2022 - Mobile app UI/X

VIA Rail

This case study shows the complete overhaul of VIA's mobile app UI/UX, illustrating the process of achieving a vastly improved user experience. Developed for UX course project.

Roles

UX Researcher, UI Designer

Toolkit

FIGMA, Photoshop, Illustrator

Overview

The VIA app redesign modernizes the user experience and accommodates a diverse user base, offering a unified and versatile travel platform.

The new UX prioritized real-world scenarios to create a smooth, intuitive user journey, tackling interface challenges. Furthermore, the redesign unveiled and integrated new features, ensuring a complete digital platform for passengers.

the problem

Despite its high potential, the app remains largely ignored, fails to attract downloads and is unable to maintain active users.

Below is a brief summary of findings from the evaluation stage of the design process. By engaging in targeted research and employing an iterative design strategy, the UX solutions to addressing these key challenges will emerge.

Low User Adoption

Client data shows only 50% of app downloads let do completing a purchase and their repeat purchase rate is just 15%, highlighting user dissatisfaction.

Poor User Feedback

While anecdotal, these insights highlighted areas of dissatisfaction and user pain points, offering a qualitative understanding of user sentiments.

Poor Design / Lacking Features

Unengaging design and missing features was causing user frustration, reducing the app's utility and appeal. The app was not effective in leveraging the mobile platform, providing an experience subpar to the VIA Rail website.

the solution

By prioritizing use-case scenarios, the design focuses on delivering a seamless and intuitive journey, aiming to eliminate current interface pain points.

New Booking Module

Streamlined the reservation process, offering users a more efficient way to secure their travel arrangements.

UX Hierarchy

Refined navigational structure based on proper design principles, ensuring users find what they need with ease.

Updated UI

Modernized the UI for a polished, contemporary feel, enhancing overall visual appeal.

Furthermore, the redesign process aims to unveil and integrate new features, ensuring the app aligns with evolving user expectations for enhanced overall usability.

Activity Tracking

Widgets deliver key information to users, providing value even after passengers close the app.

AI Support

This chat tool enhances accessibility, presenting an alternative way to complete tasks.

On-Board Services

In-seat dining orders and access to WiFi entertainment, enriching the onboard experience.

Research

Ongoing dialogue with the client facilitated the collection of qualitative data, setting the groundwork for understanding client expectations and the metrics used to evaluate the effectiveness of the final product.

Client Interviews

Discussions by zoom and collaborative online tools was conducted throughout design process.

Catalysts

Poor user feedback

Low usage/retention

Implement new services

New revenue opportunities

Evaluation

Increase in tickets purchased

App reviews and ratings

Level of communication

Implementation review

User surveys yielded quantitative insights, highlighting user behaviors and identifying critical pain points.

User Surveys

Data was gathered from VIA passengers through surveys conducted on the train platform while they awaited boarding. A total of 50+ surveys were completed.

90%

of respondents indicated that their primary reason for opening the ViaRail app is to book a new trip. The redesign places a strong emphasis on streamlining the booking process with clear call-to-actions for initiating new trip reservations

75%

of respondents found the current app's booking process confusing and incomplete. The redesign must prioritize a simplified, step-by-step booking flow to reduce cognitive load and improve the experience.

75%

of respondents expressed interest in a feature that allows tracking real-time train locations. The introduction of a real-time tracking feature addresses this and enhances the app's functionality.

40%

of respondents expressed a positive interest in utilizing a chatbot reservation system within the ViaRail app. This feature provides an innovative alternative for booking reservations and addressing inquiries in a conversational manner.

Personas

The data collected was used to construct personas that represented the most common use cases of the app. These personas, embodying the needs and behaviors of typical users, guided the design process to ensure that the final product met specific user requirements. This approach helped in setting clear design objectives.

Ideation

This stage involves generating a range of concepts and prototypes, which are refined through multiple iterations. These iterations are based on continual evaluation and re-evaluation of the collected research data, allowing for exploration of various solutions and steadily hone in on the most effective design that meets user needs.

Mid-Fi Wireframes

Mid-Fi Wireframes represent the refined iteration of the sketches, emphasizing the organization of elements within individual pages and components.

Implementation

High-fidelity designs present a refined visual interpretation of thoroughly tested and validated prototypes.

Blending research-informed UX design with the client's definitive branding guidelines, these mockups present the most accurate depiction of the proposed user experience.

Design

The final design of the application was crafted using Figma. By using Figma's components system, the design was able to maintain consistency across various elements of the interface, ensuring a cohesive user experience. This approach facilitated the demonstration of different iterations of each component.

Using a design system in Figma enhanced the flexibility and efficiency of the design process for the project. By adjusting predefined elements like color variables, changes were easily implemented, such as swiftly transitioning the entire design to a dark mode iteration. This centralized control facilitated quick revisions and maintained consistency across the product, streamlining the design workflow.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the UI/UX case study for VIA Rail's native mobile app showcases the effectiveness of meticulous user journey mapping during the design phase, significantly improving app usability and user satisfaction.

The next step in finalizing a production-ready design involves a greater focus on incorporating comprehensive accessibility features from the outset—such as screen reader support, high-contrast color settings, and voice control. Emphasizing these features will ensure a seamless experience for all users, align the app more closely with inclusive design principles, and enhance its overall reach and effectiveness.

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