Making of the UX Research Team at GO-MMT
I was one of the 4 member team responsible for planting the UX Research seed in the organization. Watch our, Episode 2 of DeTour - where we deep dive into the making of the UX Research Team.
My roles and responsibilities as a researcher:
Responsible for conducting regular usability & concept tests across all the lines of business as well as 1 extended ethnographic research across 4 cities
Using creative insight-sharing methodologies for evangelizing research like Usability Comics, Newsletters, User Videos, Research-Vlogs led to exec buy-in and more budget allocation for the research team.
Guiding and mentoring an intern
Independently handling the research for the Gurgaon location while collaborating with a geographically remote team.
Challenges: Establishing research culture within the org as the team was fairly new and affected the project timelines. Being a fresher it was a little difficult to figure out which methodology to apply when. But after carrying out so many studies I myself have become a lot mature with what to apply when. And most of the time every study is eventually a mixed method.
Project flow:
This is the typical project flow that I usually follow for most of the evaluative studies. If the project also contains generative or more qualitative research, then the process is modified accordingly.
Projects close to my heart:
Although I have been involved in many research projects there are a few that have been close to my heart. And I would like to share a few samples of my work:
"The lengthiest one 🤕🚶🏻♀"
Aim: To study the past, pre, during, and post-booking experience of an International Flight through MMT and Goibibo
Duration: 3 months (that's why the lengthiest one👩🏻💻)
Methods: Mixed Method Approach, Stakeholder interview, Understanding Data Metrics, Memory Recall, Artefact Analysis, Qualitative interviews during field visits, Usability Testing.
Deliverables: In-Depth Reports
For this research I would like you to go through a video I prepared for our entire project journey.
Check out the blog & the video of our team "fighting" it out on the field.
Blog link: Protest, Pandemic, Passion
I prepared this to evangelize UX research in the organization. It was used to set the stage for the presentation and keep the team motivated throughout the 2 hour-long presentations. The video actually went viral and my post on Linkedin became trending in the #ux category 😅.
"The most empowering one 💪🏻😇💪🏻"
Objective:
To study the end-to-end funnel of booking experience of a bus
To understand factors influencing the decision-making process
To identify major drop-offs, pain points, usability issues
Process:
Study duration: 3-4 weeks
Recruitment Method: A mix of external and internal database users
User groups: Category A (Android | mWeb) MMT Users who are coming to MMT and have booked buses with us (Android/dweb) Category B (Android| mWeb) MMT Users who are coming to MMT and have explored bus but might not have booked on MMT (Android| mWeb) Category C Users who are booking buses from other OTAs and not on MMT Pilot: 1 user for Gurgaon and Bangalore each
Research Methodology: Mixed Methods Basic Introduction, Memory recall, and Current Intent: Participants were asked to recall their past experience of booking a bus. This was used as a warm-up and also helped the participant get in context. They were also asked about their current intent which helped me better plan the scenario on the spot. If there was no recent intent then they were given a hypothetical scenario. Scenarios were given considering these points: Budget-conscious traveler Couple/Family Person/Traveling with friends/Solo etc. Time concerned (Meetings/Events commitment in another city) Business/Vacation/Pilgrimage/Meet family etc. Hierarchy Task: A bunch of cards was given with amenities-related information, which the user when looking for a bus. They were asked to choose 5 cards out of those which were most important for them to finally select a bus. They could also create their own card as well if they found any information which was important but was not present. Then they were asked to arrange the cards from the most important one to the least. Based on the responses scores for each persuasion on SRP were calculated by the weighted mean method to come up with hierarchical order.
Outcome:
A detailed deck was prepared with
insight statements, user behaviors, glance patterns, and their underlying reasons with general user feedback of each and every element across the bus funnel backed by both the interview quotes and the session video clippings. Apart from advocating for major drop-offs, user pain points, and usability issues, it also answered the product team’s questions. It gave the team clarity on:
Users' perception and emotional response to the changed slashed price in the SRP.
User’s understanding of pick up and drop times of buses with respect to boarding points.
User’s understanding of the new seat map and if it has led to a better understanding of the layout. And how to improve it.
User’s understanding of price filter in the seat map for seat selection.
The kind of offers appreciated by users and their perception of different platforms giving offers.
Persuasion that influences the decision making on SRP
Clarity on differences in mWeb and android users.
Impact: It informed the design team about what
worked and did not work in terms of features,
interfaces, and flows. It has been the most empowering research as this was a followed up research on MMT Bus and led to an insight where selecting upper and lower berth is clear and easy for the users which was an implementation from the very first research by the research team.
