Defining new Passenger personas
For the Pittsburgh international airport
Personas are crucial for designing new services, but Pittsburgh International Airport's existing ones didn't reflect its actual passenger base. This project addresses that gap by uncovering missing passenger personas and providing insights into how these passengers plan and arrive for their flights. The goal of this project is to better understand and serve the airport's true customer needs.
User Research
For
Allegheny County Airport Authority, Pittsburgh International Airport
Role
User Researcher
Duration
14 Weeks
Skills
User Research, Data Synthesis
Tools
Diary Study, IDI Interview, Mural, Microsoft PowerPoint
Final Reflections
Choosing the right people
We started this project with 23 individuals taking the survey, and we picked 7 individuals for further conversation. Each person added nuance and unexpected nuggets of information, and really helped us understand the extremes of travelers.
Sometimes it’s obvious
When I started this project I was hoping to uncover some great truth about passengers, I realized that some things are universals truths for a reason. Beyond any of the nuances we uncovered, we realized the biggest thing that makes or breaks a passenger’s experience at the airport is simply how fast they get through the security line.
Considering future access
As we were closing up the project, it was asked: How do people currently refer to personas right now? We used that understanding to create the final personas. Everything from the name of the personas (should we name them or should we use descriptors?), to the information visualized (should this be a slider, or a bullet point), to way the information was presented (this should be a presentation rather than a Mural board).
Acknowledgements
To the guidance I received
This was my first time taking on a project that solely focused on personas, so I was nervous heading into this. I am truly lucky to have worked with Lex and Frances; we saw each other almost daily, and worked incessantly to distill the vast information we gathered. I was able to ask more questions along the way, and actively contribute into shaping the 8 personas we ended with.