1. 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)

2. 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

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

4. 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

5. Users Experience 5

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

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

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

11. 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

12. How was the study conducted? 20 people aged between 18-40 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

13. 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

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

15. 1) Wrong choice of icons 15

16. 1) Placement of icons 16

17. 3) Redundancy of steps in completing tasks 17

18. 3) Redundancy of steps in completing tasks 18

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

20. 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

21. 5) Uneasiness of single handed use 21

22. 6) Small and disorganized input fields 22

23. 7) Small selection fields 23

24. 8) Crowded and disorganized information presentation 24

25. 8) Crowded and disorganized information presentation 25

26. 8) Crowded and disorganized information presentation 26

27. Flight Planning 27

28. Flight Planning 28

29. Airport/City Selection 29

30. Date Selection 30

31. Date Selection 31

32. Passenger Selection 32

33. Cabin Selection 33

34. Flight Selection 34

35. Flight Selection 35

36. Flight Selection 36

37. Flight Details 37

38. Flight Details 38

39. Flight Details 39

40. Flight Details 40

41. Passenger Information 41

42. Credit Card Payment 42

43. Invoice Form 43

44. Confirmation 44

45. Confirmation 45

46. E-Ticket 46

47. 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

48. References [1] Nielsen, Trends in Online Shopping: a global Nielsen consumer report [online] 2008. Available at [Last accessed 14 July 2012]: www.nielsen.com/solutions/GlobalOnlineShoppingRepor tFeb08.pdf www.nielsen.com/solutions/GlobalOnlineShoppingRepor 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

49. Thank you 49

50. Q&A Any other query could be directed to sakib.pathan@gmail.com or sakib@iium.edu.my sakib.pathan@gmail.comsakib@iium.edu.my 50