Airport Design: Needfinding
Emory CS 485: HCI
The travel experience can be a rollercoaster of emotions, as you balance your excitement for the pending adventure with the stress of navigating an airport. To many, this stressful experience may feel like the inevitable consequence of travel…
But what if the airport experience didn't have to feel like Six Flags for the amygdala? What if we could understand and alleviate the needs of travelers?
In this needfinding study, I examined the perspectives of college students navigating the airport travel experience. Specifically, I interviewed 3 students from universities across the United States to understand how they check-in for travel at the airport.
Why College Students?
Airports serve individuals from every walk of life, as they travel to regions across the world. Because of this highly diverse consumer base, the designer is left with a unique challenge when choosing to understand the end-user.
The Challenge: Every individual user is distinct in their needs and motivations for using the airport.
The 60-year-old couple traveling to vacation in Florida will have vastly different needs compared to the 30-year-old businessman jetting off to another day at work.
It is impossible to design a solution that perfectly meets the needs of all of these individuals, therefore we must take a utilitarian approach. In order to optimize the airport experience for the maximum number of individuals, we must design for the demographic that utilizes airports the most.
According to a study by Statista Research, the demographic that utilizes airports at the greatest frequency is individuals between the ages of 18–29 years.
Furthermore, in this time of lowered leisure travel, many of these 18–29-year-olds are college students who utilize airports to travel to and from school.
So who better to ask about the airport experience?
Why the Check-In Experience?
As the figure above shows, the airport experience is cluttered with different areas/actions that could be optimized to improve the user experience. It’s safe to assume that if a skilled designer optimized any one of these experiences the travel process could be smoother and more enjoyable.
However, several studies from social psychology and behavioral economics point to the importance of first impressions for the facilitation of positive emotional valance. Psychologists refer to this as the Halo Effect.
The halo effect refers to the tendency to allow one specific trait or our overall impression of a person, company or product to positively influence our judgment of their other related traits. (Ayesh Perera)
Given that a single experience can influence the subsequent behaviors, beliefs, and emotions of individuals; we must carefully choose the experience to optimize.
The check-in process is the first step that the user encounters as they embark on their journey through the airport. Therefore, to maximize the positive benefits of the halo effect it is important to better understand the check-in experience.
Needfinding Methodology
I conducted three interviews, to better understand the needs of college students navigating the airport check-in experience. To conduct these interviews I carefully considered three factors:
- who the participants should be
- how I would recruit and engage with them
- what I would ask the participants about their experiences
Participant Selection:
College students who utilize the airport come from a variety of backgrounds with diverse interests and experiences. Therefore, I created selection criteria to best determine the participants for these interviews.
SELECTION CRITERIA
- Recency of Travel: individuals who have traveled using an airport within the past month.
- Enrollment in University Far from Home: individuals who need to utilize airports frequently to travel to university.
- Nationality Status: individuals who represent domestic and international student nationality statuses
I choose these criteria because I wanted to ensure the study encompassed the individuals who would most frequently be utilizing airports for travel. Furthermore, I added selection criteria for nationality status because individuals who belong to these three groups often present different forms of ID to check in when traveling domestically and internationally.
Recruitment Process:
To recruit the individuals for my study I followed a three-step process. First, I identified individuals within communities of college students that fit my search criteria. Second, I reached out to these individuals using text messaging to provide information about the study and determine if they were interested. If they agreed, I gave participants a consent form and established a time for the interview. Lastly, I interviewed all participants via a Zoom video call.
Interview Questions:
To prepare for the interview I created a set of interview questions to guide the conversation. These questions followed a general scheme to focus on broad, specific, and affective.
To engage participants, I asked broad questions that focused on stories. To understand the participants, I asked specific questions that focused on details of actions. And to empathize with participants I asked affective questions that focused on emotions and thoughts.
During the interview, I iterated between these types of questions in response to the participant's level of engagement.
Results and Insights
All participants were deeply engaged in the discussion and shared several key insights about their experiences at the airport.
Participant C.L.
C.L. was a U.S. citizen and a senior at Wellesley College in Boston, Massachusetts. C.L. had recently (1 day prior) taken a flight from her home to her university in Boston.
C.L. described her recent travel experience as stressful. She told the story of how she had expected to be taking a flight at 7:00 am due to the original time-stamp on her ticket, but in the morning she realized it was an hour earlier. But this was just the first of a series of hiccups in the check-in process that would leave her stressed and frustrated.
