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MAG - Airport Operations

Airport operator faced challenges with fragmented data across departments

Business Transformation 2025

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Situation:

Manchester Airports Group (MAG), a major UK airport operator, faced inefficiencies due to siloed data across departments such as security, ground handling, and management, leaving airfield staff without a full understanding of operations. This lack of visibility, for instance, delayed security queue updates, which could have knock-on impacts on aircraft turnaround times and take-off schedules, affecting operational efficiency and passenger experience. MAG sought a new digital platform to integrate these data sources, providing clear visibility to enhance staff coordination and support their goal of breaking down data silos.

Task

As the sole UX Designer, I was tasked with defining the UX strategy and designing AirportSync, a pre-launch platform to unify siloed data (e.g., security queue times) into an intuitive interface for airfield staff and managers, enabling a comprehensive operational view. My responsibilities included conducting user research, designing responsive wireframes and prototypes, creating data visualisation components, building a new design system, and leading usability testing to target 90% task success and 85% user satisfaction at launch, whilst ensuring WCAG 2.1 accessibility compliance to mitigate delays in aircraft operations.

Actions

01
Defined UX Strategy and Conducted Research
  • Developed a UX strategy to align AirportSync with MAG’s goal of unifying siloed data, focusing on real-time visibility to enhance airfield staff’s understanding of operations like security and ground handling.
  • Conducted solo user research with over 30 staff members, including security officers, ground crews, and managers, through interviews and observations, creating personas (e.g., “Airfield Operative: Needs instant security queue updates”) and journey maps to identify pain points like delayed data impacting turnaround times.
02
Designed Wireframes and Prototypes
  • Created responsive wireframes and high-fidelity prototypes in Figma, designing mobile interfaces for airfield staff (e.g., alerts with security queue charts) and web dashboards for managers (e.g., real-time security wait time graphs linked to flight schedules).
  • Incorporated data visualisation components, such as bar charts for queue times, to provide actionable insights within a new design system, aiding staff in anticipating turnaround delays.
03
Built and Refined Design System
  • Developed a new Figma-based design system, creating standardised UI elements (e.g., buttons, icons) and data visualisation components (e.g., security alert graphs) to ensure consistency and scalability across operational interfaces.
  • Iteratively refined the system based on prototype feedback, enhancing visualisation styles for clarity to support rapid decision-making in high-pressure airfield environments.
04
Led Usability Testing:
  • Conducted iterative usability testing with 15 diverse users (security staff, ground handlers, managers), using Hotjar analytics to track interactions and optimise data visualisation (e.g., reducing clicks for queue updates to prevent turnaround delays).
  • Achieved 90% task success in pre-launch testing by simplifying navigation and enhancing visualisation readability for operational clarity.
05
Collaborated with Stakeholders
  • Worked with developers to integrate AirportSync with generic data sources (e.g., security queue systems), ensuring data visualisation components provided accurate insights to support aircraft operations.
  • APresented prototypes to stakeholders, using research insights and test results to secure executive buy-in for the planned rollout, demonstrating potential to reduce take-off delays.

Result:

  • Improved Operational Visibility: AirportSync targeted a 25% improvement in airfield staff’s understanding of operations by unifying siloed security data, with data visualisation components enabling real-time insights to mitigate aircraft turnaround and take-off delays.
  • High Usability: Achieved 90% task success in pre-launch testing, with prototypes demonstrating efficient access to security data, targeting 85% user satisfaction at launch.
  • Scalable Design System: Established a new, standardised design system with reusable visualisation components, supporting future features like baggage tracking to further enhance operational efficiency.
  • Stakeholder Buy-In: Secured executive approval for a planned rollout across MAG’s airports (Manchester, London Stansted, East Midlands).
  • Accessibility Compliance: Ensured WCAG 2.1 standards, making AirportSync accessible to diverse airfield users, supporting rapid and inclusive decision-making.