The NS Lab app is an experimental app created by NS (Dutch Railways) to test innovative features for their passengers before rolling them out into their main app. In 2021, I joined the team to design and deliver advanced personalization features into the app. During these months, I also established new processes to align the delivery and documentation of designs with the needs of the development team, which resulted in higher standards of delivery at launch.

The NS Lab app is an experimental app created by the Dutch Railways to try-out innovative features for their passengers before rolling them out into their main app. In 2021, I joined the team to design and deliver hyper-personalization features into the app. During these months, I also established new processes to align the delivery and documentation of designs with the needs of the development team, which resulted in higher standards of delivery at launch.

The NS Lab app is an experimental app created by the Dutch Railways to try-out innovative features for their passengers before rolling them out into their main app. In 2021, I joined the team to design and deliver hyper-personalization features into the app. During these months, I also established new processes to align the delivery and documentation of designs with the needs of the development team, which resulted in higher standards of delivery at launch.

Product design, strategy, prototyping

Product design, strategy

Product design, strategy

A trip planning experience tailored to your travel habits

A trip planning experience tailored to your travel habits

A trip planning experience tailored to your travel habits

After a vision phase to define a set of features to improve the planning and travel experience in the app, I worked closely with the product team to implement the revamped trip planning flow. During these weeks, I delivered the logic systems and pixel-perfect designs of the new trip planning flow. This included several dynamic modules on the Home screen and the Trip Overview screen where users can see the different legs of their trip on the map and in a UI drawer.

After a vision phase to define a set of features to improve the planning and travel experience in the app, I worked closely with the product team to implement the revamped trip planning flow. During these weeks, I delivered the logic systems and pixel-perfect designs of the new trip planning flow. This included several dynamic modules on the Home screen and the Trip Overview screen where users can see the different legs of their trip on the map and in a UI drawer.

After a vision phase to define a set of features to improve the planning and travel experience in the app, I worked closely with the product team to implement the revamped trip planning flow. During these weeks, I delivered the logic systems and pixel-perfect designs of the new trip planning flow. This included several dynamic modules on the Home screen and the Trip Overview screen where users can see the different legs of their trip on the map and in a UI drawer.

Start a trip at the press of a button

One Click Planning: Start a trip at the press of a button

One Click Planning: Start a trip at the press of a button

The key goal of this project was to make it possible for travelers to get on their trip in as few taps as possible. To make this possible the app cuts the usual steps that go into planning a trip on other traditional transportation apps: searching for a destination, selecting one or multiple means of transport and a route. Here instead, NS Lab would suggest destinations based on the traveler's data, then automatically select a route based on their favored means of transport.

From the home screen, users would then be able to tap on a favorite and see the step by step journey that would fit closest to their preferences, or even immediately start the navigation mode when they receive a trip suggestion.

The key goal of this project was to make it possible for travelers to get on their trip in as few taps as possible. To make this possible the app cuts the usual steps that go into planning a trip on other traditional transportation apps: searching for a destination, selecting one or multiple means of transport and a route. Here instead, NS Lab would suggest destinations based on the traveler's data, then automatically select a route based on their favored means of transport.

From the home screen, users would then be able to tap on a favorite and see the step by step journey that would fit closest to their preferences, or even immediately start the navigation mode when they receive a trip suggestion.

The key goal of this project was to make it possible for travelers to get on their trip in as few taps as possible. To make this possible the app cuts the usual steps that go into planning a trip on other traditional transportation apps: searching for a destination, selecting one or multiple means of transport and a route. Here instead, NS Lab would suggest destinations based on the traveler's data, then automatically select a route based on their favored means of transport.

From the home screen, users would then be able to tap on a favorite and see the step by step journey that would fit closest to their preferences, or even immediately start the navigation mode when they receive a trip suggestion.

A dynamic Home screen

A dynamic Home Screen

A dynamic Home Screen

Wouldn't it be great if you could find your trip already there on your Home screen when you open your app in the morning as you prepare to take the train to go to the office? What if the trip suggestion would already take into account that you like to cycle to the train station, and that you prefer to walk rather than take the tram for the last stretch?

These are just a few examples of how the NS Lab app would use in-app preferences like preferred means of transport, user-set favorites and travel history to make it possible to plan the right trip in as few steps as possible. The app would use all this data to reorder a user's favorite and frequent destinations on the Home screen, and surface timely and location-aware trip suggestions when possible.

Wouldn't it be great if you could find your trip already there on your Home screen when you open your app in the morning as you prepare to take the train to go to the office? What if the trip suggestion would already take into account that you like to cycle to the train station, and that you prefer to walk rather than take the tram for the last stretch?

These are just a few examples of how the NS Lab app would use in-app preferences like preferred means of transport, user-set favorites and travel history to make it possible to plan the right trip in as few steps as possible. The app would use all this data to reorder a user's favorite and frequent destinations on the Home screen, and surface timely and location-aware trip suggestions when possible.

Wouldn't it be great if you could find your trip already there on your Home screen when you open your app in the morning as you prepare to take the train to go to the office? What if the trip suggestion would already take into account that you like to cycle to the train station, and that you prefer to walk rather than take the tram for the last stretch?

These are just a few examples of how the NS Lab app would use in-app preferences like preferred means of transport, user-set favorites and travel history to make it possible to plan the right trip in as few steps as possible. The app would use all this data to reorder a user's favorite and frequent destinations on the Home screen, and surface timely and location-aware trip suggestions when possible.

Mapping the road to personalisation for the team

Mapping the road to personalisation for the team

Mapping the road to personalisation for the team

In close collaboration with the product team, we laid out a plan to gradually implement favorites and dynamic sorting in the app by slowly ramping up personalisations features and collecting more and more data points in the app.

As a first step, we looked into adding the option for users set their own favorites to their list of frequent destinations. This made the relevancy of the list of favorite destinations less reliant on automatically collected travel data. As a next step, we would add a more advanced sorting algorithm to help sort favorites and surface the most relevant destinations when travelers are likely to go there.

In close collaboration with the product team, we laid out a plan to gradually implement favorites and dynamic sorting in the app by slowly ramping up personalisations features and collecting more and more data points in the app.

In close collaboration with the product team, we laid out a plan to gradually implement favorites and dynamic sorting in the app by slowly ramping up personalisations features and collecting more and more data points in the app.