Currently users are finding it challenging to filter and personalise their search, when looking for a cabin on Unplugged. This makes them feel restricted, which leads to an increase in the abandonment rate and a decrease of the quantity of bookings for Unplugged.
We believe that [by implementing flexibility on the search and filter features of cabins, it would improve the user’s experience and increase the booking rate on Unplugged].
Taking into account the our research, we redesigned the search and filtering experience on Unplugged. The main features we decided on were to add more flexibility when searching, change the format and layout of selecting a date and location, as well as allowing users to set their preferences from the start. We were given the freedom to redesign the current UI including the styles and components while taking into account accessibility and hierarchy.
After creating the hi-fi prototype, we received feedback from users on the search experience. We validated that it was more clear to the users how to search and filter for a cabin that suited their preferences. Improving on the experience on Unplugged was great to work as we had the opportunity to contribute to meaningful digital product.
We started with our initial observations and questions on Unplugged by analysing the current experience. To easily document these we followed the structure [situation], [response], [problem to business or experience] to ensure we were aware of users and business needs
When [looking for a place to unplug and escape], users [search for a cabin], which causes [a problem as they have limited searching options].
When [browsing through options to stay at], users [scroll through a list of cabins], which causes [a problem because they cannot filter or sort results].
User Goal: When looking for a place to unplug and escape, users search for a cabin, which causes [a problem as they have limited searching options.
Business Goal: We believe that by making it easier for users to search and browse for a cabin, it would increase the quantity of bookings on Unplugged.
Considering our initial assumptions, we mapped out the existing Information Architecture to visualise the hierarchy, analyse the structure and uncover any pain points.
Following the Information Architecture, we created a Customer Journey Map to empathise with users and to determine what their experiences were in each phase of Unplugged, from the search to the booking phase.
Even though we uncovered various pain points, we determined the main one to focus on, by going back to the business and user goals. After identifying the primary frustration we focused on improving the search and filtering experience.
Primary Frustration
When [searching for a cabin], users are [finding it challenging to filter and personalise their search], which results in [them feeling restricted and confused].
With a picture of the problem at hand starting to come into place, we jumped into the ideation phase and worked through the solution design model, identifying users actual behaviour, and optimal behaviour. This allowed us to form a how might we statement to begin forming a solution:
How might we help busy office workers in the city to find the perfect cabin on Unplugged?
To avoid following the first idea we conducted a series of Ideation techniques. This allowed us to consider an array of solutions. A Mind Map was very useful at this stage to come up with some ideas to improve or add to Unplugged.
Within the search and filtering experience there where a few areas we could improve or add so we had to prioritise the ideas by most Business and User value and the least amount of effort.
While keeping the “How Might We” in mind, we Sketched a few ideas before moving on to the creating user flow.
Following ideation we created the User Flow of the existing experience and improved it based on the idea that fits with both business and user goals. We wrote down our main User Story to keep us focussed when we created both the current and improved user flow after which we decided on the features to incorporate in our design.
The sketches and user flows helped us recognise frustrations with the experience that we improved at the hi-fi stage. To create the high fidelity prototype we inspected the products style and followed the 4px rule to effectively and easily create a prototype that was consistent with the product styling. Before creating the prototype, we defined Styles and Components in Figma, to easily and quickly help us design consistently.
We wanted to ensure that all our designs are user friendly so we used the Contrast plugin to check the Accessibility.
Below is the final version of the prototype that we created. We included interactions and transitions from Figma to match the products flow. We recorded our solution to make it convenient to experience the improved flow.
With the hi-fi prototype created we received feedback from users on the search the experience. We validated that it was more clear to users how to search and filter for a cabin that suited their preferences.
Improving on the experience on Unplugged was great to work on as we had the opportunity to contribute to meaningful digital product. We reflected on how we approached the project, where we could improve next time and what the highlights were.
