Plan. Share. Collaborate
Role | Team | Duration | Tools
ROLE
Team Leader
UX/UI Designer
UX Researcher
Usability Tester
DURATION
17 Weeks
TEAM
Tony Strickland
My-Loan Lam
Aurora Torres
TOOLS
Figma
Mural
Discord
Trello
PlanIt Case Study
Overview
PlanIt. Unleash the power of group travel , real-time coordination, interactive polls, and an augmented reality experience that unveils the secrets of your city's architectural wonders and artistic treasures.
The Problem
Planning a trip with a group can be chaotic and overwhelming. How might we streamline and simplify this process for users?
Group travel planning can be a very stressful activity. From having to plan itineraries, determine budgets and timelines, get payments in on time, and share all the information with the group travelers. PlanIt simplifies communication with its real time chat, allowing you to stay connected and coordinate effectively, ensuring everyone is on the same page.
DASHBOARD
The Plan.It Dashboard will allow the user to complete multiple tasks including: 01 Start a New Trip 02 View Upcoming Trip Information 03 See What Others Are Doing 04 Serve as the Home Screen
The Process
Research | Define | Design | Validate
We initiated the project with some basic assumptions and by creating the project brief and research plan. We asked ourselves what the product should look like, what value will it bring to consumers, what problems could it solve before moving into the research, define, design, and validate stages.
My Role
While I actively participated in each phase of the project, I led the research effort and guided the UI design. The team had a wide-range of skills to offer thus allowing each person to assume the lead role when appropriate.
The Solution
PlanIt streamlines individual, group travel coordination and decision-making for users, ensuring a smooth and organized experience for everyone involved.
Our Research Process
Empathize. Research. Define. Design. Validate.
Hand in Hand.
All the Way to Success.
Empathy Map
Pain Points
Anxiety
Stress
Difficult to Coordinate Groups
User Stories
User Stories 01
As a traveler, I want to be able to view hotel, flight, and car rental information in one application for quick access.
As a traveler, I need recommendations of the places to visit so that I can explore new places with my group.
User Stories 02
As a traveler, I need to have an area where I can chat with my family so I can communicate and share images with them.
User Stories 04
As a traveler, I need a way to share my travel plans so my group can contribute to the trip costs and itineraries.
User Stories 03
Competitive Analysis Findings
Positive Findings
From Competitors
01 All the competition is well designed with easy to navigate UI
02 All the competition offer most of the same features
03 The functionality and ease of use was consistent across all three primary competitors
Gaps From
Competitive Analysis
01 None of the competitors offered any real time chat or polling features
02 None of the competition could match our suite of features
03 Tripit has the most cumbersome UI and was the least intuitive to upload trip information
TRIP OVERVIEW
The Plan.It Trip Overview will allow the user to complete multiple tasks including: 01 Enter hotel, flight, and rental car information 02 View and schedule from curated activities suggestions 03 Go over the trip checklist
04 Determine costs, adjust trip budget, and share with other group users.
We Conducted a Survey with 81 Respondents
Survey Results
Question 1
How often do you travel in a year?
Survey Results Question 2
What Method do You Find Works Best when
planning a trip individually and/or with a group?
Survey Results Question 3
For the method(s) chosen in the previous question, please explain why you choose this method over other methods.
Survey Results Question 4
If you don't use travel planning apps, would you be willing to use one? For example, an all-in-one app where you organize your flight/hotel/car rental information, collaborate with your group by adding activities to your itinerary, create polls, and chat with your group within the app.
68 Yes
07 No
06 Maybe
Answers 5A - 5D
Survey Results
Answer 5A
If you use travel planning apps, what are the travel planning apps you use and why?
None.
Survey Results
Answer 5B
If you use travel planning apps, what are the travel planning apps you use and why?
Splitwise. Easier to see who spent what and where.
Survey Results
Answer 5C
If you use travel planning apps, what are the travel planning apps you use and why?
No planning apps, just typically find places using social media (IG/tiktok).
Survey Results
Answer 5D
If you use travel planning apps, what are the travel planning apps you use and why?
Xe-Money Conversion, Splitwise, & Tripit.
Survey Results Questions 5
Key Insights & Research Findings
01 There is a tremendous need for the app based on users responses 02 People are interested in trying a new app 03 There is little knowledge of this app segment from consumers 04 People are drawn to apps that apps that are collaborative, user friendly, convenient, and offer easy access via well thought out UX and UI
Design
01 Workflows | 02 Sketches | 03 Lofi Wireframes | 04 Hifi Wireframes | 05 Branding
To begin designing, I created a user flow for a first time user of PlanIt. User workflows provide how an app feels as a person moves from page to page. As the UX Designer on this project, I start with a user workflow with the stakeholders to:
Explore possibilities and processes without going into visual design.Optimize the workflow, identify gaps, and find new opportunities. Determine the user interface based upon the final workflow.