She went on to describe how her family rushed to drive to the airport. Only to find that upon arrival she had been directed to the wrong terminal for check-in.
I get there and I’m already trying to rush…and run up to put in my confirmation code at the kiosk. But it’s NOT WORKING… After a while they say “Oh you’re actually not supposed to be here. You need to go over there”
Because of this error, she was forced to walk all the way across the airport to find the correct kiosk and booth to check her bags.
Not only did this process further delay her, but it hindered her ability to properly say goodbye to her family.
She described how this feeling of rush and stress remained with her until she sat down at her airport gate.
WHAT WENT WRONG?
I asked C.L. to reflect on the process and the steps she took throughout the check-in. To try to better understand why this experience was negative. The results from our conversation are reflected in the empathy map below:
Key Issues:
- Printed paper tickets did not have the proper time reflected
- Printed paper tickets didn’t show the location for check-in
- Kiosk did not explain the error
- Staff could not direct her to the right location
HOW DOES C.L. FEEL ABOUT THE TRAVEL PROCESS?
I asked C.L. to reflect on her previous experiences with travel and check-in. I asked her about her most memorable travel experience.
C.L. described a feeling of adventure when she traveled with her family a few years before. She recounted how the check-in process in this experience was smooth, but unnoticeable because she was fixated on the excitement radiating from the airport.
She went on to explain how music was a central part of her airport experiences. She recounted how when she traveled she would always play the same song. She explained that this music would help her reflect and prepare for the new adventures that she associated with airport travel.
Reflection:
In speaking with C.L. I was amazed to hear that music and memories played a central role in her airport experience. I began to understand how interruptions in the check-in process distracted her from these adventurous and reflective airport experiences.
Insight 1: It would be groundbreaking if we could create a check-in process that further facilitated this spirit of adventure, excitement, and reflection.
Participant A.H.
A.H. was a dual citizen and a junior at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. A.H. had recently (1 month prior) taken a flight from New York City to his university in Atlanta.
A.H. described his recent travel experience as troublesome and unique. He described how his travel experience started off like any other:
I was planning to get there a few hours early, expecting to wait at the gate maybe an hour. I was planning for a stress free trip with no troubles.
But unfortunately, this was not the case for A.H.
When A.H. arrived at the airport he was shocked to see the “huge line” that had swept across the domestic check-in desks and to the doors of the airport.
He tried to navigate through the line but quickly realized something was not right. He asked the airport staff where he should check-in:
He said to me, “you’re in the right area, it just happens that the security line is mixed up with the baggage drop-off.” So I waited in front of the sign…but the employees weren’t there…
The security line that day was so long that it had interrupted the check-in process for all of the airlines in that section of the airport. To make matters worse, there was no staff from his airline available to help him check his bag.
A.H. had to wait several hours before he could check-in or go through security. As the hours of buffer time that he had reserved for emergencies ticked away, he became stressed and anxious. He began to worry that he would not make his flight.
He went on to describe how this anxiety dominated the rest of his day as he traveled through the airport.
WHAT WENT WRONG?
I asked A.H. to reflect on the process and the steps he took throughout the check-in. The results from our conversation are reflected in the empathy map below:
Key Issues:
- Staff shortage caused a long line at the airport.
- Mobile check-in did not tell him where to go to drop off the bag.
- No staff to help check a bag.
- No feedback about the status of the flight or the line.
HOW DOES A.H. FEEL ABOUT THE TRAVEL PROCESS?
I asked A.H. to reflect on his previous experiences with travel and check-in. I asked him about what emotional value he attaches to the airport.
He described how from a young age he felt airports were “really cool” and exciting because of the diversity of experience and perspective he found in them. He explained how since his first experience with an airport he has felt a sense of adventure when he entered the airport.
However, he explained how now his focus is on checking in, confirming flight times, and being conscious of his belongings. He described how the childlike adventure had faded to anxiety and weariness the more he traveled.
Reflection:
In speaking with A.H. I was amazed to realize that the constant anxiety-inducing stimulus of an airport had degraded his childhood sense of adventure. Through this interview, I began to see how many of the unmet needs for college students like A.H. come from the anxiety associated with unreliable airports.
Insight 2: It would be ground-breaking if we could remove the burden of anxiety to restore the childhood sense of adventure associated with airports
Participant J. B.
