Overview Research Analysis Ideation Validation Revision Reflection

2019 - 2020


Product Design
UX/UI Design
Visual Design

Flitalk

Flitalk is an in-flight interactive device to provide a solution for “How to cope with unexpected and uncomfortable situations that occur during airplane travel”.

Some passengers struggle to ask for help about certain situations in planes where there is limited space and filled with unfamiliar people. Flitalk was created in order to provide flexible and accessible options for passengers who need assistance, such as passengers with language barriers, who are shy or introverted, who have a pet or baby, etc.

Final Solution & Features

Mobile application + In-flight device
Passengers who face uncomfortable situations in flights can find who and what might be able to help them.

1. Onboarding process

Gather information on passengers on onboarding screens. Display interfaces based on the collected information to provide suitable, flexible service.



2. Flight speed and time

Because it's an in-flight application, flight speed and time are shown in the status bar :

3. Ask flight attendants for help & Frequently asked

Through in-flight messengers or by clicking “Frequently asked” buttons, passengers ask flight attendants for assistance.

Passengers will see predictive text appears as they begin typing. It's based on terms they are typing and what other passengers have been frequently asking for :

4. Ask other passengers for help

Through in-flight messengers and a plane map, passengers who need solutions can approach other passengers who might have solutions.

Passengers are from different countries and use different languages. However, regardless of the language barrier, passengers who need solutions can communicate with other passengers who might have solutions through automatic translation :

5. Use the search to find what they need

Passengers find what they need through the search function on the home screen.

Passengers will see autocomplete predictions once they begin typing in the search field, and the predictions are based on the terms they are typing and collected information from the onboarding process :


Let's see how Flitalk can help passengers. 🕵

Now let's talk about process. 🛩

Process

Goal

The Product Goal

Create an interactive device and provide a solution that helps passengers who face uncomfortable situations.



The Business Goal

Build a new interactive airline messenger service focusing on the needs of passengers that arise in flight. Encourage passengers to take flights instead of other forms of transportation by providing more flexible and accessible options for them to improve their in-flight experience.

Unvalidated Problem

I was assigned to find out what makes passengers frustrated when they're flying on planes, and create a solution to improve the In-flight experience. I made assumptions firstly. In airplanes, there is limited space, and passengers must sit in their assigned seats. They can't choose who will sit next to them unless sitting with family or friends, and so, they are forced to share space with strangers. Therefore, unavoidable interruptions occur. Often they are embarrassed because they don't know what they should do in such a limited space with unfamiliar people around them.

Target Audience

Passengers who face unexpected problems during the flight


Passengers struggle to find solutions; they don't know where to turn or who might have the solutions they need. They are looking for guidance on how to navigate these uncomfortable and unexpected in-flight situations.

Personas

Morgan Wood


One time on a flight, a baby who sat behind me was crying all the time, but her parents were sleeping with earphones on.


About
- VIP for United Airlines
- Lives with parents in San Francisco
- Age 35-45, college educated
- Works as an architectural designer

Behavior
- Goes to various countries for business trips frequently
- Takes United Airlines mostly to earn membership miles
- Tries to sleep or rest when on a long flight
- Is an introverted person, and tends to avoid talking with unfamiliar people

Need & Goal
- Doesn't feel comfortable when someone violates his space while he's doing something
- Wants to be relaxed without disturbance during a flight
- Wants to perform tasks, such as reading a book, without distraction or interruption
- Hopes that babies and children on his flights won't touch his belongings
- Hopes that parents and/or pet owners will control their babies and pets
- Hopes that every passenger will be gentle and respectful, for a comfortable flight

Lauren Spencer


I forgot to bring pee pads for my dog, and he starts to whine because he wants to pee. How can I find pads in mid-flight? Is somebody on board who has them?

About
- Identifies as a dog lover
- Lives with a dog in San Francisco
- Age 25-35, college educated
- Works as an advertisement intern

Behavior
- Her family lives in Manhattan, so she flies there once a month
- Loves her family a lot, and misses very young nephews living in NY
- Always travels with her small dog whenever she visits her hometown, and on trips
- Loves to travel with her family and her small dog
- Feels sorry when her dog barks at people during the flight
- Very concerned about leaving her dog home alone

Need & Goal
- Doesn't want to leave her dog at home alone
- Wants to know how to ask for passengers' understanding about her dog
- Hopes to know what she should do when her dog bark at people in flight
- Wants to have a relaxed flight with her dog without walking on eggshells about passengers around her
- Looks for easy and clear information about flying with her dog safely

User Interview

Let's hear what make actual passengers frustrated during flights.
Synthesizing and clustering user insights

After conducting user interviews, I synthesized the user insights, each color represents each user.
Then, I did clustering them by topics. If you want to deep dive into it, click the button below.

Learnings & Findings

Assumption

The biggest pain in planes and airports centers around unpredictable timing like delays and long lines.

► Learning

Most arrived at the airport on average 2 or more hours before taking a flight because they can't predict how much time it will take to check in, and how many people will be in line. In order to avoid missing flights, they arrive at the airport early. Some of them arrive 5 to 12 hours before flight time. However, time management isn't the biggest issue. The unpredictable timing can be acceptable if it's mitigated by high-quality service and fast feedback. Also, depending on the vibe and situation of the day, some passengers enjoy the extra time delays create.

Assumption

The biggest pain in flight is spending long, tiring hours by watching films on devices.

► Learning

Passengers watch movies, read books, sleep, and listen to music in airplanes during long flights. The thing that makes passengers become tired is strict limitation. Passengers have to be sitting within assigned seats during flight time; passengers can't choose or anticipate who will sit next to them, and must sit with strangers they have never met. In the limited space, interruption is unavoidable.

