Pine Cone - Mobile App

UX Design Case Study - Pine Cone Mobile App

Concept: Outdoor travel is not convenient to plan and book in one online site. Our App will save travelers the hassle of visiting many web-sites and provide comprehensive options to plan, book, and organize lodging, amenities, and transportation for outdoor vacations in one platform.

Project Overview

Problem: There is no unifying digital space where travelers can search, book, manage and execute outdoor trips, including cabins, camping, and RV rentals associated amenities, activities, and transportation.

Solution: Create a mobile application where users can plan, manage, and book outdoor vacations across the US in one platform.

Tools: Adobe XD, Figma, Miro

Timeline: 2 weeks - individual project

Interview Plan

For the research, I interviewed 5 participants about their outdoor travel experiences and habits. The participants were ages 20-72, booked vacations online and had an interest in outdoor travel. We discovered that outdoor travel is difficult to plan due to resources not being organized. In addition, COVID-19 has increased demand for outdoor travel significantly.

User Research & Insights

After interviewing travellers, I discovered that they are struggling to research, plan, and execute outdoor vacations. Our target travellers are more likely to have a trip with companions, an active lifestyle, and desire hassle-free vacation planning. Recommendations within social circles, previous user photos, and reviews play an influencing role in travel choices. Price/value is a high priority for our interviewees.

Affinity Diagram Process

Affinity Diagram Analysis

Empathy Map

User Persona

Survey Data

Interview Notes

The similarities of the individuals habits using several applications
while planing and booking an outdoor trips

"I would like to have one platform or an application that would allow me to search for and book cabins and make restaurant reservations. Jumping from one site to another is very annoying."	"Having a multi-destination trip - is to have a lot of moving parts…like if you book five or six hotels, it is easy to make mistakes and mix up something because you are using several applications. Basically, It would be great to have one tool to keep my trip planned and organized."
Olha, Head of Marketing.	Valentin, IT Manager.

Problem Statement

People are using plenty of travel websites and applications while planning an outdoor vacation. Whether booking amenities or renting equipment and transportation, the whole travel planning experience can be time-consuming, but also pricey given the fractured nature of search mechanisms that lie behind travel apps.

In addition, using multiple platforms for booking a single trip can lead to confusion and mistakes. Therefore there is a need for one go-to platform to plan and manage the entire outdoor vacation.

User Insight Statement

Sarah is passionate about spending her leisure time outdoors and needs to feel more organised while creating, planning, and managing her in-nature vacation. She is forced to use several websites for one trip which is error-prone and time-consuming.

How might we combine searching, booking, planning and managing from one application that provides relevant search results and helps Sarah have a seamless, effortless, and efficient trip planning experience?

Value Proposition Statement

Let the vacation be the adventure, not the planning.

Bringing all the pieces of your outdoor vacation together, in one trusted place.

Brainstorm

Feature Prioritisation Matrix

Story Board

Scenario:
Sara wants to plan a camping trip for her family. The problem is between work and the hectic family schedule, she doesn’t want to have to adventure into the online wilderness to book the trip.

Goals:

Sara wants to spend a weekend at a nearest state park with a family and friends.

Relaxation and active recreation is a main purpose of a trip.

Find hidden gems - places outside the popular touristic routs.

Time is a key point - needs to create and manage trip from one source.

User Journey Map

Competitor Analysis

Summary: Competitor analysis has shown that there is a huge variety of outdoor travel apps and websites on the Internet. After researching both large and small applications with a worldwide recognition or that have a local tourism focus, I realized that there is no unifying platform where users could plan, create, book, and monitor their journey. Therefore The Pine Cone App will meet adventurers' needs and expectations.

User Flow

Sketch Wireframes

Digital Prototype in Figma

User Testing Plan and Notes

For the guerilla test, five tests were conducted.

Testing plan had three tasks:

Sign-up to the account
Sign-in and reset a Password
Create a trip and purchase it

Generally, the guerilla test went well but uncovered some eseential things witch have to be improved. This test helps me understand the importance of people's feedback and realized that I would never noticed these issues by myself.

Almost everyone was experienced difficulties on the main screen. Testers needed more explanations and details of what to do and what to expect.
People were feeeling confused during the change password stage, some of them stuck, but the majority figured out how to solve this task.
A couple of peple were confused during the checkout process. They wanted to be able to review the cart before making a payment.
Some of them were not sure if they are clicking on the right button or not.

2x2 Priority Matrix

Hi-Fi Prototyping

Iterations

Main Takeways

Initial User Research is invaluable

Constant testings bring improvements in a prototype

Puting yourself into users shoes is essential skill during the design thinking process

Next Steps

Make next round of Testings and Iterations
Add Travel planner as a next main feature
Develop a colaboration strategy with outdor brands