A platform for booking Indian Railways ‘Circular Journey’ tickets

1. By Puneeta Jaitely
Circular Journey tickets
A platform for booking Indian Railways ‘Circular Journey’ tickets

2. Design an application for booking Indian
Railways ‘Circular Journey’ tickets
PROBLEM STATEMENT

3. SYNTHESISANALYSIS
RESEARCH Design
Understand Make
AbstractReal
Observations
Principles
Plan
Tests
1Sense intent
Know Context
Know People
Frame Insights
Explore concepts
Frame solutions
Iterate
DESIGN PROCESS
A nonlinear and iterative process
4
3
2
5
6
7

4. SENSE INTENT
Lets consider the changing world around us
Where is the world moving? In which area of people’s changing life patterns will our
innovation fit in? Studied the trends causing change in the current travel ecosystem -
technology, business, culture, people, markets, and the economy.

5. • What is a circular journey?
• Who will benefit?
• How to book?
• The Cost Chart
• How much money you can save?
• Compared cost break down of travel
without circular journey and with circular
journey
• Circular Journey Tickets - Basic Rules
• Process of applying
POPULAR MEDIA SCAN
A broad look at what is published and broadcasted in popular media

6. MIND MAP
Circular
journey
ticket
Complicat
ed
Lengthy
process
(7-8 days)
Tourists
Group
Pilgrimage
Busine
ssmen
travellers
Long
booking
process
reservation is
done from
starting
station
Station
cannot be
repeated
twice
Validity
cannot be
extended
Minimum
Fare charged
on 3000km
Disadvant
ages
Advantag
es
Travel
flexibility
Customise
routes
Standard
routes
Maximum 8
breaks
later apply
for refundCancel full
ticket & apply
again
Cancel
Manual
process
Application
to CRM
Reservation
office
Show
Itinerary
Meet DRM
Application
Not
Clear
Fix route
& fare
Approval
Meet Station
manager
Purchase
CJT
Stand in
Queue
Manual
Info not
available
Forums
discuss
confusion
Not available
online
Booking
Used it for understanding &
inspiration and to guide my
activities for deeper
exploration.

7. Personal interaction with the
agent at the booking window
No technology used, may be a
phone call
Few people have shifted from
offline to online media with
internet being easily
accessible
Mobile influences consumer
choice in every travel
planning process
Heavily relay on trains being
the main mode of transport
Travel as a luxury, family travel,
local travel nearby places,
pilgrims
Train still remains to an
important source of travel
people have started opting for
flights to save time and
hassle
Train still remains to an
important source of travel
people have started opting for
flights to save time and
hassle
Travel in routine Travel as an escape from the mundane
lifestyle, unusual destinations, want to
decide destination on their own.
Homogeneous/ alike/ same
kind culture
Hybrid culture, globalisation,
urbanisation, hassle of travel
Less culture differences, more
comfortable with other parts of the
world culture.
Personal interaction with the
travel agent/booking counter,
holiday packages, or booking
trains and hotels separately
Online travel, book packages
online, make your itinerary
online.
Make your own packages, pick what
you like, flexibility while booking,
mobile usage, well connected personal
network to manage your stay
TREND MATRIX
Changes happening today that lead to future direction
Formerly Currently Emerging
Technology
Market
People
Culture
Business

8. • Once the booking is done the reservation process is
complete there are no post reservation services.
• Passenger has to travel in same class for the entire
circular journey
• After reservation if you plan to cancel your trip there will
be no refund.
• Number of travellers and class will not be changed at any
leg of the journey
• Following are the assumption I made while working
on the assignment
ASSUMPTIONS

