IRCTC Circular ticket booking

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By Puneeta Jaitely Circular Journey tickets A platform for booking Indian Railways ‘Circular Journey’ tickets

Transcript of IRCTC Circular ticket booking

Page 1: IRCTC Circular ticket booking

By Puneeta Jaitely

Circular Journey ticketsA platform for booking Indian Railways ‘Circular Journey’ tickets

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Design an application for booking Indian Railways ‘Circular Journey’ tickets

PROBLEM STATEMENT

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SYNTHESISANALYSIS

RESEARCH Design

Understand Make

Abst

ract

Real

Obse

rvat

ions

Principles

Plan

Tests

1Sense intent

Know Context

Know People

Frame InsightsExplore concepts

Frame solutions

Iterate

DESIGN PROCESS A nonlinear and iterative process

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SENSE INTENTLets consider the changing world around us

Where is the world moving? In which area of people’s changing life patterns will our innovation fit in? Studied the trends causing change in the current travel ecosystem - technology, business, culture, people, markets, and the economy.

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• What is a circular journey?

• Who will benefit?

• How to book?

• The Cost Chart

• How much money you can save?

• Compared cost break down of travel without circular journey and with circular journey

• Circular Journey Tickets - Basic Rules

• Process of applying

POPULAR MEDIA SCANA broad look at what is published and broadcasted in popular media

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MIND MAP

Circular journey ticket

Complicated

Lengthy process (7-8 days)

Tourists

Group

Pilgrimage

Businessmen

travellers

Long booking process

reservation is done from

starting station

Station cannot be repeated

twice

Validity cannot be extended

Minimum Fare charged on 3000km

Disadvantages

Advantages

Travel flexibility

Customise routes

Standard routes

Maximum 8 breaks

later apply for refundCancel full

ticket & apply again

Cancel

Manual process

Application to CRM

Reservation office

Show Itinerary

Meet DRM

Application

Not Clear

Fix route & fare

Approval

Meet Station manager

Purchase CJT

Stand in Queue

Manual

Info not availableForums

discuss confusion

Not available online

Booking

Used it for understanding & inspiration and to guide my activities for deeper exploration.

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Personal interaction with the agent at the booking window No technology used, may be a phone call

Few people have shifted from offline to online media with internet being easily accessible

Mobile influences consumer choice in every travel planning process

Heavily relay on trains being the main mode of transport

Travel as a luxury, family travel, local travel nearby places, pilgrims

Train still remains to an important source of travel people have started opting for flights to save time and hassle

Train still remains to an important source of travel people have started opting for flights to save time and hassle

Travel in routine Travel as an escape from the mundane lifestyle, unusual destinations, want to decide destination on their own.

Homogeneous/ alike/ same kind culture

Hybrid culture, globalisation, urbanisation, hassle of travel

Less culture differences, more comfortable with other parts of the world culture.

Personal interaction with the travel agent/booking counter, holiday packages, or booking trains and hotels separately

Online travel, book packages online, make your itinerary online.

Make your own packages, pick what you like, flexibility while booking, mobile usage, well connected personal network to manage your stay

TREND MATRIXChanges happening today that lead to future direction

Formerly Currently Emerging

Technology

Market

People

Culture

Business

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• Once the booking is done the reservation process is complete there are no post reservation services.

• Passenger has to travel in same class for the entire circular journey

• After reservation if you plan to cancel your trip there will be no refund.

• Number of travellers and class will not be changed at any leg of the journey

• Following are the assumption I made while working on the assignment

ASSUMPTIONS

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From ToTrend

Experience

System

Process

Going to the booking office of the station where you want to start your journey

Reshaping the customer journey by making it simple, easy and fast.

Cater to needs of the consumer wherever they are

Circular manner travel route with fixed route mostly, going to the station and manually filling up the form to making reservations

A platform to plan and book on your own

4-7 days process, old school, time consuming

Online booking, planning itinerary, digital & Mobile driven

Online forums for info,Social networking, People shifting to online media with internet being easily accessible.

Reduce time of process followed presently

FROM…..TO EXPLORATION

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Circular Journey TicketA platform for booking Indian Railways ‘Circular Journey’ tickets

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SWOT ANALYSISEvaluating products strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

• Rates lower than regular point to point fare • It is convenient and easy. • Rail travel is first choice in India. • Good for people traveling to multi destinations - long trips +

multiple stops. • Saves time and inconvenience of booking tickets for each day

of the journey. • Planning done in advance so no last minute hassle. • Can be purchased for all classes of travel. • You can have upto 8 break journeys using the tickets.

