A virtual companion for passengers travelling through Riga Airport.
Service:
Service Design
Social Research
Client:
Riga Airport
Riga, Latvia
Year:
2023
Team:
Amnha Mohammad
Judy Trilerdnawakid
Karmen Eller
Tim Schnettker
The Riga International Airport (RIX) was looking for ways to "boost customer experience" along their travel journey. A vague and open brief that challenged to find the problem space itself first. Our research revealed a pervasive lack of information created stress and anxiety, leading to the question of how to provide solo travelers with a streamlined and stress-free airport experience at RIX, alleviating their anxiety about missing their flight.
We used a multidisciplinary strategy with research triangulation, engaging users throughout the entire process from ideation and design to validation within workshops, prototypes, and interviews. After the ideation and development of the prototype, we further enriched our understanding through onside user interviews and thorough research analysis.
RIX Buddy is a digital travel companion throughout the whole travel journey. From booking the ticket until boarding, the buddy navigates passengers through their journey by providing the passenger with relevant real-time information, guidance and customised recommendations, based on their current journey stage. The Buddy interface comes as a chat and allows the passenger to access the airport's real-time data and communicate with the whole airport ecosystem: from flight information to food recommendations, or commuting options.
The Impact
During user tests at the airport, passengers were positively surprised by the ease of use and comprehensive information the service offers. Despite the positive user feedback, the RIX Buddy remains a concept and has not been implemented by Riga International Airport yet.
Key Learnings:
1. This neat little graphic looks nice and logical, but in reality you get lost in the process and that's ok, as long as you learn from it
2. Semantic analysis really helps to align the understanding about the task within the team and is a great kick-off for the project
Key Learnings:
1. We had multiple research questions at the beginning, allowing us to get a broader understanding about technology, social impact and customer experience, and explore the problem from various perspectives.
2. Storytelling Grids and Empathy mapping are a valuable way to condense a a lot of information from interviews into understandable and relatable insights.
User Group
Key Learnings:
1. Personas are good archetypes are better. It is better to focus more on behaviour than demographics. Looking back this is something I would try to research even more.
How might we
Workshop
With all our research in hand, we jumped into the most exciting part: a co-creation workshop with Latvians, international students, and stakeholders from RIX to brainstorm possible solutions. We focused on hands-on ideation methods, using approaches like drawing, rapid prototyping, and enacting, following the idea of "more doing, less talking."
The workshop created 133 ideas and three prototyped service concepts. Analysing all the ideas was challenging, but the prototype results helped us to converge and land on one idea. What stood out during this workshop was the idea of having a buddy on your side. A travel companion that would guide you through the process, and answer answer questions at the right time during the journey.
Key Learnings:
1. Being visual can be challenging for many participants in the beginning, it is important to ease into the process, but once done, scribbles and enactments have an incredible power.
2. Rapid prototyping with cardboard, scissors, pens and other material is not only a lot of fun, but opens up discussions and makes services tangible for everyone.
RIX Buddy
After sketching out various concept posters of the service, we discovered great potential in creating a virtual assistant to serve as an interface for the entire airport ecosystem. We decided to enhance the mobile-friendly webpage by integrating the virtual assistant into the RIX existing website. Passengers can interact with this assistant by typing or speaking. Leveraging AI technology for effortless accessibility, it intuitively prompts questions and provides seamless information access without needing specific keywords. Moreover, the Buddy itself became a corporate element in the shape of a bird, referring to Latvia's national bird the white wagtail, giving the service a welcoming and playful appearance.
In this stage we mapped out the most important features along the traveler journey starting with a customized packing list before the travel based on the destination, continuing with way finding and commuting options to the airport, as well as live-flight updates and other important flight information such as security regulations. Additionally the user can customize its preferences to get recommendations for sustainable travel, shopping and dining possibilities as well as booking airport services such as parking or fast-track.
Prototype Testing
With the concept ready we built a clickable prototype of the RIX Buddy, along with an advertisement poster to test traveler interest in the name, its perceived value, and its usability. The prototype testing was done on side with passengers waiting in the gate area for their flight. The feedback was positive, and surprisingly many travelers already using the existing website to plan their time at RIX or check live flight updates. This showed us that integrating the Buddy with the website would align well with existing user behavior.