9. From ToTrend
Experience
System
Process
Going to the
booking office of
the station where
you want to start
your journey
Reshaping the
customer journey
by making it
simple, easy and
fast.
Cater to needs of
the consumer
wherever they are
Circular manner
travel route with
fixed route mostly,
going to the
station and
manually filling up
the form to
making
reservations
A platform to
plan and book
on your own
4-7 days
process, old
school, time
consuming
Online booking,
planning
itinerary, digital
& Mobile driven
Online forums for
info,Social
networking,
People shifting to
online media with
internet being
easily accessible.
Reduce time of
process
followed
presently
FROM…..TO EXPLORATION

10. Circular Journey Ticket
A platform for booking Indian Railways ‘Circular Journey’ tickets

11. SWOT ANALYSIS
Evaluating products strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
• Rates lower than regular point to point fare
• It is convenient and easy.
• Rail travel is first choice in India.
• Good for people traveling to multi destinations - long trips +
multiple stops.
• Saves time and inconvenience of booking tickets for each day
of the journey.
• Planning done in advance so no last minute hassle.
• Can be purchased for all classes of travel.
• You can have upto 8 break journeys using the tickets.
• Old school.
• Time consuming - 4-8 days of processes.
• Information for change in schedule and cancellation is not clear.
• The form available is very confusing.
• Details of fare and route for tickets can only be obtained from
stations. Train information not provided.
• Any change in application, the traveler needs to put a new
application.
• Information provide online is not sufficient. Don't know where to
start from.
• Support people in their planning and booking process.
• Make effective use of social media and online presence.
• Tell/Inform people about circular ticket booking.
• Handy information to the customers where ever and whenever needed
- Train schedule /itinerary etc.
• Introducing new methods of booking using latest technology available.
• Provide person to person assistance when required.
• Connect with the user in the entire planning and booking process.
• Reduce the process time.
• Improve the paper form and paper ticket experience.
• Not many people know about it - Information gap.
• Fully manual in the era of digitisation.
• Availability of ticket is not known while making the
circular journey ticket request.
Strength Weaknesses
ThreatsOpportunities

12. • People were not aware of this process.
• Many thought it was tedious.
• Some felt it was actually nice but who would take out
time to visit the station in the age of mobile phone
and internet
Insights from the customer interviews
Transfer of confirmed ticket to
somebody else?
“Availability of berths will be
subject to being available on
those trains you choose. Then
what’s the use? I don’t want to
stand wait listed”
“How difficult is it to get a circular ticket?
I mean does it requires lot of documentation
and do I need to spend lot of time with the
Station master”?
“Can one of the station be
repeated? Say for going to Jammu,
we need to pass through Delhi both
on the way ahead and back. You see
the process is not clear”
“What has to be the maximum time
limit of the journey?? Can I travel
through north to south of india and have
a ticket valid for almost 2 months?
User interviews

13. FRAME INSIGHTS
Extracting key insights and converging to principles
Distill research into handful of key insights, and then turn them into concise,
actionable principles.

14. USER JOURNEY MAP(Circular Journey Ticket)
Mapping the user journey through the context
CJT BOOKINGStages Inquiry/ planning Itinerary Reservation Post booking/pre travel Travel Post travel
DOING Research CJT rules, Process,
destinations, routes, breaks & trains
IRCT
websites
CJT web
forums/
blogs
Google
search
Family &
Friends
Process
CJT rules
time
tables
Routes
Destinatio
n pages
Rate
charts
Train list IRCTC
enquiry
Stations
Preparing
Itinerary
Divisional
Commercial
Manager
Station
manager
IRCTC
ONLINE
Discussions
Calling
Approval
Purchase
CJT
Reservatio
n officeBook
Train
Plan
activities
Online
Cancel/
add days/
reduce
Call
Search
stay
Add
station
Reservatio
n status
Train route
selection
ticket availability
per leg
Accommodation Itinerary tweaking
Thinking
Feeling
Experience
• I have doubts where should I go?
• Where do i want to go
• How much time should I spend at each
leg of the journey
• I want to ensure I am saving money
• How much will the entire trip cost
me
• Where am I going to stay?
Scope of work
limited only till
the booking due
to time
limitations
Opportunities
• What if i don’t get a confirmed reservation
at each leg of journey
• An issue has come up where do i get the answer from
• The enquiry people don’t answer the phone
• What if my waiting list ticket is not confirmed during my
journey who is going to help?
• I don’t want to make a wrong choice
• Will I be able to cover everything i want to
during the my stay at each destination?
• Keeping track of so many things together
is tedious.
• Not sure if i will clear the wait list
• Stressed that I am about to leave for a trip
• Confused while dealing the booking process
• Happy that my entire journey is planned and reservations are
in place
Tedious, time consuming Lacks clarity
Communicate a clear
value proposition
Make your user into
better, more savvy
travellers
Help people get the
support they need
Support people in
creating their own
solutions
Enable people to plan
over time.
Connect
planning,Booking
together
Take the process
online
Arm the customer with
information for
decision making
Communicate status
clearly at all times

