BusBoss – Simplifying Bus Ticket Comparisons
Project Duration: 2 Weeks (2023)
About the Case Study
This case study explores the UI/UX design process for BusBoss, a travel bus price comparison app. It covers the journey from initial research to final design, highlighting the rationale behind key design decisions. Through this case study, you’ll gain insights into creating a user-friendly interface for a bus price comparison app.
What Motivated Me to Begin?
The inspiration for BusBoss stemmed from personal frustration with booking bus tickets. I often found myself juggling multiple apps and websites to secure the best prices, which was time-consuming and led to occasional mistakes. Recognizing a need for a more efficient solution, I embarked on the BusBoss project to consolidate bus ticket pricing from various sources into a single, user-friendly platform. The aim was to save users time, reduce frustration, and prevent costly booking errors.
Problem Statement
Searching for and booking bus tickets across multiple platforms can be laborious and prone to mistakes, leading to user frustration and missed savings opportunities. There was a clear need for a centralized app that compares bus ticket prices from different sources, offering a streamlined booking experience and ensuring users get the best deals.
Goals
Comprehensive Comparison: Provide a single platform to compare bus ticket prices across multiple websites.
Streamlined Booking: Simplify the booking process to save users time and reduce frustration.
Cost Savings: Highlight the best deals and promotions to help users save money.
User Trust: Create a reliable source of information and pricing for bus tickets.
Brand Identity: Build a strong brand and increase user engagement through effective marketing strategies.
Expansion: Grow the app’s user base through partnerships with bus operators and travel agencies.
Continuous Improvement: Use user data to refine functionality and user experience.
Market Leadership: Position BusBoss as a leading solution in the bus booking market.
Design Process
BusBoss was developed using a user-centered design thinking approach. This process included empathizing with users, defining problems and goals, ideating solutions, prototyping, and testing the design. The focus remained on creating a product that is useful, usable, and desirable.
Empathize: Understanding user needs and frustrations through research.
Define: Clearly articulating the problems and setting project goals.
Ideate: Generating potential solutions and design concepts.
Design: Crafting the UI and UX based on research and ideation.
Test: Validating design choices through user testing and feedback.
User Research
To meet the two-week deadline and gain valuable insights, I conducted Guerrilla user research. This approach provided a quick yet effective way to understand user needs and pain points.
Target Audience
The primary audience for BusBoss includes:
Regular Commuters: Individuals who use buses for daily travel.
Tourists and Travelers: Those exploring new locations and needing bus tickets.
Budget Travelers: Users seeking the best deals and discounts.
Frustrated Users: Individuals tired of navigating multiple sites for ticket prices.
Design Elements
User Persona: Created to represent the app’s diverse user base.
Empathy Mapping: Used to understand user emotions and needs.
Information Architecture: Organized app content and navigation for ease of use.
UI Style Guide: Defined the visual elements including colors, typography, buttons, iconography, and navigation bar.
High-Fidelity Design
The high-fidelity design was developed based on feedback from user testing. Key adjustments included:
Color and Gradient: Refined for better visual appeal.
Typography Weights: Adjusted to enhance readability and user experience.
Additional User Testing
Following the initial high-fidelity design, a second round of user testing was conducted with six participants. This phase focused on refining the app’s design based on the feedback received. The primary areas of improvement included:
Color and Gradient Adjustments: Enhanced to better align with user preferences.
Typography Weights: Modified to improve readability and visual hierarchy.
These changes were implemented to ensure that the app design better met user expectations and provided a more polished user experience.
Conclusion
The BusBoss project provided an opportunity to apply a comprehensive design process to a real-world problem. By focusing on user needs and iterative design improvements, BusBoss aims to offer a streamlined and efficient solution for comparing and booking bus tickets. The feedback-driven refinements, including color and typography adjustments, ensure that the final product aligns with user preferences and delivers a superior experience.
