Effectiveness
Definition: Refers to how good a product is at doing what it is supposed to be doing.
Websites: www.travel.travelocity.com , www.orbitz.com
Reasons: Both websites were the easiest to book flights on and both were the cheapest flights that were available. Also on Orbitz, the travelling hours were less than 30hrs.
Example: Flights on the website www.travel.travelocity.com were $1195 with the duration of 29hrs. And on www.orbitz.com the price for the tickets was $1199 with a duration time of approximately 28hr 2min.
Screenshot:
Screenshot of flights on www.orbitz.com
Efficiency
Definition: Efficiency refers to the way a product supports the users when carrying out their tasks.
Website: www.kayak.com
Reason: When booking a flight on this website it was very efficient for it only required the least actions to perform a task. Where I only had to use a single button to book the flight.
Example: When booking the flight, there was only a single button for searching for a flight which was “Search”. So there was single buttons that wasn’t complicated and allowed me to efficiently book a flight.
Screenshot:
Screenshot of when entering in what flights I am looking for
Screenshot allowing the user to select which flight I would rather go on.
Safety
Definition: This involves protecting the users from any dangerous conditions and undesirable situations.
Website: www.flysaa.com
Reason: This site had the best security features when I had to enter in account details for paying for the flight. When entering in sensitive information like account details, I needed to be protected from any hackers or unwanted people seeing this information, which this site protected well.
Example: This site protected my information by redirecting me to a private website when I wanted to enter in my account details, which is impossible for unwanted users to view or get onto.
Screenshot:
Screenshot of security function on Flysaa.
Utility
Definition: This refers to what the product provides, such as functions that the user can use, so that the user can do what they want to do.
Website: www.flysaa.com , www.emirates.com
Reason: Both these website provided many different useful functions for me to use to book a flight. This helped me choose the quickest and the cheapest flight.
Example: Each website provided functions such as allowing me to book hotels and cars in advanced for when I land in Portland. Also each website would allow me to check the flight status when I am actually flying.
Screenshot:
Screenshot of Flight Status function.
Screenshot of Find hotel and cars function.
Learnability
Definition: This refers to how easy a website is to learn to use.
Website: www.kayak.com
Reason: As soon as I entered the home page of this site it allowed me to enter in my flight details such as my destinations, departure and dates of flight, wasting no time. The site made itself very easy to use, for all the functions were very simplistic and easy to learn.
Example: Each function that is shown on the site is self-explanatory, and allowed me to follow the set of steps to booking the flights as simplistically but efficiently as possible.
Screenshot:
Screenshot of the interface that allowed me to enter in my flight details.
Memorability
Definition: Refers to how easy a product is to remember once the user learnt how to use it.
Website: www.kayak.com
Reason: It is the simplest website and will then be the easiest to remember how to use if I ever need to book a flight again. There is good designer interactions which I could relate to and understand which will make it easier to remember how to use. The use of meaningful icons and buttons throughout the website helped with the flight booking process, by making the icons and buttons easily understandable which would help me to remember how to use the site again in later stages(eg, a month)
Example: The use of a bright clear buttons and icons for function, make it easy to remember, Such as the search button ”Search”, that I had to use when searching for available flights.
Screenshot:
Screenshot of the search button
Overall best website:
www.kayak.com
Explanation: www.kayak.com was the most efficient and effective site to use out of all the other sites. It was simple and easy to learn as well and easy to remember how it works because of its simplistic functions that performed adequately.
Question 2: * Chosen Website: www.emirates.com
Interaction Types used:
Instructing
Definition: Where users issue instructions to a system.
Why: I issued instructions when I entered in details to book my flights and entered in my account details to pay for the flight. Also I issued instructions to the flight centre by pressing buttons and selecting information.
Example: An example of this is when I first had to give the flight centre the flight information I wanted, this included the destination I was going, where I was departing from and selecting dates.