15. • Availability of berths
will be subject to being
available on those
trains you choose
• You have to prepare
your itinerary in
circular type. Say from
NDLS-JP-BCT-MAS-
HWH-NDLS
• A traveler can go to
many places with only
eight break journeys in
between.
• One must prepare the
itinerary and approach the
authorities for a circular
ticket journey
• There are standard
circular journey itinerary
available to choses from
in case you don’t have
your own itinerary
• Planning and booking go
hand in hand
• People are coming online
to to get information
about the tour they are
planning but itinerary is
prepared offline
• Some people mainly
business traveler would
prefer staying closer to the
railway station throughout
the journey
• People would prefer
staying closer to the
railway station throughout
the journey
• People likely arrive with
a particular intention
but don’t know how to
proceed further
INSIGHTS
Sorting insights to find cluster and hierarchies
• If the system offers a
simple and useful
experience to the user the
brand value of indian
railway would increase and
user would come back
again and also refer to
other people
• The traveler needs
maximum flexibility from
the system.
• System should give
traveler maximum
flexibility.
• Communicate a clear
value proposition
• Make your user
into better, more
savvy travellers
• Help people get
the support they
need
• Support people in
creating their own
solutions
• Enable people to
plan over time.
• Take the process online
• Arm the customer with
information for decision
making
• Communicate
status clearly at
all times

16. DESIGN PRINCIPLE GENERATION
01Help travellers book
Circular journey ticket
hassle free
02 Intuitive and easy to
understand process
03 Offer a more cohesive
booking experience.
04
05
Considering where the
travellers and system’s
goals intersect
Support discovery and
decision making

17. EXPLORE CONCEPTS
Into the world of possibilities
Exploring concepts is to be creative and open to new ideas and ways of thinking, keeping
in mind human centred and concept driven principles for success.

18. He lives in Delhi with his wife two kids and parents. He uses Leave Travel
Concession (LTC) every year during his kids summer vacation and goes
for 10-15 days tour. He is aware of Circular Journey tickets as he has
conducted tours for his school children using this service and he finds it
easy to travel like this since he is travel with senior citizens and kids Travel goals
PERSONA DEFINITION
Defining user personality for exploring concepts around them
Chander Prakash
Attributes: Leisure, Family,
Budget, pilgrimage, Group
Personal details:
Wants to plan his trip effectively and make
travel arrangement without hassle and in
budget
Wants his family to have the best vacation
possible
He should be able build his itinerary with the
best and shortest route possible
This year on his parents suggestion he is planning a trip to all the
temples in South. and following is his travel itinerary : New Delhi Chennai
Central (via Vriddhachalam) – Rameshwaram – Madurai – Tirunelveli –
Kanya Kumari – Thiruvanthapuram Central – Udagamandalam (via
Bangalore City) – Hyderabad Deccan – New Delhi (Valid for 52 days)
Age: 42
Occupation: Government School teacher
Location: Delhi
Background:
Tech Comfort:Medium
Phone: Smart phone
“I am travelling with senior citizens &
kids so I want a hassle free travel
arrangement”

