Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work

Aakash Kumar, Director - User Experience

 

 

“People ignore design that ignores people.” ~ Frank Chimero

 

In many years and many roles within the company, I have been a part of the processes and projects which have brought the brand closer to our customers. As a part of the design team, my motto has always been to put ourselves in the customer’s shoes and to make their experience on our platforms delightful.

 

I have been fortunate to be a part of this journey where we deliver various projects to meet the evolving needs of our customers. Back in 2015, we re-launched our Android and IOS app from scratch, within a matter of just 4 months. The entire process involved building features to enable our users to comfortably interact with us on their mobile phones. While this was a mammoth task at that time, we continuously kept improving our features, basis the customer feedback. And, this is still an on-going process.

 

As recent as 2017, we witnessed a change. Our customer segment was changing. MakeMyTrip was becoming a brand for not just the people in the larger cities of India, but also, Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. This posed a new question in front of us—how do we address this new audience? How do we make sure that MakeMyTrip caters to everyone, and at the same time creates a personal connect with each customer? How do we bring the ‘MY’ back in MakeMyTrip?

 

The vision was to make it a platform for ONE, but scalable for ALL. Our vision was to give a ‘personalized’ experience to each of our customers—to let them know that the app page was designed for their specific needs.

 

So, the girl from Bangalore, who searched for a hotel in Manali, would come back to the app and get more than one hotel option, according to her needs and preferences, based on her past bookings with us. It would also give her flight options for Himachal, cabs to get around, and activities to try, while in Manali. The entire team was aligned to work towards this single goal. Bringing back the ‘MY’ design was not only about visuals—it was more about creating the ‘MY’ feeling with the customer. Personalization was our main mantra and we’re happy to say, that we delivered it well. Now each time you open the app, you will find the page tailored to you and you alone, basis your search history and travel interests. We love our work and are always looking at ways and means of perfecting it.

 

The design team, which was once twelve or thirteen people, is now a strong army of forty-five members. This is a testimony to the value we add to the company, keeping in mind the voice of the customer. We are constantly working with different lines of business to solve problems—from tiny ones that might seem insignificant, to major overhauls like redesigning the entire app. We take customer feedback seriously and are always working towards making their experience better. If I were to use a Game of Thrones analogy, we are the Night’s Watch, guarding the gates of the North, reporting danger, problems and pain points, making sure there is peace maintained throughout the seven kingdoms.