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As a mobile UX engineer at Hornblower, a cruise industry leader, I led the design and implementation of the "Passport Verification" feature. Through extensive research and problem-solving, I focused on interaction design, user flow, wireframing, and prototyping.
This feature achieved a significant 60% reduction in operational time, improving service efficiency for cruise members globally. Initially launched on the Niagara Falls line, impacting 2.4 million annual passengers, it expanded successfully to cruise lines across 10+ countries.
Over a rigorous two-month development cycle, I utilized industry-standard tools like Figma, Sketch, and iOS Swift UIKit to ensure a seamless and intuitive user experience.
Project Background:
In 2021, the process of passport verification for cruises to Niagara Falls became increasingly cumbersome, especially with the surge in post-pandemic tourism. This challenge highlighted the need for an efficient solution to streamline check-in procedures and enhance passengers experiences.
My Role and Contribution:
As the sole UX engineer, I spearheaded the development of a passport scan and verify feature for our flagship SaaS app. Leveraging iPad devices, I focused on creating a user-friendly and efficient solution to accommodate millions of cruise passengers.
Project Goals:
Our primary goal was to seamlessly integrate this feature to significantly improve user experience and satisfaction. This initiative not only addressed the immediate needs of our users but also aligned with our broader business objectives of enhancing operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Why is passport verification during cruise travel so challenging and inefficient?
Manual passport verification and data entry are time-consuming
Outdated kiosks make tasks hard to complete
Manual entry increase mistakes leading to delays and inaccuracies.
DISCOVERY & ANALYSIS
Business Metrics
🚢 2.4 million passengers annually for Niagara City Cruises.
😊 460 passengers per cruise.
😩 Yet 7 minutes could be wasted on passport verification per passenger.
😅 3% of last-minute walk-in require manual input.
I spotted an opportunity to address this frustration!
Understand Users
To develop an effective passport verification system, I conducted comprehensive user research and interviewed 6 members from each group: ticket agents, crew members, managers, passengers with kids, and passengers with special needs. This research helped me understand their unique challenges and requirements, laying the groundwork for a user-centered solution.
Primary Users:
Secondary Users:
Empathize personalized experiences of user pain points
I use journey maps to see things from the user's perspective. By mapping out each step from submission to boarding, I find where we can improve and spot opportunities. This helps us make decisions that prioritize the user and brings everyone on the team together through collaborative discussions.
Based on what users have shared, I've gathered impactful insights that can help organizations design better experiences:
Keep It Simple
Simplifying the process helps ticket agents reduce stress, handle busy times better, and make everything run smoother
Stay Connected
Real-time updates help crew members coordinate effectively, ensuring timely passenger verification
Speed Up for Families
A fast-track process option for families with kids significantly reduces their wait times, making their experience much better
Personal Needs Matters
Personalized assistance and priority service for passengers with special needs greatly enhance their travel experience
SYNTHEXIZE
Solving problems with clear goals Keeping all these experience and pain points in mind, I decided to follow the mission statement:
“How might we streamline passport verification to reduce stress, enhance coordination, minimize wait times, and ensure a smooth experience for all users?”
Translate impactful insights into Goals
Design Goal: Enhance user satisfaction by streamlining verification and reducing errors.
Simplifying the process reduces stress for ticket agents, improves handling during busy times, and ensures smoother operations
- Specific: Focus on creating a user-friendly interface that minimizes manual data entry and errors.
- Measurable: Aim to reduce the average time for passport verification by 20%.
- Achievable: Leverage existing technology and user feedback to inform the design.
- Timeline: Achieve these improvements within the next 2 months.
Business Goal: Increase operational efficiency and cut costs linked to verification delays.
- Specific: Boost operational efficiency by cutting verification time.
- Measurable: Reduce verification-related costs by 30%.
- Achievable: Implement a streamlined process and update kiosks.
- Relevant: Align with goals to improve customer satisfaction and reduce costs.
- Timeline: Implement and measure impact within 3 months, launching for client testing.
IDEATION & DESIGN
Compile functions independently I used a basic OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software development kit for iOS, keeping budget in mind. The kit only provided basic camera functionality without an interface. So, I got to design and build the entire workflow and interface myself, which was great because I had full control over the design!
From competitor research with Passport OCR technology. I had camped up the initial feature flow with the scan and edit functions.
I found that some flows are redundant. I want to boost efficiency when there’s a need to edit the passport information while verifying it.
This feature should 1. Accurate scanning of passport information using the iPod camera 2. surpassing the limitations of amount and location inflexibility with computers and kiosks. 3. maximizing accessibility across various locations on a cruise. To ensure a seamless user experience for both crew members and passengers.
Our analysis allowed us to map the user journey comprehensively, identifying opportunities for improvement:
- Streamlining User Flow: Our research informed a streamlined passport information input process, reducing the steps involved and making it more user-friendly.
- Implementing Passport Scanning: Recognizing the value of passport scanning, we incorporated this feature to expedite data input and minimize errors.
- Enhancing Mobile Responsiveness: Prioritizing mobile optimization, we ensured a seamless experience on all devices, which was validated through testing across various smartphones and tablets.
Efficiency impact:
- Data Entry Errors: Manual passport input increases the risk of errors, potentially compromising security.
- Longer Processing Times: Manual input leads to extended wait times, frustrating passengers.
- Customer Satisfaction Impact: The overall experience suffers, impacting customer satisfaction negatively.
Wireframe and Prototype
We created wireframes and interactive prototypes to visualize and validate the passport scanning feature. These mockups allowed us to communicate our design concept visually and refine the user experience. Key design changes included:
- A streamlined process with fewer steps, as validated through five rounds of prototype testing.
- The integration of a passport scanning feature with high-fidelity prototypes, which were tested and iterated upon based on user feedback.
- Mobile-responsive design with touch-friendly elements to ensure consistency across devices.
Finalize
In the finalization phase, we collected feedback from users and crew members. We conducted usability testing to validate the feature's effectiveness. This feedback allowed us to make necessary adjustments and finalize the design of the passport scanning feature. Key steps in the finalization process included:
- Usability Testing: Usability testing involved 50 participants from our target audience, allowing us to fine-tune the feature and address any lingering usability concerns.
- Stakeholder Feedback: We engaged with crew members, stakeholders, and development teams, gathering their input to ensure that the feature aligned with business goals and was technically feasible.
- Technical Implementation: The development team worked diligently to implement the new feature, ensuring it performed efficiently and integrated seamlessly with the existing app. The solution was thoroughly tested and optimized for performance, security, and scalability.
FINAL OUTCOME
60% 10+
Boost Efficiency Countries Worldwide
Anchor is a versatile ticketing and cloud-based operating system, primarily designed for Hornblower, the world's largest cruise excursion provider. This system boasts over 700 features, from augmented reality guide, and dynamic pricing to B2B portal and Salesforce integration. Since its inception in 2020, Anchor has processed over $1 billion in transactions.
I owned and led the design strategy of the Passport OCR feature, enabling the recognition of passport text and its conversion into a digital format for seamless cloud data matching via our API. Furthermore, I played a pivotal role in shaping the process of character recognition, information matching, and input, which were vital in addressing scalability challenges during the post-pandemic tourism surges.
This achievement translated into a remarkable 60% improvement in check-in and onboarding efficiency. Additionally, it earned us a prestigious industry award for delivering a unique and tailor-made experiential solution. Furthermore, my contributions to engineering and product design garnered the honor of presenting the product launch at a global channel keynote, a testament to Anchor's commitment to innovation and excellence.
If you would like to learn more about the complete design process, please contact me.
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