The problem we are addressing for our users are booking flights, lodging information, packing clothes and finding recommendations for the area you want to be in a central area. While conducting our user research we identified making traveling a smoother experience, we can make it less of a burden.

Our customers have a problem searching for the cheapest airfare. Many major airlines offer basic economy fares, which are below economy class. These fares in the end make you likely pay extra such as choosing your seat and bringing on a carry-on.

The issues that come up with our users when searching lodging information can be searching for wrong dates. choosing the wrong number of rooms, some sites are not as clear, they can easily book multiple rooms.The wrong location can be easily chosen in the incorrect city or even country.

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Research Insights & User Pain Points

The Travel Access team crafted a user survey which 31 people completed. The purpose of this survey is to learn about our users' experiences traveling. A trend in reviewing the response data of the survey is we saw the need for a checklist when they are traveling.

Reviewing our survey, our user's main purpose for traveling is for personal use.

Forms response chart. Question title: What is your main purpose in traveling?. Number of responses: 31 responses.

Users quotes:

Yvonne - "Creating a complete checklist"
Henry - "Finding the dates with the cheapest flights & creating a complete checklist"
Sarah- "I got a cheap flight so the seats were super tiny and uncomfortable"

Solution Explanation

Based on our target user pain points, such as when traveling coming up across expensive hidden fees after booking a ticket. Also knowing a good deal with hotels, amenities, activities, and food options in the areas are a pain point. When planning the issue of having a checklist to check off items needed for their upcoming trip is a pain point which has come up in our research.

We decided it was best to focus on the checklist feature. It will help users better prepare for an upcoming trip and make sure they have everything they need.

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Lofi & Hifi Mockups

Lofi

HiFi

Iterative Design Learnings

Issue #1: Users were confused if they were logged into their account.

Recommendation:

Removed profile icon and put “Sign In” instead. After a user is logged in, they will be able to see their profile picture icon as well as a welcome sign to indicate they are in their account.

Issue #2: Users are confused about the search and filter.

Recommendation:

Instead of a search bar, we will use a drop down menu to allow users to be able to differentiate between their saved/created templates and the site’s templates.

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Issue #3: Users are confused about whether the checklist templates are theirs or not.

Recommendation:

For their saved checklists, they will have a heart on it to represent it as a saved/favourites template.

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Implementation Details

Technical implementation

The app is hosted:

Backend- Heroku
Frontend- Vercel

Our tech stack:

Ruby on rails and react
Amadeus API
Tailwind css for styling
React.js

Technical challenges

The hardest part of development:

Figuring out how to structure the database.
Challenges to the front-end

Does your app have any scaling issues:

No users yet

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How to measure success

North star metric:

Recurring usage of the checklist

Leading indicators:

# of user sign-ups
Daily app launches
Daily active users

Lagging Indicator:

user retention
Most search items
Referral

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Future Steps

The travel access team will love to build out the following features. In our backlog we have the ability for users to research flights, look up the weather for the destination they are going to and a currency converter within the app. Also to come in the future are Geo-Tracking Services, In-App Language Translator and Location-Based Emergency Services and Uber-Like App Service Integration.

Learnings

Product Manager Learnings:

Marc A. Louis-Charles

I learned how to interact with a designer and developers. I applied theories of product management and learned to write user stories and acceptance criteria. I learned to manage sprints within Jira and got more comfortable using the program. While working closely with one of the devs I got a deeper understanding of how API’s work.

Designer Learnings:

Esther Zhu

Communicating with the team on what is feasible and any possible constraints.

Designer Learnings:

Jo Sturdivant

Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.

Developer Learnings:

Afam Ifeanyi (chrys) Malieze

Not box myself as a backend dev, always room to learn and grow.

Developer Learnings:

Vanady Beard

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As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.

Developer Learnings:

Stephen Asiedu

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As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.

Developer Learnings:

Ijeoma Igboagu

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Well I am a frontend dev working with a backend dev that has a new experience and that two heads are better than one, working together makes things faster and you get to learn more from each other. Despite the time difference, my experience taught me a lot about how to work with a cross-functional team.

Developer Learnings:

Maurquise Williams

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Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.

Developer Learnings:

Jeremiah Williams

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All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key

Developers Learnings:

Justin Farley

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I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.

Full Team Learning

The team is spread out in the USA, Africa and the Middle East. We had to navigate logistical issues which made us communicating async and meeting in person vital. This process allowed us to quickly build trust among us and meet deliverables.