And the success story also got covered by TheHardCopy.
The seat selection case study has made it to the Design eZine – The Hard Copy"The coolest one 😎 🤟🏻"
Objective:
Evaluation and information prioritization for PNR Status page for a waitlisted train ticket (PWA)
Challenge:
Budget constraints hence went ahead with an in-house study.
Time constraints due to strict timelines.
Process:
Study Duration: 3-4 days
Recruitment Method: In-house testing (by sending a screener to all the employees)
User groups: People who had booked a waitlisted ticket at least once. And a mix of people who had either done it online, offline, or both.
Research Methodology: Basic Introduction and Memory recall: Participants were asked to recall their past experience of booking a waitlisted train ticket. This was used as a warm-up and also helped the participant get in context. Scenario (Bollywood Technique): So let’s assume that you & your brother have to attend your cousin’s wedding in Delhi. Since you couldn’t find a cheap flight, you booked waitlisted train tickets instead. Now you have to travel in the evening and you check the PNR status of your tickets. You check your MMT account to see the status of the ticket, which is this screen. Task Method: The participants were asked to go through the screens & scratch off any information which was NOT useful to them. (a think-aloud protocol to understand the why underneath the preferences) Rupee Method: with the remaining information Participants were given 100 rupees. They were asked to buy 3 pieces of information from the remaining, and how much rupees would they pay for each out of the 100? ( again, the think-aloud protocol to understand the why underneath the preferences)
Outcome:
Report that was quickly
synthesized and complied in 1 day with
actionable bullet points. The report presented
the general user feedback of each and every element of design and
the things that required revision
because of usability errors and unmatched
user expectations.
Impact: Informed the design team about the user's information priority, what worked and did not work for all the 3 use cases:
when the chart is not prepared & the seat is not confirmed
when the chart is prepared & the seat is not confirmed
when the chart is prepared & the seat is confirmed
It helped the team prioritize information for each use case in order to customize the information architecture and visual format for three cases contextually. The page has been redesigned and the research findings have been incorporated keeping all the elements in mind and is currently in the development pipeline.
"The most challenging one 🙇🏻♀️🤯"
Objective:
What's the ideal location for Pending requests on My Biz (Website) and how to make it more universally accessible by figuring out the user's mental model.
About My biz:
MyBiz is a platform where you can book flights, hotels, buses, etc. for business travel. It’s the same as you select bookings for your personal travel. The one part which is different is, once you select what you have to book, it goes to your manager for approval. Once it’s approved, you can complete the booking & make the payment from the company’s account.
Problem:
Pending requests weren't discoverable throughout the website and weren't universally accessible especially on the search result page. It was also inconsistent with the user's mental model which led to a lot of frustration for the novice users.
Challenge:
Budget constraints hence went ahead with an in-house study.
Time constraints due to strict timelines.
This wasn't like other UT's of prototypes or products, hence it was easier to fall into the trap of asking the users what they want instead of figuring out their mental model and needs. Ensuring we don't conclude on wrong insights.
Involving stakeholders in the sessions backfired as pre-mature changes got implemented during the course of the study. Perhaps, a small briefing would have helped here.
Process:
Study Duration: 4-5 days
Recruitment Method: In-house testing (by sending a screener to all the employees)
User groups: -Used MyBiz a few times -Never Used MyBiz Expert MyBiz users were not included as they would be accustomed to the pending request tab already.
Research Methodology: Card sorting for a mental model of info categorization: A bunch of cards with booking-related information were placed in front of the user (which were there on MyBiz). The participants were asked to group the information in the way they found it logical. They could create multiple groups if they found the information is related. If they thought some information did not fit in any group, they could keep it separate. After the session reasons for each group were asked. In order to understand why they thought that a group of information belonged together. Usability Testing on the current website (Bollywood Technique): Scenario 1: Let’s assume you have to book a flight from Bangalore to Delhi (Delhi to Bangalore) using MyBiz. You had sent the booking for approval to your manager & you want to check if the booking has been approved or not. How will you do that here? Scenario 2: Let’s assume you have to book a flight for the same day for your colleague, as he does not have access to MyBiz. How will you do that here? When the user is at SRP: Do you want to book his ticket on the same airline as yours?
Outcome:
A glanceable report that was quickly synthesized and compiled in a day. The report answered the product team’s questions regarding users’ mental model and the underlying reasons. Impact: Guided the product team to decide where to position Pending requests on My Biz (Website) and how to make it more universal, the contents and their priority levels of my trip-related information present on the website, and the visual format .
* Explicit information has been hidden to comply with the NDATo know more feel free to reach out to me!