The New Sabre Red Workspace
A point of sale tool that travel agencies and companies have used for decades to book air fare, hotels, rental cars, cruises and more for clients around the world. Despite efforts to create a "graphical" version, this tool has remained a command driven application with a terminal interface since the 1960's.
The Project
How do you update a terminal interface to allow new users to quickly begin using a robust travel booking tool, but also allow the command warriors (we called them "cryptic warriors") to continue working the same way they have for decades?
How did we do?
Landed a billion plus dollar contract over 10 years with one of the largest travel booking companies in the world, and brought in several other large clients just with the promise of the new tool and capabilities alone.
Delivered the product in an extremely tight time frame, managing myriad requirements and client demands along the way.
Created the most modern travel booking tool in the industry, and laid a foundation for enhancements and mobile experiences that are unmatched.
Managed to appease users that have worked with Sabre Red Workspace for decades while allowing new users to quickly jump in and become power users with little to no training.
This is the interface that has existed for decades.
So, how did we do it?
First, you study your users.
Our partner's on the Sabre research team went into the field to observe how agents work from day to day. Our research helped identify the agents' challenges, bottlenecks with the software, and opportunities for us to not only improve the interface but to also provide enhanced information that helps them identify the best deals for their clients. That, coupled with workshops I ran with suppliers and agents, helped point us in a direction that would benefit all users.
Second, you put your observations to work and begin designing.
We used the results from observations and user studies to direct our design decisions. The user needs were balanced against the desire to keep a consistent experience across all of the products within SRW (air, car, hotel, etc.). Many of these changes required working closely with our development and architecture partners to determine how new features would be built on the legacy systems that drive the product, and often this planning required looking 8-12 months out.
Sprinkle in years of work and this is the final (but always fluid) product!
A graphical tool that new users can hop into and begin using with little or no training. One that mimics many of the patterns established by online booking websites, which we found younger users of our tool have learned from booking their own trips. So baking familiar patterns and interactions into SRW allowed new users to quickly find their footing.
And it's a hybrid tool
One that allows for a fully command driven experience, with rich media and product information nested just a click or key stroke away. And with the flip of a switch the user can return to the fully graphical experience, which we found was often important when they want to sell something or perform an action they are unfamiliar with or do rarely.
Here is a sampling of the work I did while at Sabre.
One of my primary focuses was to work with the Hotels department to craft a new shopping experience. This was an area that had been neglected for many years, but got new life thanks to the product overhaul. I worked over several months to understand how user's book hotels in SRW, what backend service limitations and opportunities existed, and how the supplier side of the equation factored in.
Running workshops at an industry conference, usability studies in the labs, and guerilla studies to quickly determine direction when quick delivery was critical; all allowed for a more intuitive, useful, and efficient hotel shopping flow.
