Conducting competitive analysis allowed me to gain better insights into the processes and functionality that the market leaders use in order to guide their users as smoothly as possible through the process.

From my research, I found that while most apps had good initial foundations such as search function and date selection, there seemed to be a few cases of information overload or data confusion the further the user gets through the process.

Considering that the payment stages are the most significant part of the booking process, it was imperative that there needed to be a focus on significantly reducing the amount of pain points for the user during the latter stages of the process.

Across most current hotel or holiday apps, users were typically happy with the first few introductory screens; things like search functions and inputting the desired dates. But as they moved through the process, there seemed to be mounting information that was not communicated in a concise way. This then has a domino effect on the preceding screens and ultimately leads to a higher drop-off rate towards the end of the booking process.

Another key insight into user behaviours showed that nearly half of all the candidates surveyed used hotel booking apps to browse and compare hotels with no intention of booking. These insights showed that there was a necessary focus needed at the 'search' and 'browsing' screens to optimise the overall experience for the user.

The data produced from these techniques gave me valuable insights into the way in which users flow through a typical booking service. The research techniques produced both quantitative and qualitative results which helped to influence the define stage of my process.

In order to make sense of the data produced by the various techniques used, I ran an affinity diagram session with two other designers. I shared the various sources of data with the team to give top level insights before starting.

The session ran for 2 hours, in which time we gathered a wide range of information ranging from user pain points and emotions, to user processes and thought patterns. We then grouped the data into similar themes to create structured data from an otherwise unorganised collection of points.

Utilising the data from our affinity diagrams, we were able to determine the user journey map to clearly identify the user flow through similar applications. This process helps to outline the users flow through a similar product or application.

Using this process allowed me to clearly identify that most of the users pain points are located around the final stages of the booking process. It was therefore clear at this point in the define stage that it was imperative that there should be a focus on significantly simplifying the product for the user during the latter stages of the process.

The ideation stage begins by gathering all the data, insights and key learnings from the two previous stages. I created screen flows, with user interactions as wayfinders to get from point A, to point B.

This technique acted as the catalyst for what became the design and prototype stages of the product. This process aims to demonstrate best practice user flows, enabling navigation around the product with minimal effort.