In each of my jobs, I often heard that users were at the center of our work, yet we didn’t conduct any research or testing at design agencies. I thought this was just how things were done, but I always felt that our designs were based only on assumptions. At my last job, I discovered that we had a UX lab, and I participated in remote user testing. This experience made me think deeply about the real value of user research. It sparked my desire to conduct user interviews myself, as I realized they could significantly enhance design solutions.
In 2021, I relocated to Finland because my husband received a job offer there. I saw this as a great opportunity to expand my skillset with research skills and update my portfolio. I hadn’t worked abroad before and wanted to ensure I met the industry standards. I remembered Alexey, a great UX designer who was teaching me from the beginning of my career. Before moving, I had reconnected with him, inviting him to speak to my team about his expertise. I began mentorship under him, hoping to learn how to conduct meaningful user research.
After relocating, I discovered the world of travel, where I could explore new places, languages, and cultures. This led me to download several travel apps on my phone. Among the various apps I used, I chose Aviasales — a leading travel search company in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
I was initially scared that I wouldn’t find people to conduct the research. But I was so surprised when I managed to gather 10 active users of the app, their willingness to share their experiences taught me a valuable lesson — people want to be listened! Alexey conducted the first interview while I observed, and I was amazed at how insightful it was. The respondent had deep knowledge as an app user and provided valuable feedback.
After relocating, I discovered the world of travel, where I could explore new places, languages, and cultures. This led me to download several travel apps on my phone. Among the various apps I used, I chose Aviasales — a leading travel search company in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
I was initially scared that I wouldn’t find people to conduct the research. But I was so surprised when I managed to gather 10 active users of the app, their willingness to share their experiences taught me a valuable lesson — people want to be listened! Alexey conducted the first interview while I observed, and I was amazed at how insightful it was. The respondent had deep knowledge as an app user and provided valuable feedback.
This was one of the greatest learnings from my research journey — user research is a rich source of insights. Participants reveal issues I hadn’t even considered, opening up new possibilities for design. I have gathered 15 problems in the app, and here are the most interesting:
I have chosen 4 issues that are important for business and users. The first 3 has strongly influence the ticket-buying process. The last one could have user retention impact.
It's not clear what happens after clicking on “to buy” button and opening web view of partner’s company. Users leave the Aviasales app and goes to purchase a ticket directly from the found partner’s company.
Solution: To make partnership with companies allowing to make purchasing user flow completly seamless in the app
It is not clear how to choose a one-way ticket. People want to see a button for only one-way ticket when choosing a round-trip ticket
Solutions: to add deleting one-way ticket to continue with one direction / to make dropdown to see one-way ticket options / to add option button for each one direction ticket
On the screen purchase screen, there is a function to select the provider company where the ticket is placed, but this function is invisible
Solutions: to add dropdown with provider's list / to add choosing link to the next page with list of providers / to add additional button for choosing provider / to use the major button for selecting provider company
Signing up the app feels useless. There is not enough individual approach to the user. People want to see a bonus program or recommendations for travelling
Solitions: The clearest approach to solving this problem is to add personalisation for the user. For example, by allowing users to save their document information for auto-filling when buying a ticket. It could be filling the document icon in profile / link to uploading passport information / or progress bar with suggested steps.
If I were working at Aviasales, here’s how I would proceed to ensure the proposed solutions make a meaningful impact:
This mentorship inspired me to dive deeper into the world of user research. It was a pleasure to meet new people during the interviews, and through these interactions, I gained invaluable insights. After conducting my own interviews, I became curious about the process from the other side, so I started participating as a respondent in other researchers’ studies. Through this experience, I also found a client to work on my bachelor’s thesis, but that’s another story…
If you like what you see and want to work together, get in touch!
lucy4design@gmail.com
