UX Case Study: Pórta, a travel platform to gamify waiting!

Our team brainstormed about common pain points during travel, and came upon the topic of waiting in line. People are willing to wait for experiences that they feel are worth it. We thought about where and when people wait, and came up with a few assumptions:

• People don’t like to wait because they are usually left unoccupied and unstimulated
• People prefer to know specifically how long they will have to wait
• People are willing to wait if there is a worthwhile experience at the end

We hypothesized that travelers feel like they are losing time when waiting that they could be spending doing something more enjoyable.

We asked ourselves….how might we help travelers redefine what it means to wait?

Through research and the UX process we formed some goals:

Our Research Goals

• Provide accurate times to alleviate waiting
• Make waiting more enjoyable
• Foster connections while waiting

UX Methodologies

We first conducted initial user interviews with seven people in an effort to uncover information about why people wait, where they find themselves waiting, how long they expect to wait for certain things, how they typically occupy themselves, what makes waiting worth it, their most recent experience waiting a long time and more. From these interviews, we synthesized our data via an affinity map with salient quotes pulled from our conversations so we could discover trends through analyzing the feedback we got.

Our Key User Research Insights

• People are willing to wait up to an hour for a worthwhile experience
• People like to know accurate information about their journey and the destinations
• People like immediate feedback on the status of wait times
• People are more open to connecting with others while traveling
• People turn to social media or forums to cross reference or get more specific information
• People want to be present and enjoy unique experiences when traveling
• Connectivity and on-the-go services are important

We created a persona, Zoey, based off of that information, who is our representative target user of our platform. Zoey helped us validate our initial problem statement and improve our perspective as well as add more details to our the problem space. We further explored the emotional experience of Zoey via a user journey to help illustrate various scenarios she finds herself waiting based on our research, which allowed us to further empathize with our users.

Product Development

With our foundation of user research we came up with a mission for our platform: to promote positive engagement leading up to moments of discovery. We named our platform Pórta, since the word for door in Latin is porta (as well as a place in Greece with the same name) so we combined these influences to inspire a sense of mysticism and history.

Our Product principles

• Build excitement for unique in-the-moment experiences
• Be a trusted resource that promotes community and connections with kindred adventurers
• Be a knowledge base for interactive and engaged learning
• Encourage explorers to share discoveries and promote diverse experiences
• Support every curious traveler to affordably reach their destination

Partner Opportunity — Atlas Obscura

We then considered an existing platform that would be perfect to partner with. Atlas Obscura is a fascinating conglomerate of community sourced niche locations which operates on a parallel plane to our platform, thus it was a natural choice for partnering with our product.

Business Research

We completed a business model canvas to better understand Atlas Obscura and strategize a potential partnership. We uncovered opportunities by conducting an in-depth feature analysis with competitors and comparators to help us prioritize the features our product could offer.

Design and Testing

We conducted a collaborative design workshop that led us to a low-fidelity prototype which, in turn, helped us refine a mid-fidelity prototype that we used to run a first round of usability testing with five users. This allowed us to see if our initial layout, organization and design flow were intuitive. Results revealed that we had a few things to fix: the timer feature needed more emphasis, our business partnership needed to be clarified, and more context was needed for the app in general. This informed changes that were implemented into our high-fidelity prototype that was tested on eight new users for a second round of usability tests. We received positive feedback on the aesthetics and our games, as well as additional insights for further improvements.

Hypothesis

Purpose & Methodology

There are many circumstances where people will have to wait regardless of how many preparations they have made in advance. Travelers feel like they are losing time when waiting that they could better spend doing something else more enjoyable.

Assumptions

• People don’t like to wait because they are usually left unoccupied and unstimulated
• People prefer to see specified wait times rather than be uncertain about how long their wait will be
• People are willing to wait if what is at the end of the line is worthwhile

Goals

• Provide accurate times to alleviate the frustration of waiting
• Make waiting more enjoyable
• Foster social connections while waiting

Initial Problem Statement

How might we help travelers redefine what it means to wait?

User Research

In our first round of user interviews, we virtually met with 7 people and asked them how they felt about waiting, why they wait, what is the longest they’d wait for something, and a recent instance where they’d had to wait a long time.

People wait for the train a lot, use twitter and other social media platforms to entertain themselves, and get frustrated when information is not current, is missing, or completely inaccurate.

We found quite a few common themes repeated over the course of these interviews, and formulated them into “I-statements,” which allow us to empathize with our users.