Also again when I had to enter in my account details to pay for the tickets. Another instruction which I gave the program was pressing the buttons that process the information I had entered. This processed the information and took me to the next page/processes on the flight centre program. Buttons such as “search” which stood for ‘search for flight with your flight information’ and ‘select’ to select the flight that best suited my flight objectives are other examples of Instructing which I did on the program.
Exploring
Definition: The interaction where the user moves through a virtual or physical environment.
Reason: The user navigates though the website with the cursor and engages with the program. I explored and interacted with the system in order to book and purchase my flights in a digital world.
Example: Moving through the applications with my cursor and exploring it is an example of exploring it.
Manipulating
Definition: This interaction involves manipulating objects and capitalizes on user’s knowledge on how they do so in the physical world.
Reason: I was selecting buttons and moving through the websites and opening and closing pages when I was on the sites. The application allowed me to feel like I was in control because of direct manipulation.
Example:
Menu bar and example of how the user can interact with the programs function’s which was developed from direct manipulation.
Side bar buttons which allow the user to select what they want to do. This is an example of manipulation.
Interactions Not Used
Conversing
Definition: This is an interacting where by the user engages with the computer by having a conversation with the system, where the system acts as a dialog partner.
Reason: Throughout my interactions with all the websites, not many conversations were conversed between me and the programs. The only reason why there was not many conversing is because the applications were very simple to operate and conversing between the computer and the user only rarely happens when the application is very advances and the user is a novice.
Example:
An example of conversing between the user and the program (on the emirates website) where the application allows the user to ‘search by’ a term. Whereby the application responds with a resulting message.
Question 3:
Attention
Description: This is the process of selecting things to concentrate on at a point in time from a range of possible distractions.
Reason: This process was used because I had to be attentive to make sure I book the flights. I had to be attentive to make sure I didn’t get side-tracked or lose focus on what I was doing. If I had lost focus I could book the incorrect flights.
How you used it (Example): Focused carefully on when I had to book the flights, to make sure that I didn’t enter in any incorrect dates, or entered in the wrong destination and departing city. Also I had to be attentive when entering in my account details when paying for the flight to make sure I didn’t enter in the wrong details or pay for the incorrect flights.
Explain: In order to have booked the correct flight details and to have stayed focused on it, I had to have been very attentive. Booking flights is very expensive and I would not want to make a mistake, and book the wrong flight or the most expensive flight by mistake, because I wasn’t concentrating well enough.
Memory
Description: This involves recalling various kind of knowledge that allows us to act appropriately.
Reason: I needed to remember what dates, times and prices, in order to book the correct flight within my budget and get to my cousins wedding on time.
How you used it (Example): I used my memory when booking the flights by entering in the correct dates and destination. And then selecting the best flight, which was within budget and meet the required times which was less than 30hrs at flight. Also I had to remember what my account details were when paying for the flight.
Explain: When booking my flights I had to have had used my memory to make sure that I was booking the right flights for me and met certain criteria such as costs and flight duration. If I did not recall these things in my memory I would have booked the wrong flights for me.
Reading, Speaking and Listening
Description: These are forms of language processes.
Reason: I had to use reading in order to know what to do when booking my flights. It is the fundamental function for doing anything on the websites.
How you used it (Example): Through-out the process of booking the flights I had to read the instructions on how to book the flights and what flights were available. I also had to read how to select the flights and to make sure that I had booked the correct flights by reading over the flight details before paying for them.
Explain: Throughout the websites I had to read everything very carefully so that I didn’t miss out on any hidden costs or made any mistakes on my flight details such as wrong destination and departing city. Therefor it was very important for me to read everything on the flight details consistently to make sure everything was correct
Problem Solving, Planning, Reasoning, and Decision Making
Description: This involves thinking about what I have to do, what my options are and how am I going to carry out the solutions to my problem.
Reason: I chose problem solving because I had to use it to select the best times of the flights and get the cheapest flights to meet my criteria. I had to plan what my options are and how I was going to overcome them. For decision making I had to decide which times were the best and which were the cheapest.
How you used it (Example): I used it by comparing the selected flight which includes its time in air and budget to the other websites to get the best Flight time and budget and meet my given criteria.