19. He lives in Amritsar and owns a garments store. He frequently travels to
various places in and around Delhi, Gujarat and Mumbai to pick up
orders or material for his store. His route is generally fixed since he goes
to these places at least once in 2-3 months. His tour is normally from
8-15 days.
PERSONA DEFINITION
Defining user personality for exploring concepts around them
Manjeet Kaur
Attributes: Limited time, Business, Budget,
Group, Solo, Frequently, lower tier
Personal details:
Age: 35
Occupation: Businessman
Location: Amritsar
Background:
Tech Comfort: Advance
Phone: Smart phone
“ I keep travelling for work and I look
for an all in one travel solution ”
Travel goals
Doesn’t want to spend to much on transportation.
Usually in a rush wants his railway booking done
without hassle
He wants travel choices and tools that make it as
easy as possible for him to focus on business
objectives and get the job done.
He books his own tickets and sometimes in case of urgency asks a
Travel agent to do it for him.

20. Make it Social
Enhance the experiences with social
components, thereby driving loyalty, and
referral business.
Intelligent Assistance
Answer a few quick questions and you get a
customised list of options to choose from.
A train booking site’s role evolving into
trusted advisor, incorporating all sorts of
information related to the trip at hand.
Imagine stunning high-definition images paired
with insightful, useful information about the
various destinations you’re considering.
IDEATION
Aware
Let’s offer the best possible prices in real-time, based
on the user’s location and preferences.
Cross-Channel User Experience
User needs
Flexible search function based on the
user’s specific needs
Suggestions
People have an intent when they come online. we can use
that intent and encourage them to explore by suggesting
relevant options they otherwise wouldn’t have considered
Multi city planning
Giving user a better experience by
allowing them to enter multi city itinerary
Interactive map
A map that shows the destinations, time of
arrival, departure, No of stops etc. will be
interesting
Help on time
When the train is delayed or cancelled, last minute
platform changes, seat and berth no, PNR status ect can
be presented in a clean, clear way with maximum utility
Intuitive filters
Easily filter your results by various criteria
Compare and purchase
Make your own itinerary and compare it
with an existing one and purchase the
one that best suits your needs

21. Insights Principles individual System Strategy
Partnership:
Hotels are key to almost any journey
where train is required. Including the
hotel industry would give a more unified
booking experience.
Offer a more cohesive booking
experience.
Considering where the travellers
and system’s goals intersect
Make it Social
It’s high time modern airline sites get
onboard and enhance their experiences
with social components, thereby driving
loyalty, and referral business.
CONCEPT GENERATION MATRIX
Generating a comprehensive and well grounded set of concepts based on research insights
Advisor
A train booking site’s role evolving into
trusted advisor, incorporating all sorts of
information related to the trip at hand.
Support discovery and
decision making
Intelligent Assistance
On answering few quick questions user
gets a customised list of options to
choose from just like the enquiry agent
would suggest.
Endless Inspiration
It should be way easier to imagine the
possibilities, without requiring extra effort
from the user.
Intuitive and easy to understand
process
High-definition images paired with
insightful, useful information about
the various destinations you’re
considering.
Help travellers book Circular
journey ticket hassle free
Aware
Let’s offer the best possible prices in
real-time, based on the user’s
location and preferences.
Brand value
If the website offers a simple and
useful experience to the user the
brand value of indian railway would
increase and user would come back
again and also refer to other people
Suggestions
People have an intent when they
come online. we can use that intent
and encourage them to explore by
suggesting relevant options they
otherwise wouldn’t have considered
Planning and booking go
hand in hand
People are coming online to to get
information about the tour they are
planning but itinerary is prepared
offline
The traveler needs maximum
flexibility from the system.
Users interact with organisation
through many channels,
including the web, email, mobile
and tablet, online chat,/forums,
visiting physical locations and
speaking with a person.
Cross-Channel User Experience
A train booking site’s role evolving into
trusted advisor, incorporating all sorts of
information related to the trip at hand.
Interactive map
A map that shows the destinations,
time of arrival, departure, No of
stops etc. will be interesting

