1RM Search Enhancement

Improving the search experience for Revenue Management Users

Overview

Product: 1RM
Users: Revenue Management and Field Users
Feature: Search Function
Goal: Make it easier for users to search for a location

Role: UX/Product Design

Time: March 2025 (4 months and on going)

When developing 1RM, a new application for Revenue Management users, our team introduced a feature called Global Filter to help users locate and select locations within a complex hierarchy.

After launching a pilot, we quickly uncovered usability issues that significantly slowed users down. I led UX research to identify the root problem and define a more efficient search experience.

The Problem

The Global Filter required users to drill down a rigid hierarchy:

Team → Group → Region/Sub-Region/City → Area → Station

This process created several challenges:

Users did not memorize the hierarchy
The system did not guide them effectively
Searching for a location took ~8 minutes on average

The Goal:

Reduce time to locate a station to under 2 minutes

Research & Discovery

I conducted interviews with usability testing with 5 Revenue Management Analysts and analyzed 20+ pieces of user feedback (via Pendo).

Key Findings:

1. Hierarchy Overload

Users struggled with being forced to navigate every hierarchy level. Especially in cases where an analyst is new to the role or covering a location for another analyst.

2. Mental Model Mismatch

Users expected a free-text search experience, similar to other internal applications (NewYM).

3. Inefficient Workarounds

When unsure of hierarchy structure, users would take on average of 8 mins to pull info from other tools/apps to help them figure it out.

4. Missing Critical Search Inputs

Users frequently search by Airport Code, but Global Filter does not support this.

User Statement

As a Revenue Management Analyst, I want to search for a location without drilling through the LRD hierarchy so that I can find my desired location quickly and easily.

Insights:

Users think in known identifiers (airport codes, names) — not hierarchy
The system forced recall, instead of supporting recognition
Time spent searching directly impacted productivity

Solution Exploration

After synthesizing research, I proposed two directions:

Option 1: Enhance Global Filter

Allow users to skip hierarchy levels
Lower development cost
Faster implementation

Pros: Efficient, low-risk
Cons: Doesn’t fully solve user expectations

Option 2: Build a New Search Experience

Free-text input
Auto-suggestions
Search by airport code, city, or station

Pros: Aligns with user mental model
Cons: Higher cost and development effort

Cross-Functional Collaboration

After stakeholder approval, I worked with:

UX/UI partners (Slalom) to design solution concepts
Developers to assess feasibility

Key Technical Insight:

Developers identified a hybrid solution which would be to require users to select at least Team and Group levels first. Then Users would be able to free-text search for lower levels.

This approach:

Maintains system constraints
Enables flexible, intuitive search
Keeps costs manageable

The Impact

75% reduction in task time
From 8 minutes → ~2 minutes
Significant improvement in efficiency and usability

Next Steps

Validate solution with user testing
Review updated Pendo feedback
Iterate with:
- Product
- UX/UI
- Engineering
Launch and monitor adoption

Reflection

This project strengthened my ability to:

Translate user pain points into actionable insights
Balance user needs vs. technical constraints
Drive alignment across stakeholders

Most importantly, it reinforced that:

Great UX happens when we design for how users actually think, not how systems are structured.

Absolute Love