Why An App?

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The digital age has expanded our horizons and has changed the way people think, create, browse and shop for their travel related needs.

Consumer Interest

Deloitte’s article, referenced below, has given insight into the ways that travel is now seen by consumers, in fact, the digital age has transformed the access to which consumers have to fulfilling their travel needs. The Deloitte article states that they found from their surveys that 59 % of people looking at booking a holiday are more aware of the advantages given by online sites, especially in regard to comparing prices online. This confidence and awareness of using travel sites/app’s is only set to continue, and so the use and the expansion of travel options available online needs to expand with this heightened consumer use.

The Deloitte research also found that people rely on the experiences of others and the ability to share their own, this is something that we have taken on board with our app, wishing to make it a place to review and share experiences with fellow gap year travellers. Moreover, the fact that our creation will be an app, makes it transferrable and easy to access from anywhere. There is no need to now wait until you are at a desktop to research, compare and share. Especially as our target audience is within the range of 18-25, and a lot of this generation carry a smartphone with them daily. This is vital information as if harnessed correctly, our app will grow and function not only for the users of the app but also by them; with their feedback and use of the app, changes and additions can be made in time to ensure effective user experience.

Why An App?

In order to be fully marketable a business needs to reach people, especially when everything is online and so easily accessible. An app is needed to enhance the number of people who see it. Today, most people don’t know what is on the application market, they search for an idea. If an app can make this business visible and accessible then this can fill a need, the user is satisfied and this is why creating an app is an important business decision. Also, an app can be viewed even if it is not directly relevant to the original search, but this creates interest and is why using an app aids marketing and recognition. If a user is drawn into the app and its unique idea or can see its usefulness, they are more willing to pay for other features and this will help not only in increasing sale and revenue in the future, but also aid the business to stand out from competition. All of this will then enhance consumer loyalty and support, if a consumer feels that the app is helpful and saves them time and money and gives them a connection to the business, they are less likely to go in search of another business to fulfill their needs.

Our App

Our app offers a unique selling point, a specific app for creating a personalised gap year experience that offers the ability of the user to create and share information with other like-minded travellers. Our app will be a collaborative platform where travel knowledge will be generated and shared. It offers a more personalised user experience and tailors trips depending on the time of year, expenditure and user reviews. The consumer is more informed than ever before, having access to many types of media online and also search engines. Our app will enhance the consumer experience by collating information for them, tailoring it to their specifics needs, saving them not only money but also their time, which is a big incentive.

As the Deloitte article points out, online travel has become a buyers market, which has expanded and is only set to continue due to continued site and app creation. Consumers, are still out to get the best deal and are aware that this is to be found online. This will be a selling point for us. We will be set on creating the best deal for our app users, making sure they are kept up-to-date with the best possible offers, group trips and individual tours, and that this is continually reviewed. We will also carry on the incentive to existing users, as it shouldn’t just be new users who get the best deals, but all users of the app. We will ensure to give incentives throughout the use of our app, including discount codes, advice and the unlocking of other features on the app.

Deloitte Article: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/travel-hospitality-industry-outlook.html

Creative Brief

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Client: Dept. Electronics and Computer Science
Project: NaviGap Smartphone App
Date: March 8, 2017
Document Version: 1.0

JAMR Project Team: Who will be working on this project?

Module Comp 6217
Rachel Taylor Hamilton
Maria Bobkova
Amy Wales
Jason Deng

Assignment:  What’s our deliverable?

JAMR will develop a smartphone app called ‘NaviGap’ which is based on an online social network to help like-minded travel enthusiasts connect.

Program Background: What is the history of this client and the objective supporting this assignment?

JAMR’s objective is to help young people who plan to embark on a gap year, connect with like-minded travel enthusiasts in order to plan their trip and find travel companions. The online social network will connect individual and groups of gap year travelers, to discuss, plan and share travel information. It will allow users to discover and identify places of interest to visit, and important information regarding those places from users that have already been. It will enable users to connect to tailor their trips, incorporating tours and activities with people sharing the same interests.

Objective(s): What is our purpose? What are we trying to accomplish with this assignment?

  • To connect gap year travel enthusiasts.
  • To offer advice on travel planning.

Target Audience, Demographics / Psychographics: Who are we communicating to? What do we know about the target?

Primary Target: Gap year Travelers

Young people who wish to plan and take a trip/gap year and travel with(out) others.

Secondary Target: Experienced travel enthusiasts

We also want to attract people who have traveled to share their travel stories and advice others.

Opportunity: Based on the competitive marketplace, what presents itself as an opportunity? How will this app add value?

There are five categories of travel based apps currently available:

  1. Booking Apps: e.g. Travel Republic.
  2. Advice Apps: e.g. TripAdvisor
  3. Magazine Guide Apps: e.g. NomadHead
  4. Blogging Apps: e.g. Off Exploring
  5. Volunteering Apps: e.g. Involver

There are no social networking travel based apps that we have encountered at this point. There is an opportunity to provide gap year travelers with a better and easier way to reach other travelers and real-time advice. We also have the opportunity to create a supportive community for travellers who may otherwise be traveling alone and/or to at-risk areas.

Tone and Manner: What adjectives would you use to describe the product/service? What are its attributes?

Helpful, engaging, inspirational

Work Scope: What is needed for this project?

Functional Specification Document (FSD) / Storyboard with wireframes detailing how the app will look and work, with what content/functionality is required for each screen.

Design a user interface for each screen including:

  • User profile entry screen
  • News feed
  • Group chat
  • Interactive Map

Development: Design and program a mobile app for Android and Apple iPhone that includes the functionality and designs set out.

Testing: Test apps across all supported mobile devices to ensure functionality works as described in the FSD.

Content and Functionality: What content will be included in the app? What is the required functionality?

Create a user profile

  • Photo
  • Name
  • Location
  • Travel photos
  • Experience badges for posts

View user profiles

  • Option to connect ’companion’
  • Contact user via in-app message
  • Tag users/ photos
  • ‘Like’ travel ideas and destinations to visit

Post to ‘Trips Bulletin Board’

  • Lists desired destinations
  • Notifies users with same destination interests
  • View ‘Wanted’ travel companion listings
  • List view
  • Map view
  • Interactive map of places visited viewed by others
  • Downloadable map with personal pins
  • ”what the expert says” advice and facts will offer push notifications.
  • Recommendations based on web data crawling and algorithm

Platform Accessibility: What mobile platforms are we optimizing for?

iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android Smartphones, Future directions – Apple watch)

Creative Considerations / Mandatory Requirements: What should be considered when developing and creating this piece?

  • How can this app help people to connect with like-minded travelers?
  • How can we build a community to support travelers?

Post by @RachelHamilton