The Problem

A majority of users opt to research & book their flights on desktop instead of mobile. There's a lack of confidence and ease of use in the mobile booking process. How can we optimise the mobile booking process to ensure confidence and perceived ease of use for the customer?

• What are the main goals and habits when booking a flight?
• What pain points are users hitting while booking flights on mobile?
• Are there any issues that slow down flight and date selection?
• Over complicated process for adding bags or oversized luggage?
• Can users modify flight details after the fact?

THE PROCESS 1 — Research

I conducted 4 Usability Tests comparing 2 airline apps, 2 Depth Interviews over Skype, and 1 Survey completed by 25 people. Key findings:

• "I don't like the way there's no click for search...in a perfect world there would be no scrolling." — Usability Test 1
• "I just feel like I'll mess up the booking if I'm using my phone." — Depth Interview
• Primary motivation for choosing an airline: price
• Main improvement requested: make the steps clearer with less distractions

THE PROCESS 2 — Analysis

Analyzing Specific Problems

The analysis of the Affinity Diagram and construction of the Customer Journey Map led to the conclusion that the areas that slow down customers the most & lead to the most frustration in the journey are date selection, flight selection & editing your booking.

THE PROCESS 3 — Design & Sketching

Flow Diagram

Before getting into the layout of the app, I wanted to create a high level Flow Diagram to address issues highlighted in my Customer Journey Map. I first sketched out the general flow, getting very granular and going back and forth until I was happy with the iteration. I then translated my sketches to digital format using Adobe XD.

During the translation to digital I noticed other small issues I didn't spot while sketching, so I began to dynamically update the flow as I worked and learned more about the journey. This is something I would do throughout the project — a design is an evolving process that only lets you in on secrets the further you go.

THE PROCESS 4 — Prototype

Interactive Prototype

I used this to validate my low-fi designs. While I enjoy this process, it can be difficult to know how much detail to go into and when to stop. I wanted my prototype to be exactly that, a prototype — its function is to test and validate, it does not need to do everything right now. I stopped at a point where I believed I had solved the problems found during research/analysis and where I was relatively happy with the layout/design.

Annotated Wireframes

Wireframes might be considered a subset of prototyping, however, they are a huge undertaking and vital piece of work if you want to get your designs built by developers as you imagined. I found the most difficult and time consuming part was detailing every function that the forms should perform. A high fidelity tool like Axure may have been useful here.

THE PROCESS 5 — Testing

Now it was time to validate my designs with real users. To do this I would once again conduct Usability Tests just like I had done at the start of the project.

The objectives of testing the prototype at this point are:

• Gain insights from the user
• See if we meet user's expectations
• Check if the design is matching the goals
• Check if the user can perform the tasks proposed
• Find out if we're on the right track
• Get user reactions and feedback

Tasks:

• Book a 1 week holiday for 2 adults & an infant, changing the flight day at the end.
• Book the flight again, but this time add hold luggage and oversized baggage.

Overall, conducting Usability Tests on the Prototype revealed that the solutions I had designed were valid, helped improve the flow and didn't expose any other issues or bottle necks in the booking process.

I paid particular attention to the date selection and the extra affordances I added and was pleased to see that there was no hesitation from the user as to what the next step was.

The simplified layout of the flight selection screen with emphasis on price was equally successful, with users quickly scanning the page and selecting the cheapest flight without any hesitation.

The option to edit flight from the summary screen seemed to come natural to the user where they actively looked for this option instead of going to the back button for fear of losing their already inputted criteria.

Background Information

My challenge was to fit all of the functionality of a healthcare, elearning, social, health and progress tracking, calendar, alerts and video conferencing application for pre and post operative kidney patients.

Research shows that no less than 15% of post transplant patients die because they forget to take their pills. Transplant patients need to take immunosuppressant drugs that help prevent their immune systems from attacking the new organ.

THE PROCESS 1 — Research

In order to gather insight I conducted generative research with the goal of stepping into transplant patients' shoes. A series of interviews with patients and subject matter experts (transplant surgeons, nurses) and a review of current research on medical adherence.