• Old school. • Time consuming - 4-8 days of processes. • Information for change in schedule and cancellation is not clear. • The form available is very confusing. • Details of fare and route for tickets can only be obtained from

stations. Train information not provided. • Any change in application, the traveler needs to put a new

application. • Information provide online is not sufficient. Don't know where to

start from.

• Support people in their planning and booking process. • Make effective use of social media and online presence. • Tell/Inform people about circular ticket booking. • Handy information to the customers where ever and whenever needed

- Train schedule /itinerary etc. • Introducing new methods of booking using latest technology available. • Provide person to person assistance when required. • Connect with the user in the entire planning and booking process. • Reduce the process time. • Improve the paper form and paper ticket experience.

• Not many people know about it - Information gap. • Fully manual in the era of digitisation. • Availability of ticket is not known while making the

circular journey ticket request.

Strength Weaknesses

ThreatsOpportunities

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• People were not aware of this process. • Many thought it was tedious. • Some felt it was actually nice but who would take out

time to visit the station in the age of mobile phone and internet

Insights from the customer interviews

Transfer of confirmed ticket to somebody else?

“Availability of berths will be subject to being available on those trains you choose. Then what’s the use? I don’t want to stand wait listed”

“How difficult is it to get a circular ticket? I mean does it requires lot of documentation and do I need to spend lot of time with the Station master”?

“Can one of the station be repeated? Say for going to Jammu, we need to pass through Delhi both on the way ahead and back. You see the process is not clear”

“What has to be the maximum time limit of the journey?? Can I travel through north to south of india and have a ticket valid for almost 2 months?

User interviews

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FRAME INSIGHTSExtracting key insights and converging to principles

Distill research into handful of key insights, and then turn them into concise, actionable principles.

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USER JOURNEY MAP(Circular Journey Ticket)Mapping the user journey through the context

CJT BOOKINGStages Inquiry/ planning Itinerary Reservation Post booking/pre travel Travel Post travel

DOING Research CJT rules, Process, destinations, routes, breaks & trains

IRCT websites

CJT web forums/blogs

Google search

Family & Friends

Process

CJT rules

time tables

Routes

Destination pages

Rate charts

Train list IRCTC enquiry

Stations

Preparing Itinerary

Divisional Commercial Manager

Station manager

IRCTC

ONLINE

Discussions

Calling

Approval

Purchase CJT

Reservation officeBook

Train

Plan activities

Online

Cancel/ add days/reduce

Call

Search stay

Add station

Reservation status

Train route selection

ticket availability per leg

Accommodation Itinerary tweaking

Thinking

Feeling

Experience

• I have doubts where should I go?• Where do i want to go• How much time should I spend at each

leg of the journey

• I want to ensure I am saving money

• How much will the entire trip cost me

• Where am I going to stay?

Scope of work limited only till the booking due to time limitations

Opportunities

• What if i don’t get a confirmed reservation at each leg of journey

• An issue has come up where do i get the answer from

• The enquiry people don’t answer the phone

• What if my waiting list ticket is not confirmed during my journey who is going to help?

• I don’t want to make a wrong choice• Will I be able to cover everything i want to

during the my stay at each destination?

• Keeping track of so many things together is tedious.

• Not sure if i will clear the wait list

• Stressed that I am about to leave for a trip• Confused while dealing the booking process• Happy that my entire journey is planned and reservations are

in place

Tedious, time consuming Lacks clarity

Communicate a clear value proposition

Make your user into better, more savvy travellers

Help people get the support they need

Support people in creating their own solutions

Enable people to plan over time.

Connect planning,Booking together

Take the process online

Arm the customer with information for decision making

Communicate status clearly at all times

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• Availability of berths will be subject to being available on those trains you choose

• You have to prepare your itinerary in circular type. Say from NDLS-JP-BCT-MAS- HWH-NDLS

• A traveler can go to many places with only eight break journeys in between.

• One must prepare the itinerary and approach the authorities for a circular ticket journey

• There are standard circular journey itinerary available to choses from in case you don’t have your own itinerary

• Planning and booking go hand in hand

• People are coming online to to get information about the tour they are planning but itinerary is prepared offline

• Some people mainly business traveler would prefer staying closer to the railway station throughout the journey

• People would prefer staying closer to the railway station throughout the journey

• People likely arrive with a particular intention but don’t know how to proceed further

INSIGHTSSorting insights to find cluster and hierarchies

• If the system offers a simple and useful experience to the user the brand value of indian railway would increase and user would come back again and also refer to other people

• The traveler needs maximum flexibility from the system.

• System should give traveler maximum flexibility.

• Communicate a clear value proposition

• Make your user into better, more savvy travellers

• Help people get the support they need

• Support people in creating their own solutions

• Enable people to plan over time.

