Usability engineering to improve the hotel list on the booking portal HRS.de

Research · 2022 · Cologne

**Project Overview** This usability study focused on systematically evaluating one of the most critical user journeys within the HRS.de booking platform: the search, comparison, and hotel selection experience. The objective was to identify usability issues that affected decision-making, reduce friction throughout the booking flow, and provide evidence-based recommendations to improve the overall user experience and business performance. **My Role** Lead UX Researcher & Product Designer I was responsible for: - Defining the research strategy and evaluation framework - Planning and conducting the usability study - Leading user research activities - Synthesizing insights across multiple research methods - Prioritizing findings based on severity and business impact - Translating research insights into actionable design recommendations for the product team **Research Approach** The study was grounded in established Usability Engineering principles and aligned with ISO 9241 usability standards, focusing on effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction. Following an initial review of the existing booking experience, I designed and executed a mixed-method research approach to gain both qualitative insights and expert evaluations. **Methods** Personas & User Scenarios - Created representative personas based on target user groups. - Developed realistic hotel booking scenarios that reflected common user goals and decision-making processes. User Interviews (15 participants) - Conducted semi-structured interviews to understand users' expectations, pain points, booking behavior, and decision criteria. - Insights informed personas and evaluation scenarios. Heuristic Evaluation - Performed an expert review using established usability heuristics (e.g., Nielsen's Heuristics). - Identified usability issues related to navigation, information architecture, consistency, visibility, and error prevention. Moderated Think-Aloud Usability Testing - Conducted moderated usability sessions in which participants completed realistic hotel search and comparison tasks while verbalizing their thoughts. - Observed user behavior, decision-making patterns, navigation strategies, and areas of friction throughout the booking flow. **Key Findings** The research revealed several usability challenges affecting users during hotel selection and booking: - Complex information hierarchy made comparing hotel offers unnecessarily difficult. - Filters and sorting options lacked clarity and did not always match users' mental models. - Important booking information was not sufficiently prioritized visually. - Users experienced cognitive overload due to the amount of competing information presented during decision-making. - Several interaction patterns created unnecessary friction, increasing the effort required to complete bookings. All findings were consolidated, categorized, and prioritized according to usability severity and expected business impact. **Design Recommendations** Based on the research, I developed a prioritized set of user-centered recommendations focused on: - Improving information architecture - Strengthening visual hierarchy - Simplifying hotel comparison - Optimizing filtering and sorting functionality - Reducing cognitive load throughout the decision-making process - Increasing transparency of pricing and booking information - Streamlining the booking journey to support faster and more confident decisions These recommendations provided the product team with a clear roadmap for improving both the customer experience and key business outcomes. **Project Impact** The usability recommendations were designed to improve both the user experience and business performance by reducing friction throughout the booking journey. Following the implementation of the proposed improvements, the project aimed to achieve measurable improvements in the following key performance indicators: - Conversion Rate: +12% through a more intuitive search, comparison, and booking experience. - Task Success Rate: +18% by simplifying navigation, improving information hierarchy, and reducing user errors. - Task Completion Time: 25% faster completion of hotel search and booking tasks through streamlined interactions and optimized filtering and sorting.