%20(1).png){kind=small}
Southwest
Price Check
®
A feature that could make one of the best airlines even better.
Project Overview
My Role: UX Designer
Project Type: Conceptual
Deliverables: Research, Project Mission, User Interviews, User Persona, Storyboard, Customer Journey Map, Sketches, A/B Testing, Wireframes, Prototype, Usability Tests, Final Prototype
Tools Utilized: Sketch, Photoshop, inVision, Marvel
The Product
Southwest Airlines is the world's largest, low-cost carrier based in Dallas, Texas. The airline is loved by users for its great customer service and high emphasis on minimizing operating costs, resulting in notable lower priced fares. With perks like free baggage, a plethora of free in-flight entertainment, and no reserved seat hassles, it's easy to see why customers (myself included) love Southwest.
The Problem
Over the past several years, Southwest Airlines has seen a decline in new accounts for their Rapid Rewards Visa credit card. They've implemented several approaches to attract new credit card holders. One of the main incentives is their Bonus Points. Southwest increased their point offering by 20,000 for all newly opened credit card accounts.
(This is the equivalent to ~1 round trip flight)
The Proposal
One of Southwest's best features is the ability to change and/or cancel flights without incurring fees. I've taken advantage of this several times when I booked a flight and later noticed the same ticket for a lower price due to a fare sale.
After researching, I came up with a proposed solution to attract more customers to obtain Rapid Rewards Visa credit cards. A new feature called the Price Check offered to new credit card accounts would monitor the prices of previously booked flights and notify users of lower fares.
%20Copy.png)
Goals
User Goal: Notification of lower priced fares and obtain the best deals for previously booked flights.
Business Goal: Offer the same flight change capabilities but decrease the usage time frame of the new price difference credits. The current time frame for credit is 12 months; I proposed that it be reduced to 6 months.
This would increase flight and service purchases by causing users to book more services with Southwest sooner rather than later.
Define
User Interviews
After completing the initial product and user research phase, I recruited 7 participants and conducted in-person user interviews to learn directly from users about their experience and usage of Southwest. Some of the topics discussed included:
-
How far in advance were flights typically booked?
-
How were they notified of fare deals and current sales?
-
Describe a time when they had to make any change to a flight reservation.
-
What benefits or perks have attracted them to obtaining a certain credit card in the past?
Age Range: 28 - 39
Gender Breakdown: 4 females | 3 males
» On average, users booked flights at least 3 months in advance.
» 4 of 7 users stated that after booking at some point they saw an advertisement for a fare sale via email, ads, or elsewhere.
» The two commonly mentioned perks that enticed a user to open a new credit card account was 0% interest and the ability for cash back.
Key Takeaways
User Persona
I synthesized the feedback from my user interviews and used it to establish a primary persona, a fictional representation of my target audience. Gabby emerged from the primary research findings, with her needs, goals, pain points and motivations drawn from the trends observed in the interviews. Going forward, I referred to Gabby throughout the entire product development process.
Storyboard
To further explore how the Price Check feature might meet Gabby's needs, I generated a storyboard. By creating this artifact, I was able to describe and illustrate a scenario that depicts how the Price Check would help Gabby obtain the lowest priced fare in a quick and efficient method.
Customer Journey Mapping
I composed a CJM to capture the clarity provided to a user (i.e. Gabby) in both scenarios - the current state of re-booking a flight to obtain a lower price vs. my Price Check feature. I plotted both processes on the same map to show the disparities along with the benefits my feature can offer.
Design
Sketches
With my focus primarily on the mobile app, I started by ideating on how I might integrate the Price Check feature with the existing Southwest homepage. After sketching several options, I narrowed it down to 2 final ideas.
I sketched out the remainder of the user flow (both homepage options had similar flows so I was able to use the same screens for both scenarios). Next, I uploaded the screens into inVision and made them clickable to prepare for testing.
Test
A/B and Concept Testing
I began testing by selecting 5 participants to engage in A/B testing for the homepage design they preferred. As a result, 4 of 5 users chose design B stating it was more succinct with the existing card-style UI, the conciseness of the text in the box vs a dollar sign icon, and the familiarity of the badge notification icon.
Additionally, I asked the participants questions regarding the concept of the Price Check functionality. I used my sketches as a rough approximation of my proposed feature to capture initial feedback and to determine whether it met the needs of my target audience.
Key Takeaways
» 3 of the 5 participants did not currently have a Rapid Rewards Visa credit card but stated that if this feature was implemented, they would get the Southwest credit card to get even more savings.
» Two users mentioned there was a lot of text on the screens and required too much reading.
» Since the Price Check card could blend in with the other cards on the home screen of the app, ensure the notification is salient enough to grab users’ attention.
Wireframes and Prototype
After capturing valuable user input, I refined and followed up my sketches by translating them to a digital form and prepared for another round of testing. I decided to build out the wireframes in grayscale to allow users to focus solely on the functionality of the features. I uploaded them into Marvel and prepared a script for usability testing.
Usability Test
I recruited 4 new participants for usability testing to evaluate the ease of use of the feature and identify any potential points of confusion. My goal was for the Price Check feature to blend seamlessly with the current Southwest app while efficiently accomplishing the task at hand. I provided the users with the scenario of re-booking a newly priced flight and asked them to walk through how they would complete it within the app.
User Feedback
-
"Since the credit usage time frame is being significantly decreased, we should be made more aware of that since fine print can be easily skipped."
-
"As long as the credit and savings sections stand out with a noticeable color, then everything else is pretty easy to see and understand."
-
"Consider starting the user flow from the email notification that links us to the Southwest app."
Final Prototype
I was finally ready to increase the fidelity of the wireframes to create my final designs in a high-fidelity prototype. This version captured the intended look and feel of the app and included the recommended revisions discovered from usability testing.
Retrospective
Test, test, test!
Being able to test my product feature with multiple users in various testing styles allowed me to gain major revelations and correct initial assumptions. Even something as 'simple' as adding a feature to a existing, well known app proved to require the same amount of testing as a brand new app. This process reinforced the effectiveness of testing and how my design was ultimately determined by the people who use it.
Learn the existing app.
Auditing the current Southwest app components (information architecture, UI, etc.) was a fundamental step in my design process. By identifying the aesthetics and functions of particular elements in the app, I could use it as points of reference for my Price Check feature. When designing, I ensure all of my design decisions are intentional and understanding Southwest's design helped me to validate that the new feature was succinct and seamlessly integrated.
