palette for both light and dark screen mode.
AirLink’s UI elements for both light and dark screen mode.
High-Fidelity Mock-Up
I used the style guide to create high-fidelity mock-ups. Variations of the same color pallet were used on different elements until I landed on the color hierarchy currently presented in the app.
High-fidelity mock-up of adding flight red route.
Prototype
I created a prototype of AirLink using Adobe XD and tested it in two rounds of remote user testing, each round conducted with five users.
First Usability Test
The remote usability tests uncovered issues, ranging from minor visual updates to critical user friction points. With these problems found, I brainstormed ideas to revamp the app for the next round of user testing.
The issues found during the first round of user testing with the accompanied fix are listed in order of priority to resolve.
Second Usability Test
The additional five users tested the updates. Users enjoyed the app's functionality and completed tasks with little to no friction.
A screenshot from the second round of user testing of a participant completing the Auto Pilot task.
Interactive Prototype
Conclusion
AirLink provides better communication options between users, airlines, and airports. By testing the design often, I created features self-connecting flyers are excited to use, such as an interactive flight map with status updates and elevated support options that they did not have access to before. But, as the app is a minimum viable product, it can be improved by adding airport navigation, checked bag tracking, and ideas of where to explore during a layover.
However, the app alone will not relieve flyers of their problems and in order to be successful, airlines need to integrate the app into their everyday use. Once airlines and airports have adopted AirLink, additional features can be implemented within the app that translates into the airport as well.