THE PROCESS 2 — Analysis & Features

The following features would be implemented into the mobile app:

• Easy sign-on and login
• Watch webinars, get handouts, ask questions through video
• See daily, weekly and monthly to-do list and track progress
• Get reminders about upcoming appointments
• Patient will be able to see a list of transplant evaluation test names, when they were performed and when they will be due next

THE PROCESS 3 — Design

My design process would include User Stories and a Flow Diagram. I created user flows in Sketch to break down the complex user stories and visualize the paths of action users take to achieve their goals.

THE PROCESS 4 — Prototype

For this project, I was asked to do wireframes in Powerpoint. In creating my wireframes, I focused on reducing confusion of the entire application, balancing the amount of content, visual balance, and user-friendly UI.

Background

Waitless is a mobile app concept created to disrupt the pay-at-table, split check restaurant and bar-tab mobile app categories. The app removes the user from the lines, gives them more control over ordering and payment, and ultimately makes the occasion more fun and enjoyable.

THE PROCESS 1 — Research

For the research phase of the project I used the following methods: Usability Tests, Depth Interviews and Online Surveys.

I determined my target market by sending a survey screener across social media, interviewing a select few about their venue experiences, and gleaning mobile payment insight from the following sources:

THE PROCESS 2 — Analysis & Features

I reviewed Tabbed Out, Velocity, and Orderella — then stripped out the best features from each. The following features were implemented:

• Discovery by geolocation — nearby participating establishments
• In-app checkout with real-time order tracking
• Split-tab calculator & auto-closeout based on geolocation
• Auto-applied promo codes, tip preset, preferred-drink preset
• Discount / Perks / Rewards (DPR)

THE PROCESS 3–4 — Branding & Design

Simultaneously with the UX, I designed the brand identity and visual design systems. The logo is built up using three visual concepts: Personal, time sensitive, and effortless. The color system is fresh, inviting, and lively — inspired by a group of young professionals enjoying a fun night out.

Type system: Karla for headlines (quirky professionalism) and Lato for body content (modern, light weight for scanning drink menus).

Apple's Human Interface Guidelines

I adhered to Apple's Human Interface Guidelines and principles to design the watch app. I also conducted user interviews of Apple watch users to get an understanding of how they used the watch. Watch users utilized their wearable most frequently for notifications and quick access to data. I used this information to create the following screens:

THE PROCESS 5 — User Testing

I conducted user tests on lo-fi wireframes and received invaluable feedback. Users with Android devices disliked the labeling system for unassigned friends — I replaced the avatar placeholder icon with a more semantic one. I also explored card content layouts using Usability Hub's Preference Test feature.

About the Project

USAF Flight Training Scheduler is a dashboard application specifically designed to support the US Air Force in managing various aspects of pilot training. This comprehensive application tracks pilot training, trainer schedules, fuel consumption, aircraft maintenance schedules, and other relevant information.

Previously, the Air Force relied on an Excel file for managing these tasks. However, this approach proved inefficient and prone to errors when multiple individuals attempted to edit the file simultaneously. I worked with Engineers, Developers, Air Force Pilots and Air Force Pilot Trainers on this project at Anno.AI.

Anno.AI went through 20 other Designers and leaders that couldn't figure out the project before they found me. I thrive in making the ambiguous and complex simplistic. This software has been successfully deployed at most US Air Force bases.

The Solution

The AF Flight Training Scheduler leverages data and utilizes advanced behavioral machine learning models. These models enable the creation of intuitive visualizations and interactive dashboards, empowering all flight trainers to effectively monitor and manage courses, students, trainers, and other pertinent details for up to one year.

Interactive Prototypes

About the Project

My finance bitcoin client asked that I not do a typical admin dashboard but make it interesting and make the data be the focal point. This was a challenge I thoroughly enjoyed — combining financial data visualization with engaging visual design.

I started with custom charts built in Illustrator and Figma, then evolved them into an animated, interactive admin dashboard that showcases Bitcoin data in a visually compelling way.

Design Process