Expedia Group x UW Capstone
CASE STUDY
Redesigning Expedia’s mobile application to make trip planning seamless and the app a go-to for users.
Context:
Duration:
Tools:
Team Role:
Senior Capstone Project
20 weeks Winter 2023 - Spring 2024
Figma
Lead Researcher
OVERVIEW
Problem
In an era of digital abundance, travelers face overwhelming choices across many platforms, complicating trip planning. Our research aims to simplify this for Expedia by identifying user preferences and pain points, providing practical solutions for a more efficient and enjoyable experience.
Solution
We revised Expedia’s Travel app to include features for more collaboration with a chat, price transparency with a live budget tracker, and a high-level comprehensive view of the whole trip with options between a timeline or calendar view.
How research refined our problem scope
As we progressed through our research, our "How Might We" question became more focused based on travelers' priorities. Each research phase informed the next, refining our questions and tasks to better address user needs.
Process
To answer our research question, we conducted a 4-phase study. Phase 1 involved discovery research to understand the problem space. Phase 2 focused on qualitative research using surveys, field observations, and interviews. Phase 3 involved building a prototype, and phase 4 focused on redesigning and evaluating the solution to meet participants' needs and concerns.
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM
PHASE 1: DISCOVERY
phase 2: qual. research
phase 3: design
phase 4: user testing
reflection
In this phase, our goal was to gather existing knowledge by reviewing previous Expedia research and online articles. This discovery research helped formulate our initial "How Might We" question and guided us to use qualitative methods, including surveys, field observations, and interviews, for our next phase.
LITERATURE REVIEW: KEY INSIGHTS
Who is our target user?
Travelers are Ages 30-45, typically planning for groups of 3-4
source: Expedia Group
What are the current trends in travel booking methods?
Mobile booking is growing rapidly, indicating a shift towards more convenient and accessible travel planning.
COMPETITIVE RESEARCH
HOW MIGHT WE…
With our discovery research, our first HMW iteration was created ✨
How might we redesign Expedia’s mobile app’s Trips page to better support group travel planning, using methods that travelers find intuitive and comfortable?
NARROWING THE SCOPE
Our qualitative research consisted of surveys, field observations, and interviews. This phase helped us uncover previous questions and dive deeper into the why’s formulated with each method.
PHASE 2: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
phase 3: design
phase 4: user testing
reflection
FIGJAM ANALYSIS
Trip Planning:
Users used tools like Google Flights, Chase Travel, and Google Docs for collaborative planning and researched affordability, safety, and destinations.
SURVEY KEY FINDINGS
Organization Issues: Managing shared travel info is difficult; better sorting features are needed.
Itinerary Detail: Users want more customizable and detailed itinerary templates.
FIGJAM ANALYSIS
Information Sources:
Users relied on online platforms, social media, travel blogs, and recommendations for pricing, safety, and authentic experiences.
SURVEYS
Tools: Google Forms + FigJam
We surveyed 48 people on Instagram, Reddit, and Slack about their Expedia experiences, gathering diverse insights. Using FigJam, we organized our findings into four categories.
FIELD OBSERVATIONS + INTERVIEWS
We used our survey to create questions and tasks for deeper insights. We conducted nine 30-minute sessions, combining interviews and field observations.
Interviews gave detailed feedback, while observations showed how users interacted with the current Expedia app and other planning apps, revealing important user behaviors and preferences.
Challenges:
Users faced hidden fees, unclear pricing, communication gaps, and app usability issues.
WHY THESE METHODS?
Field Observations: Lets us see how people naturally handle different parts of trip planning, providing a real-world view of their thought processes.
Surveys: Helps us gather initial insights from travelers to pinpoint what we should focus on during field observations and interviews.
FIELD OBS. KEY FINDINGS
Desired Features:
Users sought enhanced collaboration, clearer pricing, better itinerary planning, and improved pricing comparison in travel apps.
DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS
Enhanced Collaboration:
Incorporate features that facilitate collaborative trip planning and decision-making within travel apps, such as shared itinerary planning, group chat functionality, and real-time collaboration tools.