• Take the process online

• Arm the customer with information for decision making

• Communicate status clearly at all times

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DESIGN PRINCIPLE GENERATION

01Help travellers book Circular journey ticket hassle free

02 Intuitive and easy to understand process

03 Offer a more cohesive booking experience.

04

05 Considering where the travellers and system’s goals intersect

Support discovery and decision making

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EXPLORE CONCEPTSInto the world of possibilities

Exploring concepts is to be creative and open to new ideas and ways of thinking, keeping in mind human centred and concept driven principles for success.

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He lives in Delhi with his wife two kids and parents. He uses Leave Travel Concession (LTC) every year during his kids summer vacation and goes for 10-15 days tour. He is aware of Circular Journey tickets as he has conducted tours for his school children using this service and he finds it easy to travel like this since he is travel with senior citizens and kids Travel goals

PERSONA DEFINITIONDefining user personality for exploring concepts around them

Chander PrakashAttributes: Leisure, Family, Budget, pilgrimage, Group

Personal details:

Wants to plan his trip effectively and make travel arrangement without hassle and in budget

Wants his family to have the best vacation possible

He should be able build his itinerary with the best and shortest route possible

This year on his parents suggestion he is planning a trip to all the temples in South. and following is his travel itinerary : New Delhi Chennai Central (via Vriddhachalam) – Rameshwaram – Madurai – Tirunelveli – Kanya Kumari – Thiruvanthapuram Central – Udagamandalam (via Bangalore City) – Hyderabad Deccan – New Delhi (Valid for 52 days)

Age: 42 Occupation: Government School teacher Location: Delhi

Background:

Tech Comfort:Medium Phone: Smart phone

“I am travelling with senior citizens & kids so I want a hassle free travel arrangement”

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He lives in Amritsar and owns a garments store. He frequently travels to various places in and around Delhi, Gujarat and Mumbai to pick up orders or material for his store. His route is generally fixed since he goes to these places at least once in 2-3 months. His tour is normally from 8-15 days.

PERSONA DEFINITIONDefining user personality for exploring concepts around them

Manjeet KaurAttributes: Limited time, Business, Budget, Group, Solo, Frequently, lower tier

Personal details:Age: 35 Occupation: Businessman Location: Amritsar

Background:

Tech Comfort: Advance Phone: Smart phone

“ I keep travelling for work and I look for an all in one travel solution ”

Travel goals Doesn’t want to spend to much on transportation. Usually in a rush wants his railway booking done without hassle He wants travel choices and tools that make it as easy as possible for him to focus on business objectives and get the job done.

He books his own tickets and sometimes in case of urgency asks a Travel agent to do it for him.

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Make it Social Enhance the experiences with social

components, thereby driving loyalty, and referral business.

Intelligent Assistance Answer a few quick questions and you get a customised list of options to choose from.

A train booking site’s role evolving into trusted advisor, incorporating all sorts of information related to the trip at hand.

Imagine stunning high-definition images paired with insightful, useful information about the

various destinations you’re considering.

IDEATION

Aware Let’s offer the best possible prices in real-time, based on the user’s location and preferences.

Cross-Channel User Experience

User needs Flexible search function based on the

user’s specific needs

Suggestions People have an intent when they come online. we can use that intent and encourage them to explore by suggesting relevant options they otherwise wouldn’t have considered

Organising data based on users current location thus making booking process more pleasant

Multi city planning Giving user a better experience by

allowing them to enter multi city itinerary

Interactive map A map that shows the destinations, time of

arrival, departure, No of stops etc. will be interesting

Help on time When the train is delayed or cancelled, last minute platform changes, seat and berth no, PNR status ect can be presented in a clean, clear way with maximum utility

Intuitive filters Easily filter your results by various criteria

Compare and purchase Make your own itinerary and compare it

with an existing one and purchase the one that best suits your needs

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Insights Principles individual System Strategy

Partnership: Hotels are key to almost any journey where train is required. Including the hotel industry would give a more unified booking experience.

Offer a more cohesive booking experience.

Considering where the travellers and system’s goals intersect

Make it Social It’s high time modern airline sites get onboard and enhance their experiences with social components, thereby driving loyalty, and referral business.

CONCEPT GENERATION MATRIXGenerating a comprehensive and well grounded set of concepts based on research insights

Advisor A train booking site’s role evolving into trusted advisor, incorporating all sorts of information related to the trip at hand.

Support discovery and decision making

Intelligent Assistance On answering few quick questions user gets a customised list of options to choose from just like the enquiry agent would suggest.

