RIX BUDDY
With a significant expansion on the horizon for Riga Airport as it plans to evolve into an airport city, our team has been tasked with streamlining the journey of travelers. Throughout our journey, we engaged with travelers, pinpointing their challenges and needs. Moreover, we had the privilege of closely collaborating with Riga Airport stakeholders to develop a solution that is both feasible and beneficial for all parties involved.
Client
Riga airport
Year
09.2023 - 12.2023
Team
Tim Schnettker, Amena Mohammed, Bongkod Trilenawakid, Karmen Eller
Role
Service designer
To identify the concerns and painpoints of travellers we conducted interviews, surveys and observed our user. Then we gathered insights into a journey map to empathize and understand the emotional journey from booking a flight to boarding. This journey map helped us the realize how the stress-level is on the rise until the check-in & security process, making travellers miss out on the opportunities RIX has to offer.
How might we provide solo travellers, a streamlined and stress-free airport experience without being anxious of missing their flight?
RIX BUDDY, a virtual assistant by your side. It’s like travelling with a helpful friend !
To validate our concept, we conducted a field test at Riga Airport, presenting our idea to passengers and allowing them to experience our prototype firsthand. This hands-on approach provided valuable feedback and insights, enabling us to refine and improve our solution to better meet the needs of travelers and stakeholders.
The name Buddy reflects the assistant service idea
Flight information and restaurant location/offers are the most needed
The Buddy offers valuable help for airport arrivals and departures
— Travellers in Riga airport
Key takeaways
Trust the process. Along our journey there were moments where we had to iterate and these changes helped us to get to our solution
One challenge we faced during this project was managing the timing and frequency of meetings. Balancing the need for regular communication with the importance of productive discussions was a challenge, as it required coordination and planning to ensure that meetings were focused
Regardless of solutions being suggested by different stakeholders, its important to get to the core of the problem without taking the easy way out