We, at Paytm, have conducted this case study to find ways to improve the overall UX of the current flight ticket booking platform of our app, and ensure a better booking experience for the user.
Phase 1 : Discovery
To know what more can be delivered to the consumers, we had to first find out how easy-to-use and helpful the current app is.
User reviews: From our interactions with a set of sample users that include frequent as well as first time travellers, we could compile a list of issues faced by the users in terms of usability and functionality. We also looked into the customer feedback on emails and the in-app reviews. Based on our study, here are some areas that had to be looked into.
- Users find it hard to find the cheapest available tickets in the first go.
- It would be great if users had the option to change the dates without going back to the home screen.
- Users expect to easily toggle between the fastest, cheapest and earliest flights.
- Users find it difficult to understand their current position in the app.
- Users are slow to access their rewards card.
Tasks in Hand
- Reducing the clutter and simplifying the user experience.
- Improving the navigation.
- Make the content easier to understand and comprehend.
- Adding features to help the user such as baggage information, seat selection and cancellation policy information.
The Current Design
This is how the current design looks like:
Phase 2: Ideation
The ideas were sketched down on a piece of paper, as it is one of the most convenient ways to put all the ideas together and analyse them. However, the sheets are not added here as they were messy and unpresentable.
Selecting the Origin & Destination Cities
The origin and destination cities are the first inputs provided by the user on searching for flight tickets. To make this process better, we decided to remove all unnecessary clutter from the screen and make it more user-friendly. We also automated the flow of screens landing on the home.
Two major sections here were:
- Recent Searches: A combination of recently searched one way and round trip searches are displayed.
- New Search: Displaying the most searched/popular cities on the top using an algorithm.
Simplifying the listings
This is the most crucial screen when it comes to flight ticket booking, as this is the screen that helps the user decide whether to proceed to book or exit from the page. To make it easier for the user, we removed all unnecessary details and displayed just the right details and grouped flights using filters, allowing the user to take the action quicker.
Modifying the search
If the user has picked the wrong dates or cities accidentally and searched, or just want to switch between one way and round trip, we have figured out a simple solution by bringing the key section from the home screen, which helps the user in modifying dates, location, number of passengers, and switching between one way and round trip searches.
Other Improvements Implemented
- Implementation of a bottom navigation drawer
- Enabling push notifications when needed
- Scroll triggered animations
- Sticky CTAs on the product detail pages
- Allowing users to proceed up to the Traveller Details page without the need to login
Phase 3: Journey Map/Wireframes
Once we knew what the user needs and expects of us, the next step was to come up with wireframes keeping in mind the potential users. To arrive at the following wireframes, we had to go through rounds of feedback and reviews.
Phase 4: Visualisation/Outcome
After the wireframes were created, icons, layouts and micro interactions were created following the visual guidelines of Paytm.
What We Learnt From The Whole Process
- Never get into the designing part unless you get all the business requirements.
- Seek tech support at each phase to check the feasibility of ideas.
- Never settle for a visual design that does not comply with your idea of a better user experience.
Conclusion
We’ve tried to improve the user experience of our flight ticket booking platform within the available resources and a restricted time frame. More research and testing have to be conducted for future app enhancements.
You can share your feedback and suggestions at flights.product@paytm.com.
Thanks for reading!
Author Credit: Anoop Joy