J.B. was an international citizen senior at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. J.B. had recently (2 weeks prior) taken a flight from Atlanta to his university in Grand Rapids.
J.B. described his recent travel experience as smooth and simple.
All I remember is that it was pretty smooth…even the checking in was smooth.
However, as the conversation continued he described several processes that were concerning.
J.B. explained how throughout the check-in process he felt he was constantly examining his belongings. J.B. was fixated on ensuring his valuable belongings and important documents were with him and secure.
J.B. revealed that this process of self-examination continued throughout the trip. He revealed that this concern was especially heightened when he interacted with the airport staff.
WHAT WAS GOING ON?
I asked J.B. to elaborate a little more about his thoughts and actions during the check-in process. The results from this discussion are displayed in the empathy map below:
Key Issues:
- Felt the constant pressure to ensure his belongings were secure
- Unsure whether the app had provided all flight informatin
- Worried that staff might request clarification on international student status and documentation
HOW DOES J.B. FEEL ABOUT THE TRAVEL PROCESS?
I asked J.B. to describe his most memorable airport experience.
J.B. described an experience from high school when he travelled with his robotics team to a competition. This experience was memorable to him because the check-in was delayed substantially, causing him to miss his flight and be stranded in the airport with his team.
Interestingly, J.B. described this experience as exciting and adventurous. When describing this experience, he made no mention of the stressors and concerns that he had described for his recent airport experience.
I asked to elaborate on what made this travel and check-in experience different.
I would say it was different because of the responsibility. In that case with my team, I wasn’t responsible. Sure I was tired and had a long week, but I knew that the other adults who were with me would handle the situation… When I travel alone I’m much more cautious and aware.
Reflection:
In speaking with J.B. I was amazed to realize that his anxiety and caution while traveling dissipated when the responsibility shifted away from him. This discussion gave me insights into the responsibilities that college students may be feeling as they travel.
Insight 3: It would be ground-breaking if we could reduce the cognitive load that J.B. feels when he travels alone.
Analysis
These three interviews revealed several fundamental needs of the college student traveler. As I analyzed the results I was amazed to see the similarities between the individuals:
Although each individual had vastly different check-in experiences, the complaints from the three participants touched on many of the same points.
They were all: anxious about time, stressed when approaching airport staff, and had a negative association with the check-in kiosk.
A.H. and C.L. were: frustrated by experiences with airport staff, and unable to locate their check-in location. Furthermore, J.B. and A.H. were both unable to complete their check-in fully online.
It was clear that the check-in experience had not been without pain for any of the participants.
They all also expressed similar emotional responses to these airport experiences.
They expressed feelings of anxiety, stress, excitement, exhaustion. Furthermore, A.H. and C.L. expressed feelings of confusion and frustration.
Emotionally this process of checking in seemed to be very taxing for the participants.
Surprises:
Throughout the process of analysis, I was surprised to find that participants shared a positive affective association with the airport despite the flaws of the check-in process.
Even amidst their difficult experiences, the participants expressed fond memories of previous airport experiences. They expressed a common feeling of adventure and excitement.
Insights:
From these interviews, I gathered three important insights about the needs of the participants.
Insight 1: There is a spirit of adventure, excitement, and reflection associated with traveling through the airport.
Insight 2: The burden of anxiety throughout the check-in process has significantly dimished this feeling of excitement.
Insight 3: It would be ground-breaking if we could reduce the cognitive load that participants feel when they travel to restore this excitement.
Limitations:
Although these insights are exciting and hold the potential to inspire future designs, we must acknowledge the limitations of this study. Namely, the small sample size represented in this study. I sought to mitigate bias by investigating a diverse sample of participants, however, this sample is still too small to be representative of everyone in this demographic. Further work must be done to understand the many other factors that contribute to the needs of individuals in this population.
Conclusion
In this needfinding exercise, I sought to understand how college students experience the check-in process at airports. By interviewing students from different nationalities and backgrounds I gained key insights into the various ways that students interact with airports. This process showcased that the check-in process is stress-inducing, time-consuming, and unpredictable. Furthermore, the technology and staff that mediate this process can be unreliable, and error-prone.
Despite these issues, students still hold onto fond memories about airports and travel. It would be ground-breaking to find a way to further facilitate these positive adventurous experiences while reducing the cognitive load and stress of travel.