Usability Enhancements:
Improve layout, navigation, and overall user experience to minimize confusion and streamline understanding, ultimately boosting user satisfaction.
Interviews: Gives us a chance to dive deeper into why users make certain choices, helping us get to the heart of their needs and challenges.
Preferred Tools: Notion is favored for its flexible and robust organizational features.
Time and Collaboration: Users find it hard to coordinate and prefer tools like Google Docs and Sheets.
Communication:
Group coordination involved messaging apps, social media, and collaborative tools for planning.
Improved Pricing Transparency:
Enhance pricing transparency and clarity in travel apps by providing clear breakdowns of costs, comparison tools for flights and accommodations, and alerts for hidden fees.
Feature Integration:
Integrate useful features like itinerary planning, pricing comparison, and membership program education within travel apps to provide users with comprehensive tools for trip planning and booking.
HOW MIGHT WE…
We realized how important collaboration was in travel planning and altered our HMW
How might we redesign Expedia’s mobile app’s Trips page to better support and simplify group travel planning, ensuring it accommodates collaborative efforts and utilizes methods that travelers find intuitive, comfortable, and personalized?
Design Sketches
Using the recommendations from our research process, we brainstormed ideas of what we wanted our frames to look like. We started with a brain dump, then got together and refined our ideas to the following sketches.
Itinerary view: One main page where users can view their saved and books items in a timeline perspective
Calendar view: A comprehensive visualization of the whole trip
Trip creation page: Tailored to facilitate trip creation with focus on collaboration
BUILD
PHASE 3: DESIGN
phase 4: user testing
reflection
Wire Frames
Low-fidelity wireframes
Mid-fidelity wireframes with interactions
Similar to the research process, we listed out tasks and potential questions to ask our participants. 8 participants were recruited through Expedia. Pre-conceived questions served as a framework while we engaged in natural conversations with our participants, allowing spontaneous questions to arise during our observations and discussions.
User Testing Session
Our participants were sat in a separate room with a one-way window while our team sat in the other room and one member prompted our participant tasks.
FigJam Analysis
Notes were taken during the sessions using Google Docs, we synthesized them using FigJam and concluded with key findings listed below.
Key Insights/ Design Recommendations
User Testing Process
NAVIGATION
Font Readability Issues: Increase font size to improve visibility and readability.
Crowded and Overwhelming Layout: Add more whitespace to simplify and declutter the interface.
Confusing Dashed Lines Around Bookings: Remove the dashed lines or replace them with a different color for clarity.
CALENDAR/ITINERARY
Difficulty Accessing Itinerary View: Use larger, more prominent tabs to make switching between calendar and itinerary views easier and more intuitive.
CHAT
Confusion with Chat Icon: Replace the chat icon with profile pictures of group members. Position the chat function prominently at the top of the page to improve accessibility.
REFINE
PHASE 4: USER TESTING
reflection
USER TESTING
What I Learned: I discovered the importance of asking the right questions, particularly focusing on behavioral inquiries rather than direct ones. This helped me understand what specific questions to ask to gain deeper insights.
Proud Moments: I am incredibly proud of my team and what we accomplished with the knowledge we gained. Our collaborative efforts led to meaningful progress and valuable outcomes.
Next Steps: Moving forward, we need to delve deeper into the various elements of travel planning, as our initial focus covered only a few aspects. Expanding our research will provide a more comprehensive understanding.
Highlights: Conducting user testing at Expedia was an exciting and enlightening experience. This project highlighted my passion for user research and my enjoyment of interacting with people to gather insights.
GO TEAM!
REFLECTION
Final Design
01
Trip Summary
Summarized flights, stays, and activities at a glance
Calendar View: Offers a comprehensive summary of the whole trip
Day-by-Day view: Itinerary view that streamlines trip planning by displaying both confirmed bookings and saved activities on a unified timeline
02
Budget
Track and organize budget with custom categories
A real-time updating budget feature allows travelers to track and manage expenses instantly, making the planning process clearer and providing users with greater financial stability.
03
Chat
Keep everyone up to date with live messages
A chat feature within the trip section enables topic-specific communication, eliminating the confusion of cross-platform discussions and ensuring all information is easily accessible in one place
