Wens Travel Management App

The initial project started with collecting requirements and feedback from the client. I did this together with one of the other developers so that we could immediately link technical requirements with the design.

Once these requirements were clear, I started sketching out some initial ideas for the design of the application. I did this by hand, as I find that this is the best way for me to quickly iterate on different ideas and concepts.

After I had some initial sketches, I created some mid-fidelity wireframes in Figma to further explore the layout and structure of the application. I chose to go with slightly higher fidelity wireframes than I would usually in this phase of a project, because I estimated that this would make it easier to communicate my ideas to the client, as they gave a better look at the final design.

These were then validated with the Product Owner of Wens Travel, who gave me some feedback and suggestions for improvements. Overall, the feedback was very positive and I was able to continue with the next steps of the design process.

After an initial round of feedback my colleagues had a rough estimate of the intended layout of the most important pages. They then started the development of the application, leaving the visual (Front-end) finalisation of the pages and design elements to me. During this phase we worked closely together to ensure the design was implemented correctly, and to ensure that possible deviations from the original design would fit within the intended design.

A complication during this time was that Design and Development were being done in parallel to one another. This meant that in some cases the development of a page or section had already started before the design was fully finalised. This made it a bit more difficult to make sure that the design and development were always in sync, and that the design was implemented correctly. However, we managed to work closely together and communicate effectively to ensure that the final product met our standards and the client's expectations.

Throughout the project design choices and assumptions were validated through feedback sessions and usability testing. These were done using either the Figma design for things like A/B testing, or a locally running version of the application to be more accurate in representing the final product.

Generally, the feedback was very positive, and the client was very happy with the design choices that were made. However, there were also some cases where the either the client or various end-users wanted to change some parts of the design after they had already been implemented. Usually this wasn't a major issue, as the team was able to work together to quickly pivot andaddress any concerns and make the necessary adjustments. However, this was also a major learning point for myself, to make sure to get everybody onboard with the design before actually delivering it.

I also ended up making a mobile version of the app, specifically for tour managers. These were employees or hired workers of Wens Travel who would go on the trips with the customers, and would need a way to access the information about the trip and the customers while they were on the road. I designed this mobile version based on the feedback and needs of these tour managers. Below, you can see some iterations and how I often go from paper sketch to a design in a Mendix app. This specific mobile version did not go through a Figma iteration, as I was working on this functionality solo. Since most of the design system had already been established in the desktop version, I had enough information from my paper sketches.

In the end we managed to incorporate most, if not all, of the client's wishes, and ensured that the end-users (Wens Travel's employees) were satisfied with the final product. It was amazing to see them start adopting the new application immediately after launch. And even though our collaboration with Wens Travel is ongoing, and they keep coming back with new wishes or requests, it was great to see the positive impact it had on the employees' work efficiency.

In the final moments of the project I personally had a small bit of time left, which I then used to add some more visual polish to the application. I did this by creating a visually pleasing login screen (as they did not use SSO), adding some low-detail images to the background of various pages and by adding some visual elements to the home screen (graphs that give the user some direct visual information). I think these small touches really helped to elevate the design and make it feel more complete.