Interrail.EU usability study
A Masters research project for Concepts, Measures & Methods at the University of Twente.
A large project conducted for a course in the first year of my Masters called Concepts, Measures & Methods. We were tasked with applying user research methods to analyse any product, service, or website. I chose Interrail.EU because I'd run into issues with the site myself, and I wanted to identify and ultimately propose solutions to the pain points I'd experienced.
I ran interviews, surveys, usability tests, and card sorts to gather data on the user experience of the website. As part of the study I also attended focus groups for other people's projects, which helped me understand how to run a focus group well — how to encourage people to speak their minds without inducing bias.
What the study surfaced.
Interrail.EU's user experience is significantly hampered by a problematic seat-reservation process — poor communication, external-site dependencies, no group bookings — and by unclear navigation around pass details and country information. The pass-purchasing experience is clunky (no in-app purchase, limited flexibility) and compounded by technical glitches.
- 01
- Problems in the seat reservation process: poor communication, external dependencies, no group bookings.
- 02
- Confusing pass details and country info as core navigation issues.
- 03
- Triangulated findings across interviews, surveys, usability tests, and card sorts.
What the report proposed.
Streamlined reservations with better integration; clearer navigation and pass details; in-app pass purchases; and fixing the technical glitches that compound the rest.
Full report · PDF.
