Information Architecture for an airline: How it impacts the journey of our passengers
As a UX content strategist working for an airline, I recently shared my thoughts at the World Information Architecture Day (WIAD Santiago 2018) on why I believe that having a good IA for our users is an obligation.
To me, 3 factors come together to make this an absolute necessity:
A complex industry
Working in the travel industry is fascinating, inspiring, and a lot of fun. We -the digital team- build products and design the online experience for our customers. But most of us UXers love to fly as well (who doesn’t?), and we are always looking forward to our next trip. That makes our daily job even more exciting, but the truth is, airlines are very complex.
The operation of any airline involves a lot of logistics on the ground and up in the skies…but also online. Every piece of information displayed on our website and app is determined by a large number of business rules.
For example, the conditions of ticket purchase are not the same for all passengers. They vary, depending on a number of factors: route, fare, frequent flyer category, type of passenger (adult, child or infant), and a long, long, etc. Similar specifications apply to most of our flows: redemption, refunds, Check-in, seat selection, just to name a few.
These rules and complexities can be overwhelming and confusing for the millions of passengers that fly with us every year. So it is our responsibility to make sure that each one of them clearly understands the facts necessary to make an informed purchase decision.
We need all users to understand the characteristics of each fare, their itinerary, how many bags they can bring, the time they have to get to the airport so they don’t miss the flight, etc. And that is the challenge because our main goal is to help people get to their destinations.
Technical limitations
So, why don’t we just show every passenger the information about their specific trip? I remember asking this countless times in meetings when I first started at this job years ago. But it turns out that -in many cases- it is very hard.
Our developers face technical limitations every day. Some flows still have a very rigid structure because getting rid of old technology is not simple. Do we want to replace them with new processes? Of course. And we are heading there. But every change -and let alone migration- of an old product requires a huge amount of effort and time. And we work with an Agile methodology approach. So, what do we do?
When we don’t have the fortune to start a product from scratch, we have to deal with technical limitations (which, to be honest, we also face when we start a new project). In this scenario, we just have to adapt and define the best information architecture possible. Sometimes this means we can’t give our users the customized information they need.
In these cases, content hierarchy and structure are extremely important to guide the user through the information they expect to find at every moment.
The emotional journey of passengers
When we give structure to our content and design the experience of our passengers, we need to consider their emotional journey at all times. Imagine an electrocardiogram with several high points. Well, now imagine that each one of those peaks is a moment of tension.
Passengers go through a lot of these moments before, during and after their flight. Buying the ticket, leaving home for the airport, or waiting to claim the baggage after landing are a few examples.
And this happens in a happy path scenario. So you only have to imagine how tension peaks when passengers face a problem: delayed or canceled flights, closed airports due to weather conditions, emergency trips because a family member was involved in an accident. You name it.
Passengers usually interact with an airline website or app during those tense moments. In that context, we need to provide them with the information they are looking for in a clear, coherent, and orderly way to help them complete their tasks and reduce their anxiety or stress levels.
And how do we go from complex to simple?
- We conduct user research (every time. We don’t get to skip this part)
- Based on research, we define the set of data that is relevant to our users
- We know what information is mandatory (legal content or business requirements, for example)
- We establish hierarchy: we group information in areas and give them different visual weights
- Storytelling: We tell the passengers what they need to know when they need to know it
- We have a cross-product approach to avoid duplicated content (passengers have enough information to process, believe me)
- We are precise and clear with words. Every piece of content reflects our brand’s voice and tone