• I like to be in the moment when I am traveling (travel styles)
• I have strategies, like using my phone and the environment around me, to mitigate waiting (coping with waiting)
• I’m willing to wait for things I care about, up to about 1 hour (waiting preferences)
• I am open to connecting with others while I wait because we’re experiencing the same things (socializing while waiting)
• I feel torn about how I view time when waiting (interactions with time while waiting)
• I tend to look at social media to research or check for updates while I am waiting (activities while waiting)
• I like to have unique and unexpected experiences when I’m traveling (unique travel interests)
• I enjoy reading content that I curated to my tastes (format preferences)
• I prefer getting travel destination info on location from locals or maps (mainstream vs. niche)
• I am frustrated waiting even when I know what’s going on (frustrated waiting even when you know why)
• I find it annoying when I don’t have enough info or don’t understand it (pain points: lack of or unclear info)
• I require certain technology services, like internet data, to spend my time while waiting (Tech needs: non-negotiable/ essentials)
• I enjoy using google maps, instagram, and chatting to people for sources of information while traveling (sources of information)

Synthesizing Insights from Interviews

We came up with some insights after identifying the above themes:

Insights

• People are willing to wait up to an hour, as long as they are equipped with their phone or other things of interest in their immediate vicinity
• People like to maximize their time because they want to be present and fully enjoy unique experiences while traveling
• People are more open to connecting with others, especially while traveling, as there is a sense of camaraderie through the shared experience
• People tend to do initial research on where to go or what’s happening around them and turn to social media or forums to cross reference or get more specific information
• People like to know as much updated and accurate information as possible about their journey and the destinations.
• People like immediate feedback on the status of wait times and acknowledgement for their waiting.
• People turn to their phones as the primary source of occupying their lulls in time, therefore connectivity and on-the-go services are important.

The above insights from data led us to determine the below preliminary feature ideas for our platform that would address our user’s needs and goals.

• Check in feature - users in virtual line frees them up for other pursuits while waiting
• Create a timer feature to keep users informed about their wait time
• Add games and opportunities for fun activities
• Include an interactive map for users to see what’s nearby
• Create a social aspect to allow users to share experiences with each other

Persona

A persona allows us to understand and empathize with our user throughout the design process, especially early on, which is crucial to ensure we are focused on solving the right problem for our users. As a team we had some early ideas and impressions about our persona; data collected from user interviews validated these assumptions and allowed us to build our detailed persona.

Revised Problem Statement

Purpose & Methodology

Our initial problem statement was validated; research allowed us to be more specific about activities such as visiting tourist sites worth waiting for. We further focused our problem in the context of our persona, Zoey, who is our ideal representative user.

Revised Problem Statement

People are willing to wait for experiences that they feel are worth it, and this is especially true when traveling and visiting tourist sites. Zoey seeks out unique travel experiences and wants to truly be in the moment. She wants tominimize mindless waiting, and seeks passive activities that allow her to learn more about places she will visit while having fun.

How might we help Zoey and other travelers redefine what it means to wait?

User Journey Map

Purpose

Creating a user journey allows us to identify opportunities where we can address users’ pain points and build on highlights as we consider our design approach. This further lays the foundation for the features in our product.

• People are willing to wait if the experience is worth it, therefore focusing on tourist sites and attractions as mentioned in interviews is a natural area to tackle first.
• Our second main insight from research was the scope of accurate information, which will also vary for each of these settings.
• By focusing on the area of tourist sites and attractions we can be targeted in feature development and testing, then in the future determine if these same features and our product can be expanded to address all these scenarios.

Journey Map

Partner Opportunity

Purpose & Methodology

In our market research for what exists in the area of travel, we wanted to specifically explore the areas of services and guides for a more niche user experience. We researched several travel guide companies including those who would be listed within our competitive and comparative feature analysis. We looked at companies that already had a strong following and therefore a thriving business whose customer base we could serve and connect with in meaningful ways.The business would also have the same values and principles aligned with what the product would represent.

Company Background

Atlas Obscura’s mission is to “inspire wonder and curiosity about the incredible world we all share.” They are all about the hidden, off the beaten path, eccentric experiences rather than the commercialized major attractions.

Their community-driven platform is the Atlas itself, a collection of more than 20,000 places around the world. Their unique business is based on a collective, collaborative project that is dependent on their community of explorers to help them discover amazing places and share them with the world.

Business goals: makes money from advertisements, book royalties, online course and experience offerings. They started a partnership with Airbnb in 2019 to offer the ability to look up Atlas Obscura’s experience offerings on their platform.

KPI: engagement and time on site, page views, user submissions/ contributions, click through rates/ referral sites, likes and comments- social interactions, purchases of packaged experiences and courses etc.

