Overview
Sponteous is a SaaS that allows adventurous travelers to take mystery flights to surprise destinations at a discounted rate. The app allows users to pick multiple destinations, as well as the time frame they are looking to travel in, and the user learns which destination was selected after purchasing.
Problem
The CEO of Sponteous asked our team to look into the following issues:
- Ease of Use
- The Home Page
- The Billing Page
- The Calendar component
Team
Morgan Young: UX Researcher, Zican Yu: UX/ UI Designer, Andrew Biemel: UX/ UI Designer
Prototype
Click on these links to view the desktop prototype and mobile prototype.
You can view a video of the final prototype below.
Discovery & Research
Spontaneous had prototypes for the desktop and mobile versions of the current website that we were able to use as we started the project. As team, we decided to start with a combination of user interviews and usability tests. This way we could understand how users responded to the existing site as well as understand the motivations of spontaneous travelers. Over the course of two days, in collaboration with Morgan, I conducted 3 user interviews and 3 usability tests over Zoom. To find participants that matched our ideal user I created a screener survey.
Usability Test Results
The 3 usability tests allowed me to gain the following qualitative insights:
- Users were confused about having to select multiple flights
- Users did not see filters on the left-hand side of the flight options
- The copy was confusing to users, such as the word “shortlist”
- Users wanted to know what time their flights would take place before purchasing tickets
We additionally sent out a SUS survey to these users to get feedback on the desktop prototype. The SUS score was 67.08, which reiterated that the app was challenging to use.
Defining the User
To gain a better understanding of Sponteous' users, Andrew developed the persona Theresa. Her persona was based on data our team collected through the user interviews and usability tests. Having a Persona allowed us to better target the Sponteous audience by asking "How can we help Theresa?".
Developing Solutions
To generate solutions for Sponteous, I conducted several whiteboard exercises with my team members on Miro. In these exercises, I asked “How might we?” questions, and one designer at a time was tasked with coming up with solutions for addressing the problem within three minutes. The white-boarding exercise allowed me to develop the following solutions:
- Include a filter option for the time of day so users can have more control over flight times
- Include a countdown timer for when deals will end to create a sense of urgency
Additionally, I had everyone on my team draw sketches of the landing page, destination selection page, destination cards, and calendar. As a group, we decided on the designs that we wanted to use and continued to each make iterations on those.
Round Two of Usability Testing
After establishing a design direction and getting approval from the CEO, Zican and Andrew proceeded to develop low and mid-fi prototypes. Since the sprint was only three weeks, I thought it would be test to conduct additional usability testing after the completion of mid-fi prototypes so we would have time to incorporate feedback and iterate.
Test Results
Users overall had a positive experience with our new prototype - the new SUS score was 81.25 (an A grade) but one user expressed a lot of concern about the Re-roll feature on the confirmation page. The re-roll feature was an existing option on the last page that allowed users to “roll the dice” again if they are not satisfied with the destination they received. It was not clear to users how the billing process for this would work since the destinations cost different amounts.
Out of Scope
Unfortunately, given the scope and timeline of our sprint, our team decided that we did not have time to iterate on this feature. Our team decided it would be easiest to move the option from the website confirmation page to the email confirmation that users receive. This way, users would be able to start a new billing process from the link.
Next Steps
At the very end of the sprint it occurred to me that a better slogan for Sponteous might be "spin the globe" - it thematically worked better, suggests spontaneity and playfulness, and might come across as more trustworthy than "roll the dice". If we were to continue to work on this project, I would be interested in rebranding the app with this in mind. Additional next steps would include:
- Building out an additional tablet design
- Links to location-based pandemic news
- Creating a log-in, place to view the boarding pass, and Apple Wallet integration