Design
01 Workflows | 02 Sketches | 03 Lofi Wireframes | 04 Hifi Wireframes | 05 Branding
Mobile App UX Sketching
With the workflows optimized, I created the initial sketches for the product screens. All of the product screens were refined, reviewed, and revised with the product stakeholders.
Design
01 Workflows | 02 Sketches | 03 Lofi Wireframes | 04 Hifi Wireframes | 05 Branding
Mobile App: Wireframes
(Low Fidelity)
After completing the UX sketches, I created low fidelity wireframes. As a UX Designer, I used low fidelity wireframes to quickly collaborate with my stakeholders to get alignment and feedback.
Design
01 Workflows | 02 Sketches | 03 Lofi Wireframes | 04 Hifi Wireframes | 05 Branding
Mobile App: Wireframes (High Fidelity)
After completing the UX sketches, I created the high fidelity wireframes and prototype. This the stage where the app design is refined through multiple iterations, and built into a working prototype to share with users and stakeholders.
Design
01 Workflows | 02 Sketches | 03 Lofi Wireframes | 04 Hifi Wireframes | 05 Branding
Mobile App: Branding
It was decided that the brand voice for PlanIt would be contemporary and representative of modern design. This is the reason for the high contrast color palette which utilizes black, orange, dark green, and percentages of grey. The logo icon is instantly recognizable with its chat icon serving as the negative space for the letter P. The identity utilizes multiple color applications for the logo as well as b&w versions.
PROTOTYPE
Pictured to the right is the screen recording of the PlanIt prototype as the user uploads trip information, and utilizes the functionality of the app,
Validating The Design Usability Testing
We’ve done the research, the design, and the prototyping. Now it's time
to see if the app would function to our users expectations. We established multiple users goals and testing scenarios.
Usability Testing Goals
01 We gave each participant two tasks with three scenarios to complete
02 Create a new trip, manually enter the hotel, flight, and car rental information
03 Invite friends to trip, navigate through the chat, and add new activity to itinerary
We conducted Usability Testing with 8 participants ranging in ages from 25 - 63, both male and female, composed of African American, Latin, & Asian ethnicities. We conducted 7 remote moderated testing sessions via Zoom, and one in person session. I served in both roles as the testing facilitator and moderator.
I like that it's user friendly and I would use this app instead of Google Sheets.
Katie Ung
Wow, this app is amazing! I wish this were available to use on the market now."
Sam Ayanda
This app would make group travel planning so much easier for me.
Sierra Donovan
Feedback
Our testing participants provided extremely positive feedback. The results included:
Usability Testing Findings
01 There was a 100% completion rate with the times ranging from 5 - 15 minutes
02 Users were genuinely excited to know there's an app in this segment to streamline their travel organization
03 Some users had difficulty using the share trip icon, so this was changed to a green pill button making it more intuitive for the user
04 Changed colors of the invite friends button and made larger
05 Users preferred the rebranded UI and identity when compared with the initial design iteration
We conducted Usability Testing with 8 participants ranging in ages from 25 - 63, both male and female, composed of African American, Latin, & Asian ethnicities. We conducted 7 remote moderated testing sessions via Zoom, and one in person session. I served in both roles as the testing facilitator and moderator.
Before
The Share icon was black initially, and the was a green back arrow button.
After
The Share icon was to a green button with the white icon on the inside and the back button on the right was removed.
Usability Testing Updates 01
Users did not instantly recognize the share
icon and which function to do next.
Usability Testing Updates 02
Users stated it would be extremely useful to have a list of curated activities to choose from and a larger image of the selected activity. One respondent replied this feature would start making him use PlanIt immediately.
Before
This is the initial screen UI after the user made their selection from the curated list of suggestions.
After
This is the updated screen based on user input which features a full screen image of the selected activity.
Usability Testing Updates 03
Users indicated it would be useful to have a large map on the screen following the get directions button. This feature was not in use for the initial usability testing participants.
Before
This is the updated screen
UI after the user made their selection from the curated list of suggestions.
After
This is the updated screen after the users hits the Add Directions button. It features a large map image with the selected activity location in the center.
Next Steps
The PlanIt app received universally positive feedback from users and stakeholders. The current design still needs some UI improvements before being implemented. The A/R feature still needs to be built into the prototype and finding venture capital to further develop PlanIt and implement the product into the digital marketplace.
01 The app will continue to be usability tested
02 Interview additional users for further feedback
03 Develop further design iterations
Tony Strickland
Sr. UX Product Designer
Trailblazing the convergence of UX and AI to create extraordinary digital experiences.
Tony Strickland
Tel: 404.229.4868
© 2023 by Stricklandesign.
Competitive Analysis
After understanding the primary user,
we researched the features that competitors were offering and gaps within their current offerings.
We discovered our two primary competitive advantages are:
01 The real time chat
02 User Polls