Redesigning some Wires for Ticketmaster.

At some stage or another we’ve probably all experienced booking tickets on Ticketmaster. Let me say, it’s not the most enjoyable experience. This week I had some extra time on my hands and have attempted to put together some Wires on how I might like to experience booking tickets on mobile.

Research

As an avid concert goer, I decided to take myself through the process of booking some Rodriguez tickets.

I split the booking process into 3 tasks that I needed to complete before I handed over my personal details and decided to make the booking.

• When and where is he playing ?
• How much are the tickets ?
• Find the seating area of tickets at varying price levels. (I’ll probably just choose the cheapest, but I need to know this)

When & Where is he playing ?

Well done Ticketmaster. I had no trouble completing this first task. Date and venue was clear and easy to understand.

Ticket Pricing & Charging

Ticket price range is clear. However, what I will actually be charged is not. There seems to be some extra charges, this is fine but I’m working towards a budget. I don’t want any surprises at the end of the process when I’m about to hand over my cc details and notice extra fees. The total cost price is not clear, I’m a little confused.

Find the seating area of tickets at varying price levels.

It’s unclear to what the difference in ticket price will get you. Where will I be seated for that price ? Nothing matches up to the seat map at this stage.

I really don’t want to be allocated any tickets until I understand the area that I’ll be seated in.

Pain Points

• I have many different ways I can search for tickets. Thank you so much ticketmaster. So many options. I feel like i’m searching for treasure. Just tell me what tickets have sold out and what tickets are available. This is what I need.
• Yay! you’ve given me two available tickets. The map is hidden underneath a “Total” sign but you’ve cut the map off this time. I can’t see what area I will be seated in. I just noticed then If I turn my phone on it’s side to landscape more is revealed!
• Got my tickets…not quite. I have to register or login before I can book these tickets. There’s now a countdown timer on this page that indicates I’ve got 5 mins. 5 mins for what ? to register ? to enter everything in ? to get my cc details ready and enter them ? I haven’t got long. I need to get cracking!

I needed to have a pen and paper handy to take notes on what tickets were available, how much they would be and where I would be seated. I would then return to the find tickets page and search again hoping to achieve a different result. Once I knew what tickets were available I feel like I can then proceed to the next stage to book.

Proposed Task Flow for Booking Tickets

From insights gathered and the pain points that were identified along the way, here is the proposed task flow. It’s quite simple really. The key focus here was complete visibility, nothing hidden or tucked away.

Page 1. Event Summary Give me all the information I need to know about the event so there are no surprises along the way.

Page 2. Select Your Ticket Ticketing summary of tickets available and not available (sold out)

Page 3. Your info and payment I want to be able to purchase tickets and provide my details without having to login or create an account. We can do this at some other stage.

Page 4. Confirmation Transaction done !

Sketching and Wires

Armed with a new improved task flow. I now have exactly what I need to wireframe this baby and solved the arduous problem of booking tickets with yours truly.

In conclusion.

I also see a lot of opportunity to improve the experience of users being able to select their seats and see where their friends are sitting.

Wireframing is a great tool to go out there and test the waters. Putting some wires in front of a client or user to see how they react and respond to the problems you are trying to solve is key here. A useful tool to help start a dialogue and hopefully move towards more user-centric design.

Please feel free to give me any feedback and click through the wireframe below :)

Feedback.

• With the current wires there may be some issues regarding accessibility in particular page 2 with the colour coded seating map
• The hamburger menu would be best suited on right hand side to enable easier access to majority or right handers out there.
• Some of the touch targets could be larger ie delivery method, so it’s easier for users to hit
• Info and Payment screen would only expand to enter personal details only if you continued without logging in.
• There is a lost opportunity on the confirmation screen to get the user to create and account as you already have their details.

Next iteration to come stay tuned…