Endless Inspiration It should be way easier to imagine the possibilities, without requiring extra effort from the user.

Intuitive and easy to understand process

High-definition images paired with insightful, useful information about the various destinations you’re considering.

Help travellers book Circular journey ticket hassle free

Aware Let’s offer the best possible prices in real-time, based on the user’s location and preferences.

Brand value If the website offers a simple and useful experience to the user the brand value of indian railway would increase and user would come back again and also refer to other people

Suggestions People have an intent when they come online. we can use that intent and encourage them to explore by suggesting relevant options they otherwise wouldn’t have considered

Planning and booking go hand in hand

People are coming online to to get information about the tour they are planning but itinerary is prepared offline

The traveler needs maximum flexibility from the system.

Users interact with organisation through many channels, including the web, email, mobile and tablet, online chat,/forums, visiting physical locations and speaking with a person.

Cross-Channel User Experience A train booking site’s role evolving into trusted advisor, incorporating all sorts of information related to the trip at hand.

Interactive map A map that shows the destinations, time of arrival, departure, No of stops etc. will be interesting

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Shortlist and share

CONCEPT SCENARIOS SKETCH

Universal platform

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CONCEPT SCENARIO SKETCH

Interactive map

loyalty, and referral

Brand value • A simple and useful experience to

the user • loyalty, and referral

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CONCEPT SCENARIO SKETCH

Search Cross channel experience

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FRAMING SOLUTIONSInto the world of possibilities

Challenging assumptions Exploring concepts / ideas most relevant to the insights yet paying attention to the larger picture, generating concepts and communicating those through effective storytelling.

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INFORMATION ARCHITECTURELevel 1- Home to search result

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INFORMATION ARCHITECTURELevel 2- Login, PAX popover & Reservation flow

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INFORMATION ARCHITECTURELevel 3-Review, Payment, Confirmation

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SOLUTION WIREFRAME #1Paper mocks for the web solution

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SOLUTION WIREFRAME #1Tried many variations of the concepts

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SOLUTION WIREFRAME #1Login screens

Contd…

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SOLUTION WIREFRAME #1Home screens

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DETAILED USER FLOW SCREENLorem ipsum

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HOME -Enter Starting city

Tap on Text field and start writing your starting city

You would get suggestion of cities. You can also type railway codes for diff cities

New Delhi (NDLS)

New Delhi (All Stations)

Mumbai (BST)

Mumbai (CST)

Secunderabad (SC)

Goa (GOI)

New Delhi (NDLS)

New Delhi (All Stations)

Mumbai (BST)

Mumbai (CST)

Secunderabad (SC)

Goa (GOI)

Secunderabad (SC)

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SEARCH RESULT - Choose your favourite route, starting city,

Change starting city by taping on heading in the title bar.

On tapping the floating action button you have one tap access to getting yourself support

Change city would appear on an overlay. when you close it you go back to the routes screen

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SUPPORT - Live chat or query support

You can go for live chat for an answers to your queries

Or leave a query and a person from callcentre would get in touch with you

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FILTERS - Refine zones, Duration, No, of days, Cities

Filters will be based on zones, different zones will have different routes so it becomes easy to filter what you exactly want like this

Choose the cities that you definitely want in your route

Choose the cities that you definitely want in your route

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No result found

When you don’t get any result for a city that you have entered it will show you an error state and indicate start a fresh search

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SHORTLIST- Keep aside the routes you liked

Favourite the routes that you liked or share them with friends instantly

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RESERVATION

Tap on any route it will take you to the reservation process

Before reservation we have a halt where you plan your dates and class preferences. This will help the system to fetch a tentative price for you

Doing this enables the system to auto pick one train for each individual leg based on the shortest duration and availability at that time.

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RESERVATION FLOW

Even after auto select you still have an option to check the other available options. There is also a vision representation of your route on the map. This helps in keeping a track on where you are while booking individual legs

Select a different train from here once you select a new train the total price might change

Before proceeding to payments once again check what you did so far

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REVIEW AND PAYMENTS

Once you enter payment flow you will see three step process-1) enter traveler details, move to payment and booking confirmation

After filling your card details you will be moving to payment gateway

When the payment is made you will be redirected to the confirmation screen. go back to home or move to manage bookings

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Visual design screen

Tried to keep is visually enticing by using stunning high-definition images paired with insightful, useful information.

Usage of map that will show individual leg , time of arrival, departure, No of stops etc.

Usage of map that will show individual leg , time of arrival, departure, No of stops etc.

Making it a universal platform experience- Use it on both mobile and desktop for a cross channel user experience

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VISUAL DESIGNLorem ipsum

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VISUAL DESIGNLorem ipsum

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