AIRPORT EXPERIENCE JOURNEY MAP

Being at an airport is always an experience in itself.

An airport experience is complex, in part because it typically cuts across divisions, departments, functions, authorities and companies. Consider a common process such as filing a

retrieve a boarding pass at a terminal. The situation may involve multiple functions, such

as airline representatives, web services, baggage handlers, TSA, and airport security. Each has a different purpose and set of success metrics that lend to the overall experience and outcome. The best customer experiences typically comes when a company can act as a single seamless

entity across the different steps of customer involvement. Airports, and air travel in general is a complicated system, so we took to a journey map as a tool to help visualize and

evaluate the customer experience from the customer’s point of view.

Two hours of questioning and storytelling with intermittent spells of analysis informed one customer journey map. The process was incredibly draining and we barely had any idea of what to do or how the results would inform us. TRUST THE PROCESS! My story led to an entire whitboard filled with colorful notes, insights, tools, and interactions related to my journey.

TAKEAWAYS

An experience map is the key to demonstrating the interconnectedness of an experience between customers and businesses with emotions, feelings, tools, and interactions.

We quickly identified opportunities and areas for improvement that will, in turn, propel design direction. With additional participants we would have identified a general pattern to better inform further research activities and design direction.

Also, plan for plenty of time! These things take forever and require a significant analysis period. And these can be different for each geography based on cultures and personal behavioral patterns. Independent v. Group Traveler.