Outcome
Reimagined the United Airlines app around the day-of-travel—bringing context to every moment, simplifying navigation, and introducing smarter upsells.
Strategy
Opportunity
Poor app usability. Low accessibility scores. Legacy architecture. Looming DOT deadlines. This gap was actually an opportunity to redefine the United app's value proposition.
Approach
We centered the app around situational awareness. This addressed core travel stressors and turned a compliance mandate (WCAG AA) into a driver for product excellence. Real-time moments over monolithic feature sets. This decoupled critical services from outdated backends.
To focus on travel moments, we needed to:
Remove promotional clutter
Reduce multi-directional scrolling
Rearchitect navigation to fewer, clearer paths
Findings & Risks
Led moment-mapping workshops across product and design teams after airport follow-alongs. Aligned on what travelers actually needed in real conditions. The findings defined our principles, reduced launch risk, and secured executive confidence.
Key Findings
Key moments mattered
40% of features clustered around the same moment
25% rarely got used
15% were technically infeasible
Most navigation went unused
Users stayed on the home page, frustrated by too many navigation layers (4+).
Risks
Risk
Too many internal data sources
De-risk
Embedded with engineering. Defined a crawl → walk → run rollout: time-based content first, then airport beacons, eventually behavioral prediction.
Risk
App or data source failure
De-risk
Designed worst-case scenarios and ranked likelihood (cancelled flights, airport outages). No user gets stranded without options.
Risk
Concept failure
De-risk
The app architecture couldn't be a crutch anymore. We needed proof the direction worked. Follow-along trips with users, UXR interviews, employee beta for 18,000 people.
Key Decisions
Clarity vs. monetization
Tension
Business wanted front-and-center ad placements on the homescreen and key app pages to push MileagePlus account sign ups.
Decision: Mixed approach
Removed ads and MileagePlus promotions from the home screen during active trips. Consolidated ads into expected locations. Secured executive buy-in first.
Outcome
Removing and reimagining ads streamlined the experience. Forced a more intentional approach to placement.
Focus vs. feature visibility
Tension
Engineering and business wanted to add layers of movement to access more content from the homescreen in lieu of traditional navigation.
Decision: Focus
Eliminated multi-directional scrolling and reconsolidated navigation, prioritizing task completion over feature discovery.
Outcome
Limiting scroll layers and using expected patterns accelerated accessibility compliance while increasing feature exploration.
Accessibility vs. speed
Tension
Business units prioritized speed to market; legal and brand teams focused on minimum compliance; Design advocated for a broader standard
Decision: Accessibility
Built accessibility into components from the start. Early training on standards eliminated costly remediation.
Outcome
Building accessibility in from the start accelerated the timeline and reduced regulatory exposure. Long-term brand risk dropped significantly.
My Deliverables
UX Flows & Designs
Paths for key user scenarios across key contexts.
New information architecture
A redesigned context-based organization.
My Role
Project responsibilities:
Lead designer & manager: Set product direction for moment-based travel experiences
Framework architect: Created moment-based system adopted across United digital products
Cross-functional leadership: Aligned engineering, legal, product through workshops and reviews
Hands-on design: Core flows, interaction models, accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA)
Team oversight: Managed and reviewed 9+ designers across product areas
Design for the most stressed user. Everyone else benefits.