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Amtrak Train Status & Ticket Modification 

For this case study, I focused on improving two different areas within the Amtrak app. I developed problem statements for both areas of improvement, and I worked on both designs in tandem. Items correlating to the ticket modification problem statement are color coded in light blue, and items correlating to the train status problem statement are color coded in dark blue. 

Individual Project 

Completed at MICA | 2023

Defining the Problem

Ticket Modification

Currently Amtrak customers have no way to modify their trip within the mobile app. Providing customers the ability to modify their reservation in the app will reduce the amount of time required to make travel changes and give customers more control over their travel experience.

Train Status

Currently Amtrak customers have no way to check train status without re-entering their train information or request updates on the status of their train after booking. Providing access to train status for existing reservations and optional notification updates will allow users to plan and manage their travel experience more effectively.

Who are we designing for?

User Stories

I transitioned my problem statements into statements from the perspective of a user to begin to focus on specific user needs and motivations.

As an Amtrak customer, I want to be able to modify my reservation within the mobile app so I can make adjustments to my travel without having to speak to an Amtrak representative.

As an Amtrak customer, I want to be able to check and receive updates on the status of my train so I can plan my schedule while traveling.

Proto-Personas

Based on my user stories, I created a proto-persona for each respective problem statement to illustrate the behaviors, wants, and needs of the user base.

The Spontaneous Traveler

  • 20-55 years old

  • Single/Married/Has A Partner

  • Frequent Traveler

Behaviors

  • Enjoys traveling to visit loved ones and planning spontaneous trips.

  • Does not like to speak to customer service agents, prefers self-serve resources to book and modify travel arrangements.

  • Has a busy and ever-changing schedule.

Wants/Needs

  • To be able to modify their trip departure/arrival dates and times.

  • To be able to update travel details after purchasing a ticket.

  • To avoid having to speak to a customer service agent to make travel modifications.

The Seasoned Traveler

  • 20-65 years old

  • Single/Married/Has A Partner

  • Frequent Traveler/Train Commuter

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Behaviors

  • Frequently travels or commutes by train.

  • Detail oriented - likes to plan out travel itineraries and schedules.

  • Has a busy schedule and values efficiency - likes to try to get ahead of travel delays and cancellations.

Wants/Needs

  • To be able to modify their trip departure/arrival dates and times.

  • To be able to update travel details after purchasing a ticket.

  • To avoid having to speak to a customer service agent to make travel modifications.

User Journey

Journey Mapping

Referencing the existing Amtrak app for consistency, I created these new user flows with my proposed changes to help guide my prototyping.

Ticket Modification User Flow

Train Status User Flow

Prototyping

Wireframing

I evolved my prototype from wireframe sketches to a mid-fidelity, clickable prototype to use in my usability test sessions.

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Sketches

Trip Tools Menu.png
Train Status4.png
Notification Preferences.png

Low-Fidelity

Screenshot 2023-10-14 173508.png
Train Status.png
Notification Preferences3.png

Mid-Fidelity

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Sketches

Existing Tickets4.png
Edit Travel Details.png
Select New Train.png

Low-Fidelity

Existing Tickets3.png
Edit Departure Details3.png
Select New Departure Train3.png

Mid-Fidelity

Usability Testing

Round 1

During my first round of testing, I validated the addition of train-specific status monitoring, train status notifications, and in-app ticket modification with all test participants saying they would use these tools.

5

Candidates

60%

Female

28-56

Years Old

80%

Amtrak Users

100%

Previously Booked Travel Online

Ticket Modification Learnings

Summary

  • 80% of participants easily found the trip modification tool under the “trip tools” menu.

  • 80% of participants were unclear on how to change the time of their train.

  • All participants were unclear that you have to click on a class of ticket in order to select a ticket to add to your cart.

Recommendations

  • Experiment with increasing the clickable area within certain interactions to reduce confusion.

  • Experiment with reordering steps within the train selection process.

  • Experiment with allowing users to click directly on certain icons/sections of the ticket to make the corresponding adjustments.

