PlanIt
For the trips that made it out of the group chat
PlanIt is a comprehensive group trip planning platform designed to streamline the entire travel planning process. PlanIt aims to make group travel planning easier and more enjoyable, ensuring that every aspect of the trip is well-coordinated and stress-free.
TIMELINE
June - August 2024
(2 months)
ROLE
User Researcher
UX Designer
TEAM SIZE
Just me!
TOOLS
Figma
Notion
PROBLEM
Your trip has finally moved out of the group chat, but now what? Planning it is hard to track because everyone is using too many different apps to communicate.
Coordinating trips, events, and activities among friends, family, or colleagues can be chaotic and time-consuming, often leading to confusion and unorganized plans. There is a need for a tool that simplifies group planning, making it easy to finalize details and keep everyone on the same page.
SOLUTION
All-in-one platform that centralizes trip planning, making it easy to communicate, organize, and collaborate.
PlanIt is an all-in-one group trip planning platform that offers features such as trip creation, scheduling management, group chats, activity suggestions, polls, and more. Users can organize and plan trips with friends, and family all within one app. The app helps users collaborate effectively by providing tools for decision-making, sharing ideas, and keeping everyone informed and involved about trip details.
PRIMARY USER RESEARCH
Interviews
I interviewed three different people of varying ages (21-60), as well as having different planning habits. I focused the questions on planning experiences as well as communication.
Too Many Platforms
Many interviewees often rely on multiple platforms at once such as iMessage, Instagram, and the Notes app for communication and planning, making it difficult to keep track of information.
Difficulty Deciding
Interviewees also expressed difficulty when reaching a consensus on destinations and activities that satisfy everyone. It created stress from trying to accommodate everyone’s preferences, which can lead to delays in planning.
Some Questions Asked:
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How do you communicate with your group during the planning process? (group chats, emails, meetings)
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Do you use any tools or platforms to help with the decision-making process? If so, which ones?
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What do you find difficult about planning a group trip?
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How do you decide on what activities to do, places to eat, etc?
SECONDARY RESEARCH
Competitive Analysis
I also decided to conduct a competitive analysis with common apps that were used between the interviewees such as Apple Notes, Google Maps, Yelp, and also with the travel app Wanderlog. These apps lack integrated tools for organizing group communication, voting on activities, and more. This highlights the need for a more comprehensive solution like "PlanIt," which combines all essential planning tools in one platform.
Apple Notes, Google Maps, Yelp, & Wanderlog Competitive Analysis
OPPORTUNITY FOR DESIGN
How might we design a platform that serves as an all-in-one solution for simplifying decision making on activities, dining choices, and destinations while creating a collaborative environment for sharing and discussing trip ideas?
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Figuring out where everything goes.
I then created an information architecture for the app to organize and structure its features effectively. This included defining the main sections and navigation flow, such as the dashboard for managing trips, group communication tools, and specialized features like polls.
PlanIt Information Architecture
LOW FIDELITY
Quick thinking for modifications.
After creating the information architecture for the app, I created some low-fidelity wireframes of the main features in Figma. The low-fidelity frames helped me grasp a basic idea of how the screens would look and be interacted with which I then iterated on.
Low fidelity wireframes for PlanIt
USABILITY TESTING
Receiving feedback and iterating.
I was able to conduct two high-fidelity tests with participants who are soon going on trips. Participants were tasked with general navigation around the app as well as specifically adding a trip and answering polls.
Clearer navigation for Adding Trips
A main pain point found through testing is that adding trips was unintuitive and confusing, navigating into the profile page to add trips with no clear path.
After testing, I decided to add a floating action button on the dashboard so that users can easily browse their trips and conveniently add new ones as well.
FINAL DESIGN
Introducing PlanIt, an all-in-one group trip planning app designed to simplify the entire travel planning process. PlanIt offers four main features in which users can collaborate effectively with friends, family, or other groups, ensuring every aspect of their trip is well-coordinated and stress-free.
Dashboard
The dashboard is where all your current, upcoming, and past trips are kept along with current trip reminders.
Search
A search bar that lets you discover recommendations and popular spots nearby, with the ability to save places and easily share them with friends.
Calendar
The calendar helps keep track of events that are happening throughout your trips.
Chat
Friends can chat and discuss trip plans whether that's through individual or group chatting.
INTERACTIVE PROTOTYPE
Check it out!
REFLECTION
My experience on this project.
The power of usability testing.
I'm grateful to have conducted two usability tests throughout this project. The flows and navigation that I initially thought made sense were confusing to my users. Their feedback helped me identify these issues and refine the app's design.
A one-person team is difficult, but you also learn a lot.
Having done this project alone, I gained a deeper understanding into each process of the design process from user research and competitive analysis to creating wireframes and conducting usability tests. I learned the importance of gathering user feedback to refine and improve my designs. This project taught me to be adaptable, solve problems, and always keep the user at the center.
There are always new skills to learn with Figma.
This was the first project in which I used Figma more in-depth. I learned a lot of cool features such as smart animation for prototyping and also using components. There is so much more to learn about Figma and I'm excited about that!