Opportunity

Waiting and wait times are ubiquitous across industries; there are existing platforms providing analysis and metrics about wait times already. However the issue is not necessarily waiting in and of itself, but the notion that wait times inherently feel like wasted time. We’re looking to explore the psychology of wait times and occupy peoples’ wait times to make time spent waiting more fun, and solve the issue of wasted and lost time due to waiting in line.

Insights

Opportunities:

We seek to gamify wait times for travelers, therefore, helping to redefine what it means to wait and help provide a more smooth and engaging journey while traveling. With a partnership with a company like Atlas Obscura, there are opportunities to grow the number of places and excursions existing on the site through growing the the customer base and improving their experiences. From our research of the market place, we see that there are great benefits to partners and users with a service that helps to redefine what it means to wait by providing engaging pathways to enjoy the journey.

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Benefits to Partners:

• Another channel to advertise their trips
• Help the business minimize pain points for their customers
• Gain valuable customer feedback and data
• Improve their customer’s experience and connectivity

Benefits to User:

• Discounts and exclusive opportunities
• Equipping lonesome travelers a companion tool
• Learn and gain valuable info
• Have a smoother journey
• Quick recommendations to nearby sites, eats, etc by Atlas Obscura

Business Model Canvas

Purpose & Methodology

We detailed the key business components of Atlas Obscura in order to see if our platform Pórta, would be able to partner with them successfully. Researching these components led to a deeper understanding of their inner workings and why and how they began as a travel company looking to inspire the world back in 2009.

Insights

• They mainly target customers who are curious folks that have a penchant for learning and are open to new and one-of-a-kind experiences (which they curate and sell). The feeling of
• community is strong on this site, and there are seminars and lecture series available to attend online, as well as many articles by professional writers. Their website is a catalog platform of all sorts of unique hidden wonders of the world, just waiting to be explored.

Business Model Canvas

Feature Analysis

Purpose

To determine what already exists in the waiting problem space, we conducted a feature analysis with 14 selected competitors and 3 comparators. Detailed analyses of competitors and comparators allowed us to:

• Determine some standard practices in terms of features that already exist in competitor and comparator offerings to resolve wait times.
• Examine what may and may not be working well within these existing applications.
• Identify gaps and/or new potential feature(s) that can further differentiate and innovate us from our competitors and comparators.

Methodology

We created a table that identified 15 features and mapped these across our 14 competitors and 3 comparators.

• Tier 1 competitors were direct competitors of Atlas Obscura
• Tier 2 competitors applications directly address the issue of waiting with waiting application programming interfaces (APIs), which allows other companies across industries to leverage the proprietary waiting time analytics of the wait specific APIs.
• This allowed us to determine how we will address the pain point of inaccurate wait times and information within our problem space.
• Tier 3 competitors are industry specific offerings that provide solutions to reduce wait times and create virtual cues- whether this be in healthcare, restaurants, travel and we could not neglect the power and heavy usage of google maps mentioned by all users we interviewed.
• Range of industries allowed us to consider feature offers that we may want to implement into our product.
• Comparators we evaluated had fun and engagement activities at the forefront of their products that bring delight to users. We felt we would obtain insights that can inform our platform approach.

Insights & Takeaways

There are a range of common features shared across the board from the variety of businesses that were compared. The range includes what we would call Top Common Ground, where 8 or more companies have select features in common. This is where it shows that those features are popular enough across the companies. These include providing food and drinks information, providing attraction information, social media connectivity and sharing options, as well as blogs.

A particular area of interest and also opportunity is that we saw that only 1 out of 7 travel business have a feature around estimated times and analysis of time. There is clearly an open market for services around time and improving customer experiences.

The next is the Middle Ground, where 5–6 companies have shared features. This is where there are moderate companies offering these features, and Atlas Obscure is considered safe in this space.

And lastly, is what we would call the Areas of Least Coverage, where only 1–4 companies have select features. This is the area where there is the most opportunity that we can leverage from. The features include reviews and ratings, providing gaming experiences, as well as translations services.

In our analysis, we labeled numbers where there are features that exist within Atlas Obscura.

These numbers help us to better understand where a company like Atlas Obscura sits within the market of specialized, unique travel, and among companies that specialize it addressing wait times and map features. Please see appendix for a complete chart of the full feature analysis.

Feature Prioritization

Purpose & Methodology

We completed a feature prioritization matrix to assess how crucial certain features are to a product. This considers how much effort and capitol they are to implement relative to the perceived necessity. A feature prioritization matrix is not only a helpful design tool, but also an excellent visual for communicating these constraints to stakeholders.