Explain: Throughout the website I had to do problem solving and decision making. I had to make the correct decision as to the flight to choose, by comparing each flight on each flight website to the criteria which I was given. This is when I had to do problem solving and decision making.
Question 4:
4.1
On the website www.kayak.com I had a very positive experience when booking my flights. It was very easy to navigate and very easy to book my flights compared to the other websites. This site allowed me to focus specifically on buying my tickets and didn’t distract me in any way with irreverent information such as pop-ups, ads and news clippings. This allowed me to move smoothly through the booking process, allowing me to book my tickets efficiently and effectively giving me a very positive and delighted emotion.
The only negative emotion I felt was when the site redirected me to another website (for example Qatar Airways) in order to actually book my flight, instead of allowing me to booking my flight all on the one site. This became frustrating for it seemed like a longer route to booking my flight.
On the website www.expedia.com i had a very neutral experience/emotion. The site was not very pleasing to look at and was quite boring compared to the other flight sites. However it was more efficient when booking my flights compared to other flight sites such as www.kayak.com. The site also gave me many different flight options so that I could find the cheapest flight which gave me a thrill and joy.
On the site www.flysaa.com I had a very positive and pleasant experience. Compared to the other sites, this site allowed me to choose my preferred language when entering the site. This was very pleasing to see. Also the experience throughout booking the flight was very smooth and easy, and between each page a friendly animation would come with catch phrases which made me cheerful and excited.
However on the website there was a lot of irreverent information which made the website feel very busy and clustered. This made me feel uncertain if I was on the right place and made me feel confused. This was the only negative emotion I felt when on this website.
Then on www.emirates.com I experience the best emotions out of all the websites. This site was the most efficient and effective site to use. The layout of the site compared to other sites made it very smooth and enjoyable and made me feel dynamic. Also the site gave me a lot of different functions which all synced together well, which made the site not look too clustered giving me a positive attitude going forward. Also when I booked my flight an awesome animation came up of the world and planes circling it which was there until the page had finished loading. This made me feel very enthusiastic about booking my flight.
Then on www.travel.travelocity.com I had a negative emotional feeling when using it. The website was very boring to use compared to the other sites, for there was no colours or animations and there was a lot of annoying ads on the page which was displeasing to see. The website was very simple and easy to use which made me feel very placid when booking my flight and making me not feel excited about the trip.
On www.orbitz.com I had a negative emotion when booking my flights because when I first entered the website there was so much going on that I got lost. There are too many bright colours and ads that distracted me which made me feel misplaced and muddled. This site is not very easy to use because it’s so distracting which made it frustrating to use.
4.2
The trust I felt when using each site:
On www.kayak.com I didn’t feel completely safe when I was booking my flight for when I selected a flight, the website redirected me to another website which I was unfamiliar with. This immediately made me uncomfortable and made me question whether or not the site could be trusted. The site also didn’t tell me exactly what was included in the price of the flight before it redirected me, which made me doubt that the prices were correct and made me suspicious of them.
On www.expedia.com i felt safe when entering in my details and booking flights. The page had privatised itself so no unauthorized users could access it. However the site didn’t give me much information about what exactly I was paying for in the flight which made me a little unsure and untrustworthy.
On www.flysaa.com i felt very safe throughout the site. The site had special security features such as encrypting my account details and also privatizing each web page I was on so that my data/information does not get hacked or accessed by unwanted users.
On www.emirates.com I felt completely safe and comfortable when using it. The website showed me all details of the flights when I was booking them which included a breakdown of costs of the flight which showed me exactly what I was paying for. Also when I had to enter in my account details the website became a private website which could not be accessed by any hackers or unwanted users and encrypted all my sensitive information.
On www.travel.travelocity.com I felt very secure and safe. This site allowed me to view all ‘Hidden costs’ for the flight and it had a lot of security to stop any unwanted users from gaining access.
On www.orbitz.com some of the pages were not set to private which made me worry about my information. However when I got to the pages where I enter in my account details the site encrypted my information as well as protected the site.
