Our team was given the opportunity to work with the founder of BNDWGN to work on the development of their concept. BNDWGN is a concept for influencers/users to create travel plans where other users can click a link to enter their data and pay to join the initiating user on their trip.

Upon meeting the stakeholder of BNWDGN, we understood we needed to create a site from scratch; thus far BNDWGN was an idea that needed to be implemented. By developing this idea, its founder can develop a functioning site that can be presented to investors for proper funding to launch BNDWGN into the market.

Users need a way to plan a group trip and share with their friends so they can create a positive group travel experience. Part of this project was to find out which device users would prefer and what users who do group travel would need from this app.

Based on insights from user interviews and competitive and comparative analysis, it was clear we needed to build a desktop site first, which could later expand into a phone app. We created an MVP (Minimal Viable Product) that focuses on the features of creating a trip and sharing it with friends.

I conducted usability testings to check on two things; first, the overall functionality of the site, and sure enough I discovered issues in the prototyping that were later fixed. Second, I was keen to see the overall reception and use of the site, since it was built from scratch. It was very insightful to understand that what users found most helpful was the ability to book on a pre-made trip, which aligned with the stakeholder's original idea; thus this feature was made more prominent in the design.

A functioning prototype of BNDWGN was successfully presented to its founder. This initial version focuses on the ability of users to create and share an itinerary. Future plans discussed with the owner of BNDWGN include expanding the site to allow influencers to promote their trips and for a second set of users to join the trips.

My role in the team was initially to conduct the user research part of this project. However, as the project started, my role evolved in the team dynamics. I not only conducted user interviews and synthesized insights, but was also involved in the business analysis of the travel market, communicating effectively with the stakeholder and working in the ideation part and usability testings. It was fun to see this project come to light!