Designing a Digital Tool - Report Example

INFORMATION SCIENCE Introduction THEME: Design a travel digital tool that will make it easy for honeymooners to find their preferred destination. This report intends to portray how the digital tool to be designed is intended to provide information about the various travel destinations specifically designed for the newlyweds to go for their honeymoon. The application will be designed in such a way that it will provide information about the available hotels as well as the packages offered in each hotel at any location worldwide. This will enable the engaged couples to the make an informed destination about the travel destination that will suit their preference through visiting the web site (Laudon & Laudon, 2002, 21). Observation and user-group I made an observation on a set of two engaged couples who were in the process of deciding on where to go for their honeymoon. Through the observation and interviews, I was able to discover that most of the couples used websites, which will give them a list of travel destinations that they could visit, or websites their family or friends used who have been on a honeymoon. In light of the shortcomings associated with travel websites, the digital tool will come in handy for the honeymooners. This is so because the wire-frames will provide detailed information about all the suitable locations globally that is specifically meant for honeymooners alongside the packages that are being offered. This will go a long way to ensure that the couples make an informed decision and visit the destination meets their needs. I chose to observe and interview couples on a one-on-one basis to get their individual views about sites used to decide on places to visit. The following are the list of questions that I chose to ask them. 1. How easy was it to achieve the task? Why? 2. What site did you find useful to decide on a place to visit? Why? 3. Was the site useful in terms of communicating info in regards to prices, booking hotel and accommodation? 4. Is it easy to find the required information on the site(s) used? From the interviews that I conducted on the two couples, I was able to find out that the process of finding out the best destinations. The couples confessed that in most occasions, they were not able to get the full information that they required. This forced them to go to a consultant or agencies for additional information, which is not only time consuming, but also tiresome. At the same time, it was not a guarantee that the information on the internet about a particular destination was up-to-date. This would result to the couples making a decision based on assumptions, which is not an advisable activity. Through the development of the digital tool, the risk of making decisions under assumptions will be mitigated. This is because the digital tool will incorporate all-important information about a location. The application will also be dynamic in nature in that the information about all the chosen location will be up-to-date. If any changes are made in the packages being offered or the prices, then it will be reflected in the digital tool as soon as the updates are implemented in the specific location. This will facilitate in making appropriate decisions by the honeymooners. Evaluation of the Digital Tool In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the application to the honeymooners, I sort to ask the following question two another set of two couples to gather their responses on the efficiency of the application: i. How would you rate digital tool, and why? ii. What are some of the problems you encounter while using the digital tool? iii. As compared to others, is the digital tool efficient? iv. What would you recommend for change in the digital tool and why? With this set of questions, I would be able to deduce whether the digital tool performs the intended functionality as required, or not. If not, I would be able to find out way and this will enable me to improve on those areas that bring about the shortcoming. I would also be able to find out whether the digital tool is user friendly. It should be a digital tool that it simple enough for anyone interacting with it. From the evaluation questions, I was able to gather that as compared to the traditional method of consultation or search through the internet, the application was rated highly in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. The two different couples also said that the digital tool is easy to go about. It did not require a lot of knowledge to operate it. However, some changes needed to be made on the interface to make it more appealing to the user. As much as it was appropriate, the interface was described to be dull, and therefore some little adjustment needed to be made. That was the only modification that needed to be implemented in the application. Upon opening the link, the visitors view this interface. It gives a description of the web site and what it does. It also allow the visitors to have a video guide of the web site if they wish. There are also pictures of some of the travel destinations just to give the visitor a feel of what the web site entails. This is the “About” page, which from the interface above, it enables the visitors to make a selection of a travel destination using the three given choices. It also gives the visitor an insight of the travel destinations that are visited mostly. This information will give the visitors a clue of the destinations that are highly rated worldwide. This interface has the chosen user destination. It depicts the image of the chosen location alongside a short description of the place. There is also a provision of posting comments on their views about the place. When a comment is posted, it is delivered to the email address of the selected location immediately. There is a list of the hotels that are located near the chosen location. The visitor can be able to view the packages being offered in each hotel as well as the prices and make a comparison. This will enable the couple to estimate the amount that they will incur while in their honeymoon. . This interface provides a list of ways in which the visitor can be able to reach the administrator of the web site for more information. One could call, send an email address, and just post a comment. Reference List LAUDON, K. C., & LAUDON, J. P. (2002). Management information systems: managing the digital firm. Upper Saddle River, N.J., Prentice Hall. Read More