DANIELA ZAVALA

®2025

DANIELA ZAVALA

®2025

DANIELA ZAVALA

®2025

Integrating the digital experience for a ferry company

Reimagining the end-to-end passenger experience through strategic UX design and service alignment. This project bridges the gap between front-line services and user expectations by offering a highly interconnected solution.

Roles

Senior UX Designer

INDUSTRY

Tourism and Transport

Year

2022

Duration

3 months

Overview

In a post-pandemic landscape, Buquebus, South America's leading river and land passenger transport company, sought to modernize its digital ecosystem. My mission was to reimagine the e-commerce and ticketing experience, aligning passenger needs with business performance goals. By driving a discovery-led design process, I helped translate strategic insights into tangible improvements for users and stakeholders alike.

Results

  • Redesigned the end-to-end ticket purchase flow.

  • Reduced friction in user interactions across multiple digital touchpoints.

  • Increased visibility of customer journeys among decision-makers.

  • Initiated a roadmap for scalable improvements across Buquebus’s services.

Solution

We conducted a full-service UX audit, developed actionable insights from user interviews and heuristic evaluations, and translated them into prototypes for high-impact redesigns. The final output included an omnichannel UX strategy, improved self-service tools, onboarding enhancements, and a digital assistant system—each designed to address the most pressing pain points of passengers and internal teams.

Discovery Process

We began with in-depth stakeholder interviews, uncovering major gaps in employee workflows and user experience. To strengthen our findings, we conducted user interviews with past digital customers and performed onboard shadowing to observe real-world pain points. Simultaneously, we conducted a heuristic evaluation of the existing platform and its third-party redesign. We then defined findings on a customer journey map, tracing emotions and bottlenecks across touchpoints.

“The passenger experience is invisible to our current systems. We need tools that help us see it clearly.”
 —Marketing Director

Discovery Process

We began with in-depth stakeholder interviews, uncovering major gaps in employee workflows and user experience. To strengthen our findings, we conducted user interviews with past digital customers and performed onboard shadowing to observe real-world pain points. Simultaneously, we conducted a heuristic evaluation of the existing platform and its third-party redesign. We then defined findings on a customer journey map, tracing emotions and bottlenecks across touchpoints.

“The passenger experience is invisible to our current systems. We need tools that help us see it clearly.”
 —Marketing Director

Discovery Process

We began with in-depth stakeholder interviews, uncovering major gaps in employee workflows and user experience. To strengthen our findings, we conducted user interviews with past digital customers and performed onboard shadowing to observe real-world pain points. Simultaneously, we conducted a heuristic evaluation of the existing platform and its third-party redesign. We then defined findings on a customer journey map, tracing emotions and bottlenecks across touchpoints.

“The passenger experience is invisible to our current systems. We need tools that help us see it clearly.”
 —Marketing Director

Redesign of Digital Channels

The heuristic analysis showed that fragmented and unintuitive navigation caused high drop-off rates. Therefore, I designed an integrated user experience across platforms, applying best practices for navigation and authentication patterns.”

Impact Metrics: Lower purchase abandonment rate, improved C-SAT / CES, increased online conversion.

Redesign of Digital Channels

The heuristic analysis showed that fragmented and unintuitive navigation caused high drop-off rates. Therefore, I designed an integrated user experience across platforms, applying best practices for navigation and authentication patterns.”

Impact Metrics: Lower purchase abandonment rate, improved C-SAT / CES, increased online conversion.

Redesign of Digital Channels

The heuristic analysis showed that fragmented and unintuitive navigation caused high drop-off rates. Therefore, I designed an integrated user experience across platforms, applying best practices for navigation and authentication patterns.”

Impact Metrics: Lower purchase abandonment rate, improved C-SAT / CES, increased online conversion.

Transactional Self-Management App

Our research revealed user dissatisfaction with the lack of assistance in managing bookings or accessing travel benefits via their smartphones. For this reason, I designed a self-management app that allows users to modify bookings, receive alerts, and access loyalty perks.

Impact Metrics: Increased retention and loyalty, higher upselling and engagement, lower churn and dissatisfaction.

Transactional Self-Management App

Our research revealed user dissatisfaction with the lack of assistance in managing bookings or accessing travel benefits via their smartphones. For this reason, I designed a self-management app that allows users to modify bookings, receive alerts, and access loyalty perks.

Impact Metrics: Increased retention and loyalty, higher upselling and engagement, lower churn and dissatisfaction.

Transactional Self-Management App

Our research revealed user dissatisfaction with the lack of assistance in managing bookings or accessing travel benefits via their smartphones. For this reason, I designed a self-management app that allows users to modify bookings, receive alerts, and access loyalty perks.

Impact Metrics: Increased retention and loyalty, higher upselling and engagement, lower churn and dissatisfaction.

Digital Onboarding Assistant

Ambiguity in travel requirements caused delays and passenger anxiety. I propose a smart onboarding guide that proactively prepares passengers with pre-filled forms and notifications. 

Impact Metrics: Reduced check-in time, improved cross-selling of ancillary services, lowered customer effort score (CES).

Digital Onboarding Assistant

Ambiguity in travel requirements caused delays and passenger anxiety. I propose a smart onboarding guide that proactively prepares passengers with pre-filled forms and notifications. 

Impact Metrics: Reduced check-in time, improved cross-selling of ancillary services, lowered customer effort score (CES).

Digital Onboarding Assistant

Ambiguity in travel requirements caused delays and passenger anxiety. I propose a smart onboarding guide that proactively prepares passengers with pre-filled forms and notifications. 

Impact Metrics: Reduced check-in time, improved cross-selling of ancillary services, lowered customer effort score (CES).

Virtual Assistant & Help Center

To address poor support experiences characterized by delayed responses and low autonomy, a hybrid chatbot and help center were introduced to provide fast assistance.

Impact Metrics: Faster resolution (PRT) and FTR, higher C-SAT scores, lower abandonment, and complaints.

Virtual Assistant & Help Center

To address poor support experiences characterized by delayed responses and low autonomy, a hybrid chatbot and help center were introduced to provide fast assistance.

Impact Metrics: Faster resolution (PRT) and FTR, higher C-SAT scores, lower abandonment, and complaints.

Virtual Assistant & Help Center

To address poor support experiences characterized by delayed responses and low autonomy, a hybrid chatbot and help center were introduced to provide fast assistance.

Impact Metrics: Faster resolution (PRT) and FTR, higher C-SAT scores, lower abandonment, and complaints.

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