However, not everyone was interested in digital companionship, preferring traditional signage or exploring the airport themselves. Despite this, the RIX Buddy emerged as a future-proof solution considering the growth of airport infrastructure with Internet of Things (IoT) connections. With a touch of ambition, we envisioned the Buddy as a single point of contact for interacting with the entire airport.
Solution
Service:
Service Design
Social Research
Client:
Riga Airport
Riga, Latvia
Year:
2023
Team:
Amnha Mohammad
Judy Trilerdnawakid
Karmen Eller
Tim Schnettker
User Group
How might we
Workshop
With all our research in hand, we jumped into the most exciting part: a co-creation workshop with Latvians, international students, and stakeholders from RIX to brainstorm possible solutions. We focused on hands-on ideation methods, using approaches like drawing, rapid prototyping, and enacting, following the idea of "more doing, less talking."
The workshop created 133 ideas and three prototyped service concepts. Analysing all the ideas was challenging, but the prototype results helped us to converge and land on one idea. What stood out during this workshop was the idea of having a buddy on your side. A travel companion that would guide you through the process, and answer answer questions at the right time during the journey.
RIX Buddy
After sketching out various concept posters of the service, we discovered great potential in creating a virtual assistant to serve as an interface for the entire airport ecosystem. We decided to enhance the mobile-friendly webpage by integrating the virtual assistant into the RIX existing website. Passengers can interact with this assistant by typing or speaking. Leveraging AI technology for effortless accessibility, it intuitively prompts questions and provides seamless information access without needing specific keywords. Moreover, the Buddy itself became a corporate element in the shape of a bird, referring to Latvia's national bird the white wagtail, giving the service a welcoming and playful appearance.
In this stage we mapped out the most important features along the traveler journey starting with a customized packing list before the travel based on the destination, continuing with way finding and commuting options to the airport, as well as live-flight updates and other important flight information such as security regulations. Additionally the user can customize its preferences to get recommendations for sustainable travel, shopping and dining possibilities as well as booking airport services such as parking or fast-track.
Prototype Testing
With the concept ready we built a clickable prototype of the RIX Buddy, along with an advertisement poster to test traveler interest in the name, its perceived value, and its usability. The prototype testing was done on side with passengers waiting in the gate area for their flight. The feedback was positive, and surprisingly many travelers already using the existing website to plan their time at RIX or check live flight updates. This showed us that integrating the Buddy with the website would align well with existing user behavior.
However, not everyone was interested in digital companionship, preferring traditional signage or exploring the airport themselves. Despite this, the RIX Buddy emerged as a future-proof solution considering the growth of airport infrastructure with Internet of Things (IoT) connections. With a touch of ambition, we envisioned the Buddy as a single point of contact for interacting with the entire airport.
Solution
Portfolio 2024
© Tim Schnettker
Studio Schnettker
© Tim Schnettker
E: studio@tim-schnettker.de
IG: @timschnettker
Linkedin: Tim Schnettker
Tim has studied Integrated Design in Cologne and Barcelona. During his studies he researched in the field of visual communication with analog and digital media, as well as the potential of design for the creation of systems and processes. For his thesis he analyzed the theatrical and choreographic possibilities of service design processes and workshops to improve the visualization of problems in co-creative processes. After his studies he worked at the intersection of analog and digital design and performance in theater as video artist for the theater collective Studio Trafique and for Theater Bonn. Since the end of 2021 he has become an art director for the design agency VUCX in Cologne, developing brands and unique brand experience for clients in various industries.
Currently he is pursuing his Master degree in Service Design Strategies and Innovations (sd-si) as Erasmus Mundus Scholar until June 2025.
E: studio@tim-schnettker.de
IG: @timschnettker
Linkedin: Tim Schnettker
Tim has studied Integrated Design in Cologne and Barcelona. During his studies he researched in the field of visual communication with analog and digital media, as well as the potential of design for the creation of systems and processes. For his thesis he analyzed the theatrical and choreographic possibilities of service design processes and workshops to improve the visualization of problems in co-creative processes. After his studies he worked at the intersection of analog and digital design and performance in theater as video artist for the theater collective Studio Trafique and for Theater Bonn. Since the end of 2021 he has become an art director for the design agency VUCX in Cologne, developing brands and unique brand experience for clients in various industries.
Currently he is pursuing his Master degree in Service Design Strategies and Innovations (sd-si) as Erasmus Mundus Scholar until June 2025.