We outlined features based on our in depth feature analysis and considering the pain point we want to address from Zoey’s user journey. This clarified the first features we will focus on in (in blue) for our initial product launch, and secondary features to explore for later releases.

Insights

• We want to focus on features that will be still functional offline without WIFI connectivity e.g. saving maps for offline use and games that can be played within the app not requiring WIFI
• Wait times must be ready accessible and countdowns should be in real time
• Accuracy of information is important for users, therefore recent reviews matter
• Incentives are needed to feed accurate data and for users to leave reviews- discounts to Atlas Obscura’s existing experiences and course offerings

Value Proposition & Product Principles

Purpose & Methodology

• A unique value proposition is a direct statement of our product value. In our case it is to promote positive engagement. This allows partners to understand our value from a business perspective and how it relates to users. These foundational core values shapes our overall product vision, informs our design approach, and guides everything the product team is. This also serves to be a continual source of aspiration for us to continue to iterate and improve our product.

Porta Value Proposition & Product Principles

Porta exists to: Promote positive engagement leading up to moments of discovery.

• Build excitement for unique in-the-moment experiences.
• We do this by making anticipatory waiting positive and fun.
• No moment is wasted: there are doors of opportunities all around us
• Be a trusted resource that promotes community and connections with kindred adventurers.
• … supports the ever longing explorer in us all.
• Be a knowledge base for interactive and engaged learning.
• We do this by developing unique, site-specific games that enrich curiosities and promote a reverence for the wonderment of the local cultures and histories.
• Encourage explorers to share discoveries and promote diverse experiences
• Sharing travel experiences creates a shared understanding of culture, time and place. Community is important when traveling and brings people of different backgrounds together.
• Support every curious traveler to affordably reach their destination
• “Give before getting”, “It’s better to give, and then receive”: Porta won’t help you pay for your trip, monetarily. We believe that when you make valuable contributions to the community, we want to help gift back to you ways to help fund your trips.

Design Studio

Purpose & Methodology

Design studio is a collaborative approach for designers and all stakeholders involved in a project to quickly generate ideas and get multiple perspectives in the design process. We conducted 2 rounds of design studio that helped inform our initial and final designs.

Mid-Fidelity

Purpose

Unlike a high fidelity mockup, the mid fidelity version is usually presented in grey scale, lacks branding, has minimal text and contains little or no photographic content. This is an essential tool in many ways, but most specifically, it allows the design team to eradicate glitches and work through cumbersome early design choices. The main goals are functionality testing and ensuring seamless user interaction.

Methodology

We created a mid-fidelity mockup of Pórta and tested it on 5 subjects.

Insights

• On the check in screen, users were unsure about QR code prompt
• The timer icon on the bottom navigation bar was overlooked often.
• When users clicked on timer icon to check, they were alarmed by the pop up with little time left.
• When going to the review page, users are only immediately taken to a screen for leaving a review.
• Users are brought to the map page but found functionality generally unclear
• Game page starts with view of hallway of doors, with only solo game play option.
• One simple game page as a stand-in with limited interactivity caused users to lose interest due to sole functionality of ramifying wait times.
• Link to prototype

Game screen flow

Initial Usability Testing

Purpose

Usability Testing is a real-time evaluation of a product by individual “users”, who are a part of the representative target audience for that specific product. Testing subjects are given a product, often in various stages of completion, along with one or more scenarios and tasks.

The subjects are then asked to navigate their way through the product’s operation elements based upon the tasks given. While this is occurring, members of the design team observe and take notes. This is highly effective not only to rule out early design flaws, but to also circumvent potential revenue loss on a faulty product.

Methodology

We identified 5 users that we strongly felt fell into the product’s target audience. We then presented them with 4 tasks and scenarios related to the proposed product. All 5 users were closely observed as they attempted to complete each task.

High-Fidelity

Purpose & Methodology

Creating a high-fidelity mockup allows designers to see a more realistic version of what their

intended end-product might look like. This is done not only to consider/re-consider certain

design & layout elements, but it also allows for additional testing where the intent is to get a

more accurate reading of user interaction.

From our mid-fidelity prototype, we made some adjustments based on user feedback, and then added color, branding and photographic elements. Please refer to our specifications document for branding and style guide.

Updated Mobile Design

Building upon our greyscale mid-fidelity prototype iteration, we first agreed on a brand color

palette and a group of fonts to compliment it. Then a logo and tagline were created in order for us to ensure cohesive branding. The first prototype was updated to include color, text and photographs to make the application appealing to our target audience.

The High-fidelity mobile prototype link can be accessed here.

Mobile High-fidelity Screens

Figure 1. Splash, games and reviews screens