Sydney Opera House

Posted on by Filita
Sydney Opera House Logo

Abstract

The Sydney Opera House is an iconic venue. They had identified a problem with their online ticket selection and booking system. Chandre Jansen van Vuuren and I worked together to deliver the following

  • Heuristic reviews of the desktop and mobile websites
  • Prototypes of solutions for desktop and mobile
  • Prioritised list of future improvements
  • Other suggested opportunities

We achieved this through prototype development, 1:1 interviews, research and usability testing.

We finished the project by presenting our deliverables to the Sydney Opera House Steering Committee to create buy-in for the changes that were proposed

Introduction

The Sydney Opera House has found from their analysis and user testing that there is a problem with the current ticketing system and it is causing a loss of sales. This project aimed to identify the problems with the current system and suggest improvements,  both on mobile and desktop.  I worked with Chandre Jansen van Vuuren for this project. The project was completed in an agile environment.

The aim of the project was to improve the conversion rate on the website and reduce the reliance on phone calls for ticket sales.

The project was undertaken over 2 weeks in November 2017.

Method

  1. Competitor Research
  2. Proto-Persona
  3. Prototype development on Balsamiq
  4. Heuristic Review
  5. 1:1 interviews
  6. Affinity mapping
  7. Presentation to the clients from Sydney Opera House
  8. Improvements to the prototype
  9. Additional Features
  10. 1:1 interviews
  11. Affinity mapping
  12. Presentation to the Sydney Opera House's website steering committee
Opera House Week 1 Affinity Map

Tools

Software Tools

  • Balsamiq
  • Google Slides
  • Xtensio.com

UX Tools

  • Affinity Mapping
  • Interviews
  • Prototype development
  • Usability Testing
  • Heuristic Reviews

Other Tools

  • Client Management
  • Project Management
  • Executive Presentation

Heuristic Reviews

We used a standard usability review spreadsheet that looked at 45 weighted criteria that produce a percentage and rating for the review. The criteria are for the following topics

  • Features & Functionality
  • Homepage
  • Navigation
  • Search
  • Control & Feedback
  • Forms
  • Errors
  • Context & Text
  • Help
  • Performance

The Sydney Opera House website was rated as 'Excellent'(90%) on desktop and 'Moderate'(63%) on mobile.
Opera House Heuristic Review Results

Phase 1 - Protoyping

After completing a competitor analysis and heuristic review I developed a mobile prototype of the online ticketing system. Chandre completed the desktop prototype. Some of the changes that were made compared to the current site are

  • Ticket type selection before seat selection
  • Search for random seat that matches your ticket type
  • Package add ons after seat selection
  • Static 'Book Now' button

Here is a selection of the the wireframes

Phase 1: Interviews, Usability Testing and Analysis

Participants

We created a proto persona
Persona of Bob
but unfortunately we were unable to have access to participants that matched our target group. The five participants that we were able to use had the following attributes

  • Aged between 25 and 35
  • Professionals
  • Occasional concert goers
  • 4 of 5 were unfamiliar with the current site

Interview & Usability Testing

We conducted testing using the following scenarios

  1. You are relaxing on the couch at home and you see an advertisement for a concert that you would like to go and see. Using your laptop go through the process of buying tickets.
  2. You are on the bus and the man next to you is asleep and has started man-spreading. The bus next to you has a advertisement for a concert that you are keen to see. Use your phone to book tickets.

For the scenarios we tested the participants in simulated environments. We also tested how the participants went about finding a tour to buy on the current site.
Here are some of the quotes from the participants about the process of buying tickets.

Insights from our participants

Analysis and Presentation

From the 1:1 interviews we used our notes to make an affinity map. The insights from this were then presented to the Sydney Opera House.
Some of the insights were

  • "Just let me pay"
  • Move the addons to after the seat selection
  • Not quite there yet with the streamlining of the checkout process
  • Paypal would be nice
  • Searching for random seat isn't required but if price and section could be selected it would ok
  • Finding how to book a tour was hard
  • Type of ticket selection before seat selection was good
  • The need for guest checkout
  • Improved membership benefits

Phase 2 - Prototype

From the analysis undertaken and the feedback from the presentation to the client we iterated the designs. The following changes were made

  • Removal of multiply steps to get to the Checkout
  • Streamlined checkout
  • Added a link to the tours using different names for for desktop and mobile
  • Adjustments to colour usage
  • Timer on the cart
  • Guest Checkout

Phase 2: Interviews, Usability Testing and Analysis

Interview and Usability Testing

Our 5 participants were similar to the participants in week 1. We used the same scenarios with additional tests around finding tours and membership benefits.
Here are some of the quotes from the participants in week 2.
Participants quotes week 2

Analysis

After completing the interviews we carried out an affinity map to inform our insights.
Affinity Map Week 2

A Little Extra

Quick Wins

  • Static “Book Now” button (critical)
  • Packages after seat selection
  • View Cart & Continue to Checkout buttons
  • Legend for seat floor plan

Recommended

  • Ticket Type quantity selection and filters
  • Multiple area map population
  • Big seat floor plan
  • Guest Checkout
  • Tailored membership

 

Insights - Ticket and Seat Selection

  • Ticket Type by quantity
  • Populate map with multiple sections
  • Auto select seat with ability to filter
  • Large map of whole seating floor plan
  • Cart Preview on seating floor plan page
  • Auto add ticket to cart when selecting seats
Extra Insights

Priority list

  • Static “Book Now” button
  • Ticket Type by quantity
  • Ticket Type before seat selection
  • Big floor plan (desktop), pinch zoom (mobile)
  • Map population of multiple seating sections
  • Packages after ticket and seat selection
  • Guest Checkout
  • Tailored membership

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