Phase 1 — Discover:

LET’S GO TO A SHOW, OR NOT…

My research started by conducting a task analysis on the current website. I asked 3 users to “buy two tickets to a show that is currently playing with an added dinner combo.” Here I was able to see where the users struggled.

LAST TIME I SAW…

After not being able to complete the task in a reasonable time or at all, I interviewed the same 3 participants to get an understanding of how they’ve purchased tickets in the past. This consisted of asking qualitative questions that ranged from ticket purchasing habits and planning a night out with friends to an event. I compiled all that I researched to conduct an affinity map to view trends when purchasing event tickets.

Here’s what I discovered:

• They knew what shows were currently playing from other theaters they purchased tickets from.

• They purchased tickets in advance.

• Selecting their seats was important.

• They almost always grabbed dinner and a drink before a show.

WHAT A GOOD THEATER HAS

After seeing these trends, I decided to gather the same participants and conducted another task analysis, but this time on CASA 0101’s direct and indirect competitors. I had the users purchase a ticket for a recent show at the Pasadena Playhouse, and Arclight movie theater. What I discovered was it took users less than 3 minutes to find a show and go through the checkout process.

So I conducted a comparative + competitive analysis to see what features Pasadena Playhouse, Pantages Theater, and Arclight had to make a successful ticket purchasing experience for their users and how can CASA 0101 be better. Here’s what all 3 theaters had in common:

Phase 2 — Define:

PERFORMING ARTS ENTHUSIAST, MARICRUZ

I then created a persona to focus my design decisions. By defining Maricruz’s goals and frustrations, I was able to continue my design process with the target user’s needs and motivations in mind.

GETTING MARICRUZ TO A SHOW

CASA 0101 features many plays, gallery exhibitions, and events throughout the year, but their website makes it difficult for users’ to search for currently playing shows and buying tickets. 

How can we improve the users’ search experience, ticket selection, and checkout experience to be more efficient?

Phase 3 — Design

NO POPCORN, BUT GOOD FEATURES

It was time to narrow down which features would be useful to Maricruz when purchasing tickets. Now playing, seating chart, and dinner combo were just a few.

TAKE MY MONEY

Seeing which features that would be beneficial to CASA 0101’s site, I then created a simple user flow to get the user from finding a show to checkout with ease.

SCENE 1: SKETCHES

I began sketching the landing, show description, and checkout pages. The goal was to keep it simple and easy to navigate.

THE CRITICS

Next, I created mid-fidelity wireframes for usability testing and made them into a clickable prototype in InVision. I asked the testers to find a show that was currently playing and purchase a ticket with a dinner combo ticket. Here are the takeaways:

Phase 4 — Deliver:

STANDING OVATION

NEXT SHOW

I’d like to create an interactive calendar on the home page for visitors to get a birds-eye view of the month to see what shows, gallery exhibitions, and festivals will be taking place. 

REFLECTION

After this project, I learned a valuable lesson about the user’s time. That a bad first impression and user experience can discourage the user and have them abandoning the site.