Pistachio | Making Trip Planning Easier

NOTE: Team project; I worked on this with a developer, a linear programmer, and a business-oriented member.

When evaluating the outcome of a trip, “success” depends on overall group satisfaction and perceived fairness of trip activities. There are multiple factors that can contribute to this subjective assessment, but one of them is tied to needs being met and voices being heard during the planning process.



Validating the problem

In 2016, the global industry was deemed incredibly lucrative, with a valuation of over 7.6 trillion USD. Poorer countries heavily rely on tourism to boost their economies, whereas leisure travel is a luxury that many people plan meticulously for in advance of their excursions.

I conducted research to gather data on travel and planning habits. From a publicly posted questionnaire (n=31):

• 91% of people travelled in groups
• 88% of folks left planning to a more dominant figure
• 48% of participants felt the company and coordination of preferences could heavily affect the enjoyability of the trip

These findings validated the following assumptions:

• People do not necessarily voice their opinion when traveling for a trip, potentially creating imbalances in the itinerary.
• It is tiring to jump through multiple platforms when planning for a trip, but it is compounded when many people have to do it in parallel.
• It is hard to reach a consensus that appeals to everyone’s needs and preferences and this has potential in ruining the planning for a trip.

Designing a product to give a voice to group travellers

By integrating decision-making psychology and robust user testing into the product, my team and I validated our solution (design-wise and optimized solution-wise) to produce Pistachio, a collaborative tool to help users plan together.