If you are interested in applying to GGI's Impact Fellowship program, you can access our application link here.
1.Introduction
The first international trip holds a lot of significance for everyone. But it can be daunting. There are so many things to consider, from flights and hotels to visas and currency exchange. But it doesn't have to be that way. We want to help you plan the perfect vacation by managing some of these tasks for you. That is why we have come up with an application where you will find relevant, customized information in a time efficient manner.
When we were sharing travel stories with each other, we realised one thing that was common in all of them: The tedious amount of time spent in planning. To mitigate this, we thought of designing something that would help save time for our fellow travellers.
We started by brainstorming a list of all the things that people need to consider when planning an international trip. We quickly realized that there were a lot of moving parts and that it could be overwhelming for someone who was doing it for the first time. So we decided to focus on creating an app that would help people with the most important aspects of trip planning.
We want to make the app the go-to resource for anyone who is planning an international trip, and we're confident that we can achieve that goal.
2.Scoping of the problem
To find out the aspects of international travel people find difficult, we conducted user research through a combination of interviews and a survey. We structured our conversations and the survey in sections related to the journey - pre-travel planning, on the way to the destination, post-landing and getting back from the destination. After conducting 20+ interviews and getting 60+ survey responses, we analyzed the data to figure out the most important problems that we can solve for future international travellers.
Here are section-wise details of the prominent issues people face during international trips:
Pre Travel Planning ( 53% of respondents found this as moderate to difficult part of international trip)
- 53% faced problems with visa related information
- 67% found it difficult to figure out medical/vaccination requirements
Post reaching the destination ( 62% of respondents found this as moderate to difficult part of international trip)
- 70% found local transportation difficult
- 70% found local laws/driving laws difficult to figure out
Summary of issues:
3.Problem Statement
To provide our users tailored, relevant and reliable information regarding pre-travel planning, visa info, medical requirements, local customs and destination details.
4.Solution and features
We intend to build a webapp to provide information to users relevant to their upcoming travel plans. Beyond the booking and itinerary planning platforms, our web app will function as a centralized repository of information that users can reference in their travel planning and while at the destination, saving them from having to look through scattered information online to find answers to their visa/medical/transportation/tourist law related questions.
We brainstormed and prioritized the features to make it easier for users to access the specific country-related information on the platform and save it for future reference as they go through their trip.
5.KPI and Metrics
North Star Metric - High number of trips planned and quick (not necessarily fewer clicks)
KPI
- Number of Trips Planned - The higher the number of trips planned for the app, the better!
Metrics
- How many users are visiting the app on monthly basis?
- How many are returning customers?
- What are the number of customers who haven’t visited the app in a year ? (Probably the churning customers)
- Amount of time spent on the page of per category. (Should be less, so as to know that our app is giving relevant & valuable information in less time)
- Amount of time spent overall in the application. (Should be less, so as to know that our app is giving relevant & valuable information in less time)
- Users rating per category in terms of helpfulness.
6. Conclusion
This article talks about the different stages/sections of Product’s journey. We started with having an idea, discussing the same amongst us. We conducted User Interviews based on the idea that we had and understood user’s insights around the same which helped us think beyond our biases. This data helped us create an objective form thus helping us collect quantitative data. The quantitative data from a large set of diverse users helped us identify the pain points and needs of our (target) users and thus arrive at problem statement. We ideated our features around the collected data and prioritized the same using impacts and efforts. We mapped the user journey for the users of our product to better design our application. We crafted KPIs and metrics which can help us monitor our product.
Meet The Thought Leaders
Kshitij is a Mentor at GGI and is currently working as a Senior Product Manager @Betterhelp. After doing his Engineering from Delhi Kshitij went on to work with ZS Associates & then commenced his journey of working with Impact making startups in Silicon Valley (Tesla, Invoice2go,etc.).
Meet The Authors (GGI Fellows)
Gaurav is a Product Manager working with an Edtech NGO in Pune. He has worked as a Software Engineer in Amazon for 5 years and has been a Leadership Skill Educator for 2 years in underprivileged communities. He is passionate about making impact in the world around him. Beyond work, he is a student of Indian Classical Music.
Vikas is a Data and Analytics professional looking forward to a career in Product Management. His other interests include policy research, social impact, and learning about new cultures. In his free time, he helps build a skill based volunteering platform, WeDoGood.
Harshit is a software engineer looking to pivot into product management. His interests include community management, public relations, and photography. In his free time, he mentors communities for the platform, Crowdsource, which was started by Google to build more inclusive machine learning algorithms.
Pavan, an ML Engineer who is passionate about using his skills to work on innovative products and services. He is also an enthusiast about AI and technology, and aspires to build a career in product management.
Dr. Samridhi Sood, a medical professional, has transitioned into the field of health technology and is presently responsible for overseeing the management of two tools utilized internally for data harmonization. The individual aspires to pursue a career as an entrepreneur with a focus on developing sustainable solutions within the healthcare industry.
Krupal is an entrepreneur who is expanding his custom software development (SaaS) company with a young and talented team that assists startups and businesses in digital growth through software and AI automation. He's also passionate about AI and blockchain and their real-world applications. As he hones his product management skills, Krupal aims to create innovative, & impactful products.
If you are interested in applying to GGI's Impact Fellowship program, you can access our application link here.