Case Study

Overview Problem Breakdown

About Key Stats

is an Indian online travel company, which 69 Mn+ 68 Mn+ 2,000 3/10
was founded in 2000. The company provides online travel Lifetime Transaction Monthly Active Users Cities Covered via Hotels Domestic Flyers Book using it

services including airline tickets, holiday packages, hotel

1,250 3.93 40.74% 7:27 min
reservations, rail and bus tickets. Cities Covered via Homestays Pages/Visit Bounce Rate Average Session Duration

Business Model Competitors

Commission Sales Subscription Advertisement

based based based based
Competitors analysis
Actors
Problem Statement
You are a product manager on the Growth team of the
product you have chosen. The team has been given a mandate
Users Airlines IRCTC to focus on coming up with a solution that helps travellers to
plan their trips/vacations since that is largely a problem that is
yet to be solved in the industry. The team believes that with
the advent of GenAI, a much more feasible and scalable
MakeMyTrip Rental Cabs Hotels solution can now be put forward.
 Overview Problem Breakdown Problem validation

Full screen
Outcome Mapping Business Outcome
Increase Total number of
bookings

Product Outcome
Increasing conversion rate
Reducing bounce rate
User Action
Increasing visit frequency
Increasing Average time spent

Problem Definition Target Segment Why solve it now?

In this age of technology, users are frustrated when Post-pandemic travel surge: There's a
planning trips because it remains a significant hassle. They significant pent-up in demand for travel,
must navigate back and forth between different websites Tech Savvy Users creating a large market of users seeking
to book flights, reserve hotels, and plan itineraries. This Age: 20-30 Years efficient planning solutions.
process involves a lengthy and complex user flow, which Travels 2-3 times per year Remote work trends: The rise of remote
can be overwhelming and time-consuming. Moreover, if High Disposible Income work and "workations" has created new
they want to visit a new place, they still have to conduct a Working professionals travel planning needs that current
significant amount of research, adding to the complexity Value efficiency, convenience, fragmented solutions don't adequately
and effort required. and personalisation address.
 Problem Breakdown Problem validation Problem Framing

Secondary Research Hypothesis

Travelers face challenges in planning
cohesive and personalized itineraries
due to overwhelming options,
fragmented booking processes, and
budget concerns, leading to user
dissatisfaction stemming from
inconsistent service quality and
misleading information.

Survey Insights Survey Form User response

Interview Insights User Interviews

Uncovering the "What" Uncovering the "Why"

Aditi's struggle with "weeks" of planning and still missing key attractions
in Kerala highlights how excessive information hinders decision making.
45.2% 61.2% Mohan spent months on making an itinerary during his visit to Sikkim
Travellers are burdened by too Travellers struggle to create a but a landslide because of heavy rainfall ruined his day indicating a lack
many options to choose from. cohesive itinerary. of real-time updates leading to struggle in future vacation planning.
Many users have experienced anxiety while researching for a vacation
because the photos of bookings they've made in the past were often
51.6% 93.5% very different from the actual offerings.
Travellers face lack of updated Travellers rely on manual Multiple users dropped their travel plans because of budget constraints
information. management and spreadsheets. emphasising the issue of demand-based price hikes.
 Problem validation Problem Framing Solution
User Personas Problem Framing Canvas
What is the true problem? Who are the customers facing
Name: Aditi Saxena Age: 24 the problem?
Travellers find trip planning
Occupation: Brand Manager City: Kolkata New age users accustomed to
Travel Style: Adventure-seeking and Budget-Conscious
stressful and time-consuming due
to information overload, difficulty personalized experiences.
Goal: To plan unique and fulfilling trips conveniently. Individuals seeking convenience.
crafting cohesive itineraries, and
Pain Point: Difficulty choosing between options under budget Users overwhelmed by the
anxieties around unreliable
and fear of missing out on key attractions. planning process.
information and hidden costs.
How do we know it is a real problem?
Name: Mohan Age: 28
Occupation: HR Manager City: Delhi Survey insights reveal common pain points regarding choice overload,
Travel Style: Seeks Relaxation and Values Convenience itinerary struggles, manual management, and outdated information.
Goal: To have a smooth and enjoyable trip Interview insights provide real-life examples of these pain points leading
Pain Point: Lacks information on alternatives to places on his to negative travel experiences and abandoned travel plans.
itinerary and has a distrust of online information. What is the value generated by solving this problem?
For the target customers: For the business:
Reduced stress of travel planning. Increased user engagement.
Jobs-to-be-done Statement Increased confidence in choosing Higher conversion rates and
When I am planning a trip, the right experiences. increased bookings.
But I find it overwhelming to research all the different elements More enjoyable, fulfilling, and Reduced bounce rates and
while ensuring I get the best value, personalized trips. abandoned carts.
Please help me effortlessly plan and book my entire trip, Transparency and peace of mind Improved customer satisfaction
So I can enjoy a stress-free travel experience. when booking. and loyalty
 Problem Framing Solution Wireframing
PlanMytrip Itinerary dashboard
AI Trip recommendations AI Budget Optimizer
How it works: Users interact with a How it works: A single dashboard that How it works: The tool integrates with the
GenAI chatbot, providing travel aggregates all booking information (flights, user's trip plan and budget, proactively
preferences (dates, budget, interests, accommodation, activities, transportation) into a searching for deals on flights,
travel style, etc.) through natural unified itinerary. accommodation, and activities based on
conversation. GenAI Power: The AI automatically organises preferences.
GenAI Power: The chatbot analyzes the bookings chronologically, optimises routes for GenAI Power: The AI analyzes price
input date, past travel data (if available), efficiency and suggests relevant activities based trends, predicts optimal booking times, and
and a vast database of destinations, on location and schedule, using Google Map API identifies personalized deals, taking the
attractions, and reviews to generate a and provides weather forecast, real-time updates guesswork out of securing the best value.
personalized recommendations.. and alerts about the unforeseen circumstances.