4.3
Adding a virtual travel agent to the website would improve believability and trustworthiness. You are more in control of booking your flights when using a virtual travel agent, for you don’t get pressurised by any agent or salesman into booking expensive flights or getting unwanted add-ons. The virtual travel agent will help you book the best flight and the cheapest flight without trying to make a bonus off you, so then you can trust them. Also if a site is using virtual travel agents you would trust the site more because it would provide you with online help.
Question 5: 5.1: This date picker is called the ‘dhtmlxCalendar’. This calendar is a JavaScript calendar which can be configured as a flat calendar or a popup date picker. Also it is very customizable and easy to use. It is very effective because it shows two sets of calendars which allow the user to view upcoming months so that he/she can make the best flight booking. This calendar is supported by multiple browsers and it is an easy connection to the text fields. This date picker is called ‘JavaScript calendar script/date picker widget’. It is simple but effective, for it does not have any cool features. All the dates are self-contained (which means it doesn’t require any external libraries) and all the dates are built into the calendar. It can also be shown multiple times on the same page and is very customizable. This date picker is called ‘Simple Calendar Widget’. This calendar is very simple and flexible and works across all browsers. It is mainly used when the programmer wants to incorporate colours into the calendar, and has a few unique features such as week numbering. Also specific dates can be disables which could be useful for the airline companies. This date picker is called ‘Datetator’. It is very effective because it shows the month, year and the days all in only calendar form. Also it shows what week number it is and changes the colour of the weekend days. The calendar also highlighted what day it is today with a bright blue. This calendar is the most useful for it consists of many different functions and features. 5.2: A dialog box is a windows application which is used to get user input. The flight booking sites used the dialog boxes to get information from the user such as the destinations and where they will be leaving from (departing city). The user would have to enter in this data into text boxes which the website then processed into possible flights. Screen shot of Textboxes. The websites almost made use of Checkboxes, where the website gave the user the choice to select an option, for example if the user wanted to add a hotel and car rental to his flight he could select the Checkbox which will add that to the flight cost. Screen shot of Checkboxes. The websites also made use of date pickers, which allowed the users to select what dates they wanted for their flight. This made it a better user experience for the users for it is very efficient and effective. Screen shot of Date pickers. The websites also made use of drop down boxes, for when the user is entering in their account details. The user could use the drop down box to select what country they were from. This process would help the user so they would not have to manually enter in their country. This increased user experience and made the site more effective and efficient. Screen shot of Drop down boxes. 5.3: Developing mobile sites for flight booking would be very useful for most people have mobile devises and would prefer to use them over a computer. If the flight site expanded to mobile bookings there would be an increase in flight bookings for users can have easier access to the flight websites. The interface of the mobile booking sites would have to be very efficient. The sites would have to only show relevant information for on the mobile devises, they can’t display as much information as on a computer. Therefor the interface would include a home page with the options for booking a flight, hotel and car rental. Then when the user selects the flight option, a new page would open with only a list of options and textboxes for the user to enter in details for their flight. All of these options would have to be enlarged so that the mobile uses can see the options easier. The mobile interface would have to be as simple as possible and not have any distractions so that the users can concentrate and book their flights efficiently.
Bibliography
Dinamenta. (2015). Products. Retrieved 10 8, 2015, from dhtmlx: http://dhtmlx.com/docs/products/dhtmlxCalendar/ ezinemark.com. (2012, may 16). Benefits of Using a Virtual Travel Agency. Retrieved October 8, 2015, from newsghana: http://newsghana.com.gh/benefits-of-using-a-virtual-travel-agency/ microsoft. (2015). Dialog Boxes. Retrieved October 09, 2015, from microsoft: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/ms632588(v=vs.85).aspx plugins. (2015, September 12). Best jQuery DateTime Picker Plugins. Retrieved October 2015, 2015, from jqueryrain: http://www.jqueryrain.com/2015/08/datetator-jquery-date-picker-plugin/