“I would hate to call Amtrak, I would much rather use the app to modify my reservation.”

Train Status Learnings

Summary

  • All participants confirmed that they would use the app to check the status of their train and enable status notifications.

  • All participants were confused by the “trip tools” and “details” buttons.

  • 40% of participants were confused by the train status timeline visual.

Recommendations

  • Experiment with re-wording and re-organizing the “trip tools” and “details” menus.

  • Experiment with adding additional notification options (ex. cancellations).

  • Experiment with visually updating the status timeline to make it more legible.

“If I’m doing any type of traveling I always enable status notifications.”

Round 2

During my second round of testing, I validated the functionality of my proposed changes for train-specific status monitoring, train status notifications, and in-app ticket modification.

3

Candidates

66%

Female

34-55

Years Old

100%

Amtrak Users

100%

Previously Booked Travel Online

Ticket Modification Learnings

Summary

  • As compared to the first round of testing, candidates required less prompting to complete the ticket modification process.

  • Similar to the first round, there was some confusion over not being able to input a time in order to search for trains.

  • There was some confusion over which ticket had been modified within the round-trip ticket interface.

Recommendations

  • Experiment with adding time filters to the train search page.

  • Improve the clarity of the train modification flow so that it’s easier to tell which ticket(s) in a round trip have been modified.

  • Experiment with visually differentiating the ticket cards more so it’s clear they are for separate trips/segments.

“The screens came at me in a logical manner and were well paced so I didn't feel overwhelmed.”

Train Status Learnings

Summary

  • Since updating the location of the status button, all candidates were successfully able to check the status of their train.

  • Similar to the first round of testing, there was still some confusion over the timeline visual on the status page.

  • All candidates easily located and enabled status notifications for their trip and appreciated the addition of optional text updates.

Recommendations

  • Improve the status timeline visual to give it more directionality and improve legibility.

  • Experiment with adding basic train status within the ticket itself.

  • Experiment with adding the option to share your train status with someone else.

“[The notification preferences] functioned just like I expected them to and were easy to understand.”

Visual Design

Style Guide

Drawing from Amtrak's existing mobile app, I created this design sheet to reference as I moved into high-fidelity prototyping to stay true to the Amtrak design language.

Design System_edited.jpg

Final Prototypes

In-App Ticket Modification

Rather than having to call customer service to alter a reservation, this flow provides a self-service way to make changes to an existing ticket. 

Train Status & Notification Preferences

Based on feedback from my user testing, I reworked the option buttons on the ticket card itself to provide a more direct route to view train status. I also added a notification preferences screen for train status updates.

Active Trip Status Shortcut

Within the existing status section of the app, I created a shortcut to view the status of an active trip so that users would not have to re-enter their trip data.

Impact

Before & After

A comparison of the existing ticket modification and train status options with my proposed updates based on user feedback.

Before: Ticket Modification

  • User testing revealed that users could not easily distinguish between the functionality of the "Details" menu and the "Trip Tools" menu.

  • The "Trip Tools" menu presents users with an excess of options.

  • The only way to modify a ticket is by calling Amtrak.

BeforeTicketMod.png

After: Ticket Modification

  • Reworking the button options to "View Status," "Modify Trip," and "Trip Tools" reduced confusion among the users tested.

  • 100% of users tested preferred the self-serve ticket modification option over calling Amtrak to alter a reservation.

AfterTicketMod.png

Before: Train Status

  • Users have to re-enter all of their train details to search for its status.

  • Once the search results populate, users have to sort through and find their specific train.

  • The current train status display only shows the scheduled arrival time and gives no indication of progress between station stops.

BeforeStatus.png

After: Train Status

  • Addition of "View Status" shortcut on the ticket itself.

  • When accessing the status page in the lower menu, users are provided a shortcut to view the status of any active trips.

  • The train status page provides detailed arrival and departure times for each stop as well as the train's progress between stops.
  • Addition of notification preferences page.
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