Revamping MMT's Live Train Status functionality to empower users in effortlessly monitoring their train's precise status, ensuring worry-free and seamless travel experiences.
⌛️ Duration
3-4 months
Background
Every day, about25 million passengers travel on both long-distance and suburban train routes. To help these travelers make informed decisions and simplify their journeys, various helpful features are available, like checking your PNR status, ordering food, finding your platform, and checking the live status of your train. Leading online travel agencies (OTAs) such as MakeMyTrip, Ixigo, Paytm, and ConfirmTkt are working closely with IRCTC to support the growth of online train ticket booking and related services in India. MakeMyTrip (MMT) goes beyond just booking tickets - it provides a range of train information services to help you with your travel questions. These services include checking your PNR status, finding your platform, tracking live train status (LTS), and ordering food, among others.
LTS is a widely used feature that lets you track where a train is right now and if it's running late. It even gives you an idea of when the train will arrive at upcoming stops and tells you which platform it will arrive on.
Objective
Revamping MMT's Live Train Status feature with the aim of enhancing the customer experience. Utilizing Network Triangulation technology to provide customers with more detailed and precise information.
Kickoff
An overall heuristic study was done across the all major Train OTT platforms to understand the The design process was implemented in three phases. Discover. Define. Design.
Discover
Understanding existing system
To grasp a clearer picture of MMT's Live Train Status, I began delving into the information derived from the current statistics related to LTS. Presently, the platform witnesses over 280,000 monthly visitors on the LTS landing page, but there's a notable reduction in engagement at different points in the user journey.
38%
Error states
The user arrives at the LTS detail page encountering an error state.
16%
Incorrect train
Users seeking information about the same train operating on an alternate date.
09%
Low engagement
Average interaction with elements such as 'Train Departure Date', 'Refresh Icon', and 'Bottom Sheet'
17%
Poor Datebase
Train information unavailable in the database.
Design constraints
What's happening elsewhere?
Train users will have to choose between MakeMyTrip and its alternatives. It's thus crucial to analyze what our competitors are offering. Through this analysis, I uncovered industry benchmarks and best practices that have empowered us to craft user-centric, inventive, and competitive products. These products address user requirements while staying in harmony with these established norms.
Key Takeaways
Establish the hierarchy for presenting features and information.
Sustain consumer engagement using features, feedback, and validations.
Ensuring the thoroughness and precision of micro interactions and micro copy.
Sustaining visual order and balance while utilizing space to connect similar groups effectively.
User Interviews & Painpoints
I conducted a sequence of user interviews to delve deeper into user frustrations and objectives. I engaged with a diverse set of participants, encompassing both daily commuters and students from various tiers of Indian cities. Their ages spanned from 17 to 55 years, with differing degrees of technological comfort, ranging from early adopters to late adopters. The purpose of these interviews was to gain a more profound understanding of their obstacles and ambitions.
10-12
Users
Encompasssing regular commuters, students, medical patients, travelers, and individuals on pilgrimages.
Tier 2 & 3
Audience
Hailing from locations such as Kanpur, Bhopal, Dhanbad, Bhagalpur, Barakar, and more.
17 - 55 yrs
Age group
Comprising tech-savvy users, both early and late adopters.
Outlining User Objectives
Streamline user experience for efficient discovery, engagement, and navigation through the LTS.
Harness the capabilities of technology to facilitate connections, updates, and journey tracking, enabling users to make well-informed decisions.
Enhance user engagement by incorporating features such as Station alarm, widgets, and feedback mechanisms.
Establishing Organizational Objectives
Turning LTS visitors into potential customers.
Boost non-booking traffic in the funnel through improved SEO searches.
Develop the long-term value of onboarded users by cross-selling additional travel products.
Develop a platform that is adaptable to future scenarios and scalable according to both business objectives and user requirements.
Exisiting Design
Breaking down the Summary Cards
To construct a sophisticated Long-Term Support (LTS) design with rich features, a strategic foundation was essential. This involved delineating the core structure of the LTS card, encompassing pivotal components such as station names and codes to indicate historical, current, and upcoming stations; distances between stations in kilometers for spatial context; anticipated and scheduled arrival and departure times to communicate any time variations; and supplementary attributes like Station alarms, Wifi availability, and Food services aimed at enhancing the overall travel experience. This meticulous approach to design ensured scalability and a seamless integration of future expansions.
Reimagining the Search experience
Impact
Key Observations
We have been observing a steady growth based on some preliminary numbers. The amount organic traffic increased by 3x. The feature level engagement have increased multifold and the error rates are declining everyday.
25000+
Avg daily visitors
Achieving a threefold (3X) increase in total visitors.
63%
Engagement
Average interaction levels with elements such as the 'Train Departure Date,' 'Refresh Icon,' and 'Bottom Sheet,' etc.
23%
Non booker share
Increase in the proportion of initial organic traffic directed to MMT.
My Insights
Acknowledging the Importance of User Testing and Research: Giving priority to user research allowed me to quickly understand and confirm user behaviors, thus aiding in the development of impactful solutions.
Beyond focusing solely on enhancing end users' experiences, my role expanded to include understanding business requirements and the broader product environment. This involved embracing the complexities of both business and user-oriented facets. To effectively communicate with the tech team and make informed design choices, it was essential to grasp the nuances of the existing tech stack.
Designing with Future Growth in Mind: The redesign process prioritized scalability, ensuring that the product can effortlessly accommodate expansion.
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