Assumption

The biggest pain about passengers with special needs is to find clear and easy information.

► Learning

Passengers like vegetarians and people flying with children, pets, senior citizens and those with special needs. These passengers would like to find information on how to ask for in-flight service. Passengers tend to find needed information in ways that are familiar to them. Some interviewees found information that they need through an app or website in advance before flying on flights. Others felt it difficult to find or ask for information they need.

What does it means?

Validated Problem

People struggle to voice their opinions or ask for help in person about certain situations when flying on planes.

And they need flexible and accessible options to cope with the uncomfortable situations.


Situations

My baby is crying because he needs his diaper changed.
I forgot to bring a pad for my pet, I don't know who has pads.
A passenger in front of me reclines his seat too much.
A passenger sitting next to me took off his socks and act as if the flight is his home.

The Mission

The mission is to create an interactive tool that focuses on passengers, and in-flight limitations. The tool provides a service that helps passengers who have problems to interactively reach out to flight attendants or other passengers who have solutions.

Empathy Map

Jane Adams

Worries or pains :

Being embarrassed when she suddenly needs something in-flight

Not easy to ask strangers for help in person

How will she gain from the solution :

Can ask passengers or flight attendants by sending messages

Can see who on board might help them best


Think & Feel

What is their overall personality like?

Shy with people they meet for at the first time
Don't like to cause trouble

What occupies their thoughts?

How can I ask passengers politely to do something in flight?
What if some passengers feel uncomfortable about me asking?
What if some passengers ignore what I ask?
What if some passengers don't understand what I'm saying due to language differences?

See

What do they do while on an airplane?

Read a book or work on a laptop on their seat tray
Go to the restroom and do some stretching when the seat belt sign is off

What are their common routines during a flight?

Eat meals that provided by the airline
Watch movies on their seat-back device
Read some books or sleep if it's a long flight

Say & Do

What do they hear from other passengers?

Heard a passenger try to wake someone sitting next to him to go to a restroom
Heard a baby crying because it needed a diaper change

Are they being influenced and how?

Hesitate a bit to wake the person sitting next, even though they needed to go to the restroom

Where do they go for information?

Try to ask flight attendant when they need help
Try to ask other passengers around them when they need help

Customer Jorney

A user finds a passenger who has pee pads for dogs with the app, and asks them if she can have one pad for her dog.

Product Direction

Mobile application + In-flight device

Through in-flight messengers and a plane map, passengers who need solutions can approach other passengers who might have solutions.

Passengers are from different countries and use different languages. However, regardless of the language barrier, passengers who need solutions can communicate with other passengers who might have solutions through automatic translation.

Gather information on passengers on onboarding screens. Display interfaces based on the collected information< to provide suitable, flexible service.

In-flight device screen


A seat map is shown to help the user who has a problem finding other passengers who have a solution.

Major buttons: “Talk with us” and “Talk with passengers” appear next to the seat map. Therefore, the user can see the seat map and major buttons on the same screen.

On the top left side, flight time and speed are represented.

Mobile application


Unlike concept 1, the major buttons and the seat map are displayed on two separate pages.

On the top right side, flight time and speed are represented.

Low Fidelity Wireframes ———

Assumptions
For Usability Testing

1. When users need a solution that flight attendants don't have but other passengers might have, they will go to the “Talk with other passengers” screen to find out who might be able to help them.

2. Once users need to approach other passengers, they will click the “Talk” button on the bottom navigation, and find the specific passengers in the “seat map” screen.

3. Users will notice where they are on seat map screens; also, they will categorize and classify passengers through different colors.

4. Users will notice that they can start to talk with other passengers by clicking a seat on the seat map screens.

What & How To Fix

Assumption

When users need a solution that flight attendants don't have but other passengers might, they will click the “Talk” button on the bottom navigation to find who might be able to help them.

What & How To Fix

Most users to find what they need through a search function on the home screen.
Therefore, I added a “home“ button on the bottom navigation, and it takes users to the search bar on the home screen.

Assumption

Users will notice where they are on seat map screens; also, they will categorize and classify passengers through different colors.
Users will notice that they can start to talk with other passengers by clicking a seat on the seat map screens.

What & How to fix

Because several seats are filled with a particular color, it's hard to recognize which color indicates who. Instead of indicating all different passengers through colors, place a “find passenger” button on the top-left side.

Therefore, before users choose a specific category of passengers, the seat map indicates where the users are. After choosing a specific category of passengers, the map indicates passengers who are related to the category through color. Also, add a “Send to all” button, so users can send messages to all of them or individually.

Assumption

Users ask flight attendants for help in the “Talk with us” screen.

What & How to fix

Before modifying, users asked flight attendants for help by sending a message in the “Talk with us” screen. In the revised screen, they ask help by sending a message, and also find what they need by clicking a speech bubble.

What & How to fix

Before modifying, indicated information on the contact was only seat number.

After modifying, seat number and nationality of the contact is indicated. Regardless of different countries and languages, Also, texts are translated into users' native languages automatically.

Revised Design

I'm a good listener,
but not a user.

Reflection & Takeaways

Instead of relying on assumptions, it is always important to hear from real people to ensure designing the right solutions for the target audience. I tried to talk to random people I've never met in an airport for several days. The more I met people who have in-flight experiences and listened to their stories, the more product missions and design decisions became clear.

Also, the process helped me understand that design must always be intentional. All elements were arranged by reasoning, and just because something looks aesthetically beautiful doesn't mean it's the best solution to the problem. I made sure that all the functions in the product help passengers to achieve their needs.

Home | Resume | Designed and coded by EunJi Lee © 2020