BluSail Transportation Mobile App

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Non-existing way of public transport from the mainland to the island of Kornati for tourists who booked their staying there. Tourists have to personally know the locals in order to book transport. Local house renters are getting less bookings if unable to offer transportation.

DISCOVERY

USER NEEDS

• part of the Google UX/UI Mentorship Program

Purpose of this survey was collecting information from tourists and travelers that travel to the Kornati islands
in Croatia. I created survey that consists of 16 questions, some of them are multiple choice and some are open
ended. Total number of people taking the survey was 21.

Behavior Information
First part of the survey asks about travel habits and their past experiences with boat transportation booking.
60% of respondents stated how they book their own transportation, while 30% use travel agency services.
Surprisingly, almost 50% of respondents stated that they decided to change their travel plans because of the
problems they experienced when booking transportation.

User frustrations
• exhausting booking process
• not knowing anyone who owns a boat
• not having many options when booking a boat transportation
• very low number of users stated that they worry about their trip being canceled
• impossibility of easily booking transportation to get to the Kornati islands

USER 2 - Experience Booking

• INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE & USER FLOWS

Information Architecture was created to help with visualization of the app structure.
Some features were never created, since it requires realization to spread in the tourism field.

TASK FLOW 1 - BOOK A TRANSPORTATION

TASK FLOW 2 - BOOK AN EXPERIENCE

During paper prototype testing we found some flaws in the design that users marked as confusing:

  • log in/sign up page and payment details order of appearance

  • not feeling safe with “Continue as Guest” option, since we are putting people in other people’s
    boats and there should be personal information available in case of any problems

  • users stated that “Continue with ______” option is convenient enough to replace “Continue as Guest” option

  • confusion about “Excursion” type of trip, user thought it was a multiple day trip, so we decided to change the name to “Experiences”

• DIGITAL WIREFRAMES - CLICKABLE PROTOTYPES

TASK FLOW 1 - BOOK A TRANSPORTATION

FINDINGS AND IMPLEMENTED CHANGES

  • change categories buttons to tabs

  • change the number of people to default “1”

  • on the available boats/experiences page make the whole section clickable

  • change the buttons “select boat” and “select experiences” to “continue”

  • keep every button on the same place - fixed footer

• VISUAL DESIGN

After the previous round of testing, that showed some confusion among the users, iterations were made and I created a high-fidelity clickable prototype in Adobe XD.

  • application that allows users to transparently book transportation and experiences

  • safety and cleanliness of the boat with an image

  • driver verification

  • easy to book, choose a date and time of traveling

  • accessible and easy boarding

  • customer service

  • easy to find out about the app (integration with AirBnb and similar platforms)

  • various interesting and exciting day trips

RESEARCH METHODS

• COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

I have conducted a competitive anlalysis that gave me a strategic inseight into the design features, flows and solutions of our competitors. Some of the competitors didn’t have a strong visual identity, nor a responsive website, while none had a mobile app.

Competitive analysis was conducted for a purpose of getting a strategic insight into the design flows, design features and all the design solutions of our competitors.

What was learned from the analysis were the unwanted features involving third parties in order to book a transportation. Goal of a BluSail app is to simplify the experience for the user, therefor that kind of booking process will be avoided.

• USER SURVEYS

• PERSONAS & USER STORIES

USER 1 - Transportation Booking

FINDINGS AND IMPLEMENTED CHANGES

To create a visual connection with a Mediterranean culture I’ve decided to choose blue and white combinations to represent an homage to the sailing culture that is present at the Adriatic sea.

Karl lands on the home page, and by default transportation is already selected. First step he needs to do is select the wanted date and number of people traveling, click “continue”. Next screen is going to list available boats for transportation, listed with ratings and price. Karl selects the boat, and he’s taken to details about the boat page, where he can read reviews, and see all the details. Continue button takes him to booking details where he reviews details about their booking. From there, Karl proceeds to checkout screen. He can choose to Log In if he already has an account or create an account and proceed to payment.

TASK FLOW 2 - BOOK AN EXPERIENCE

Mara lands on the home page, and by default transportation is already selected. First she needs to select “Experiences” and then repeat the steps from the first task flow (select the wanted date and number of people traveling) , click “continue”. Next screen is going to list all the experiences . Mara selects fishing trip as that is what she are interested in. Next page leads her to the description and reviews. Mara selects the boat, and she’s taken to details about the boat page, where she can read reviews, and see all the details. Continue button takes her to booking details where she reviews details about her booking. From there, Mara proceed to checkout screen. They can choose to Log In if they already have an account or create an account and proceed to payment.

WIREFRAMING & PROTOTYPING

• LOW-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES

In this phase, I sketched a set of low-fidelity wireframes to help communicate my products idea. I also started mapping out the general interface and it’s screens to help with visualization.

• PROTOTYPE TESTING

TASK FLOW 1 - BOOK A TRANSPORTATION

User needs
• ability to quickly book transportation to get to the Kornati islands
• ability to book in advance
• ability to book without experiencing problems or delays and complications
• transparency of the actual boat and driver
• getting to the island quickly with a speed boat
• having amenities such as toilet access and refreshments
• variety of different day activities and day excursions
• easier ways of booking transportation to get to the island

TASK FLOW 2 - BOOK AN EXPERIENCE

  • make “continue” button fixed so it is visible all the time

  • move the experiences choice from the first page

  • make experiences to icons

  • make an image smaller on “review booking details” page

  • name of the app was changed from SaiLine to BluSail because SaiLine reminded too much of a medicine name

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

A mobile app that would enable tourists to book transportation via boat from the mainland to the island of Kornati and back. The app would connect house owners, boat owners, tourists, and tourist agencies. Additional services would be day trips and excursions, island hopping, dolphin watching, and fishing trips which would be offered by the private boat owners