Detailed prioritisation
Prioritisation

Feature Impact Estimate Confidence Score Value Risk Usability Risk Feasibility Risk Business Viability Risk Overall Score

PlanMytrip Itinerary
5 5 3 2 3 2 20
dashboard

AI Budget Optimizer 3 5 2 2 2 2 16

AI Trip recommendations 4 3 3 3 3 2 18
 Solution Wireframing Metrics & System design

Users get AI
recommendati- Users get new
ons based on suggestions.
their details. AI recommendation

Make new recommendation

Welcome To your personalised trip dashboard
Users can get Hotel Transfer
Users get
PlanMyTrip
street view and weather
recent photos. forcast for the
recommended
Users get ETA destinations.
for the GET STREET VIEW GET RECENT PHOTOS

recommended Users get entire

destinations. itinerary with
SELECT BUDGET ₹1,80,234
suggestions
based on
Users can add
weather and
TRAVEL STYLES

their details and

real-time
ADVENTURE RELAXATION CULTURE can even select Warm Weather with low
information
SEARCH
their budget and chance of Precipitation

CONTINUE
using AI..
travel style.
 Wireframing System design & Metrics Pitfalls & Mitigation
System Architechture Metrics

Type Metric Goals

User

Dashboard adoption rate

(# of users creating/using dashboard) / (# of total users) Increase adoption.

Engagement Bookings Integrated Per Trip

MakeMyTrip App (Total # of bookings linked to dashboard) / (# of trips planned) Drive higher integration
Metric
Itinerary Completion Rate Improve completion rates
(# of users creating complete itineraries) /
(# of users starting a plan)
MakeMyTrip Database External API

Personalized Recommendation
AI Performance Acceptance Rate Increase acceptance rate
(# of AI recommendations accepted/booked) /
(# of recommendations presented)

AI recommendation Engine

API Integration Success Rate

(# of successful API calls) / (total # of API calls)
Maintain a high success rate

Check metrics Data Accuracy & Timeliness

Track % of discrepancies in real-time data) /
(Frequency of data updates) Minimize discrepancies
Weather App API Google Map API
 System Design & Metrics Pitfalls & Mitigation
Pitfalls Guardrails

1. Inaccurate Data: Relying on real-time data (e.g., weather, travel conditions) may lead to inaccuracies. Regular user
Mitigation: feedback sessions to
Implement a step-by-step guided flow that introduces information gradually. ensure the interface
Provide customizable filters and settings to allow users to control the amount of data displayed. remains user-
friendly.
2. Integration Issue: Limited Value Perception if Users Don't Integrate Bookings.
A/B testing for
Mitigation:
optimal balance
Clearly communicate the benefits of using the dashboard (e.g., centralized bookings, real-time updates,
between
reduced stress).
comprehensive
Offer incentives for users to connect their bookings (e.g., exclusive deals, loyalty points, personalized
recommendations). information and user
Make connecting bookings as frictionless as possible. Explore options for automatic import of booking simplicity.
confirmations from email inboxes. Use a modular
design approach for
3. Lack of User Control: Over reliance on AI Leading to Inflexibility or Lack of User Control easy updates and
Mitigation: feature additions.
Allow users to easily override AI-powered suggestions or make manual adjustments to their itineraries. Use API versioning
Provide users with insights into how the AI generates recommendations and makes decisions, fostering trust to manage changes
and understanding. in external APIs and
Combine AI-powered suggestions with traditional search and filtering options, giving users the flexibility to avoid disruptions.
explore on their own terms.