Usability Improvements for Touch-Screen Mobile Flight Booking Application: A Case Study Prepared by: Feyza Gündüz and Al-Sakib Khan Pathan Presented by: Al-Sakib Khan Pathan Authors Feyza Gündüz and Al-Sakib Khan Pathan Department of Computer Science, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)

Introduction Smart phones have introduced great easiness to our daily life by mobile applications. One of the easinesses provided is buying flight tickets via mobile phones. However poor consideration of end-users in development phase leads to underutilization of such facility, thus decreasing potential profit of companies. 2

Introduction Airline ticket reservation is in top 5 most purchased online service[1] : 3

Introduction Smart phone use is increasing and mobile commerce is expected to be futures shopping style. In near future, more people are expected to buy flight tickets using their mobile. Challenge arises at that point : Many companies -> many customers. The one pleases the customer would win the competition of mobile commerce (M- Commerce). 4

Users Experience 5

Experience and Preference Users experience affects users preference of using that application again. When user perceives a mobile application easy to use, enjoy it to use and efficient in terms of provided services, customers loyalty is gained [2]. Therefore, usability should be analyzed from the point of users. 6

Objective The objective of the study is to identify usability problems for mobile flight booking applications on touch-screen phones, and suggest solutions. Main expectations of users are presented from HCI perspective and discussed through a case study. 7

Related Works Some research works have been done on the usability challenges of travel webpage and mobile commercial applications. Psychological background of users perception towards products are investigated. Guidelines for better application usability are suggested for different mobile platforms. However, there is little research about usability challenges faced in touch screen phones, since it is a new technology. 8

Related Works M-commerce challenges and potential solutions.[3] 9

General User Experience Goals Utility: usefulness, reliability Usability: ease of use, efficiency, accessibility Social value: connecting people, identification Enjoyment: pleasure, stimulation 10

Methodology In order to understand social and personal phenomena in the context, a qualitative approach is adopted in which we conducted interviews with twenty(20) people at two phases and collected answers from questionnaires to increase the accuracy of results. 11

How was the study conducted? 20 people aged between randomly selected. Interviews were conducted: Users were asked to complete the task of buying a flight ticket to any destination of their choice. Their ticket buying processes were closely observed. Notes and questionnaire results were analyzed. Research findings related to flight travel, usability concerns of mobile applications, and user satisfaction criteria were utilized as guidelines. 12

How was the study conducted? Other market applications that offer mobile flight booking service were also explored for benchmarking. Problem areas were detected and solutions were extracted from previous research findings and benchmarking analysis. Second interview was conducted to obtain users reaction towards the prototype that was built to eliminate problems that had been found in the first interview. 13

Results What are the usability challenges that mobile flight booking applications face? 14

1) Wrong choice of icons 15

1) Placement of icons 16

3) Redundancy of steps in completing tasks 17

3) Redundancy of steps in completing tasks 18

4) Naming of menus and sections Guesses about the meaning of Mobile ticket : Movie ticket Concert ticket Flight ticket SIM card, etc.. 19

4) Naming of menus and sections Users expect interaction. Need for a talking system. Instead of Flight planning, choose –Plan your flight, Instead of destination, –Where do you want to go? 20

5) Uneasiness of single handed use 21

6) Small and disorganized input fields 22

7) Small selection fields 23

8) Crowded and disorganized information presentation 24

8) Crowded and disorganized information presentation 25

8) Crowded and disorganized information presentation 26

Flight Planning 27

Flight Planning 28

Airport/City Selection 29

Date Selection 30

Date Selection 31

Passenger Selection 32

Cabin Selection 33

Flight Selection 34

Flight Selection 35

Flight Selection 36

Flight Details 37

Flight Details 38

Flight Details 39

Flight Details 40

Passenger Information 41

Credit Card Payment 42

Invoice Form 43

Confirmation 44

Confirmation 45

E-Ticket 46

To be Done Things … Functions for disabled people, speech search, speech-to-text facilities, geo-locations services, personalized flight booking assistance have been omitted of this study due to its large complexity that will not fall under single work. In fact, the entire process took considerable time from collecting data to analyzing the data, then designing appropriate graphical interfaces for practical implementation. 47

References [1] Nielsen, Trends in Online Shopping: a global Nielsen consumer report [online] Available at [Last accessed 14 July 2012]: tFeb08.pdf tFeb08.pdf [2] Design aesthetics leading to m-loyalty in mobile commerce - Dianne Cyr, Milena Head, Alex Ivanov [3] Designing Mobile Commerce Applications - Peter Tarasewich 48

Thank you 49

Q&A Any other query could be directed to or 50