22. Shortlist and share
CONCEPT SCENARIOS SKETCH
Universal platform

23. CONCEPT SCENARIO SKETCH
Interactive map
loyalty, and referral
Brand value
• A simple and useful experience to
the user
• loyalty, and referral

24. CONCEPT SCENARIO SKETCH
Search Cross channel experience

25. FRAMING SOLUTIONS
Into the world of possibilities
Challenging assumptions
Exploring concepts / ideas most relevant to the insights yet paying attention to the larger
picture, generating concepts and communicating those through effective storytelling.

26. INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Level 1- Home to search result

27. INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Level 2- Login, PAX popover & Reservation flow

28. INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Level 3-Review, Payment, Confirmation

30. SOLUTION WIREFRAME #1
Paper mocks for the web solution

31. SOLUTION WIREFRAME #1
Tried many variations of the concepts

32. SOLUTION WIREFRAME #1
Login screens
Contd…

33. SOLUTION WIREFRAME #1
Home screens

34. DETAILED USER FLOW SCREEN
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36. HOME -Enter Starting city
Tap on Text field and start writing
your starting city
You would get suggestion of cities.
You can also type railway codes for
diff cities
New Delhi (NDLS)
New Delhi (All Stations)
Mumbai (BST)
Mumbai (CST)
Secunderabad (SC)
Goa (GOI)
New Delhi (NDLS)
New Delhi (All Stations)
Mumbai (BST)
Mumbai (CST)
Secunderabad (SC)
Goa (GOI)
Secunderabad (SC)

37. SEARCH RESULT - Choose your favourite route, starting city,
Change starting city by taping on
heading in the title bar.
On tapping the floating action
button you have one tap access to
getting yourself support
Change city would appear on an
overlay. when you close it you go
back to the routes screen

38. SUPPORT - Live chat or query support
You can go for live chat for an
answers to your queries
Or leave a query and a person from
callcentre would get in touch with
you

39. FILTERS - Refine zones, Duration, No, of days, Cities
Filters will be based on zones,
different zones will have different
routes so it becomes easy to filter
what you exactly want like this
Choose the cities that you definitely
want in your route
Choose the cities that you definitely
want in your route

40. No result found
When you don’t get any result for a city
that you have entered it will show you
an error state and indicate start a fresh
search

41. SHORTLIST- Keep aside the routes you liked
Favourite the routes that you liked or
share them with friends instantly

42. RESERVATION
Tap on any route it will take you to the
reservation process
Before reservation we have a halt
where you plan your dates and class
preferences. This will help the system
to fetch a tentative price for you
Doing this enables the system to auto
pick one train for each individual leg
based on the shortest duration and
availability at that time.

43. RESERVATION FLOW
Even after auto select you still have an
option to check the other available
options. There is also a vision
representation of your route on the
map. This helps in keeping a track on
where you are while booking individual
legs
Select a different train from here once
you select a new train the total price
might change
Before proceeding to payments once
again check what you did so far

44. REVIEW AND PAYMENTS
Once you enter payment flow you will
see three step process-1) enter
traveler details, move to payment and
booking confirmation
After filling your card details you will
be moving to payment gateway
When the payment is made you will be
redirected to the confirmation screen.
go back to home or move to manage
bookings

45. Visual design screen
Tried to keep is visually
enticing by using stunning
high-definition images paired
with insightful, useful
information.
Usage of map that will show
individual leg , time of arrival,
departure, No of stops etc.
Usage of map that will show
individual leg , time of arrival,
departure, No of stops etc.
Making it a universal platform
experience- Use it on both
mobile and desktop for a cross
channel user experience

47. VISUAL DESIGN
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48. VISUAL DESIGN
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51. Thank You For watching