Optimizing Customer Service: A Desktop Solution for Booking.com Agents
Project Overview
As Booking.com began migrating customer service functions from its legacy CRM to PEGA (low-code platform that uses AI and automation to help businesses build applications, streamline complex processes, and manage customer experiences.) my latest project, the new Reservation Timeline, redefines how agents view and manage customer interactions and events in PEGA. By providing a consolidated overview, we enable a more efficient workflow and ultimately a better experience for our users.
80%
End-to-end completion of cases within Single system (PEGA)
30%
Reduction in CS agents needing to move the case to Legacy system
Unlocking User Needs
Focus group:
The goal was to uncover their primary pain points with the existing PEGA reservation timeline, to understand their mental model for managing reservations, and to determine why they still relied on the legacy system.
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Participants: We recruited five agents with varying levels of experience (from 6 months to 10+ years). All participants had experience managing complex, multi-party reservations.
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Moderator's Guide: Our guide was structured around open-ended questions designed to encourage discussion.
Key topics included:-
Their daily workflow for handling a new call.
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What information they need at a glance.
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Frustrations with the current system's data presentation.
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Logistics: The session was conducted virtually with a single moderator and two note-takers.
Affinity Mapping & Requirement Synthesis
Stakeholder collaboration :
We held a collaborative workshop with stakeholders from Process Design, Knowledge Management, Customer Service, and Product Management. Our goal was to analyze the raw research data, use affinity mapping to group it, and assign key themes.
In the second part of the session, we split into groups to collaboratively write 'AGENT MUST BE ABLE TO --' statements, defining the actions agents needed to perform.
Design, Prototype , Iterate
The project's two main challenges were data complexity and user interface constraints.
Before designing the reservation timeline, I had to understand the raw data. I worked closely with the engineering team from the start to analyze the data and give it a logical structure. This was crucial for determining what information to display and how to present it effectively.
User interface constraint - Layout Iterations
The initial approach aimed simply to add the reservation timeline into the existing Customer 360 structure (Idea I).
To truly optimize agent workflow, we moved beyond minor adjustments and pursued a full layout reorganization (Idea II). By shifting from a horizontal to a vertical orientation, we successfully consolidated the timeline alongside existing reservation widgets.
This strategic pivot was driven by Information Hierarchy: while the legacy horizontal view forced primary and secondary data to compete for the same limited real estate, the vertical structure allows for a 'scannable' chronological flow that significantly reduces cognitive overload.
Idea II : Vartical layout of existing customer 360
Idea I : Adjust the new timeline in the existing layout
Idea II- design implementation
User testing and final design for MVP
I conducted two rounds of prototype testing with a total of 6 CS agents to validate the design and identify areas for improvement.
Positive feedback
Centralized Information: Users appreciated having all necessary information available in one place.
Chronological View: The detailed chronological order of information was highly value.
Dedicated Attachments Space: Users found the dedicated section for attachments very helpful.
Areas of improvement
Accordion Interaction Burden: Agents found it tedious to click on each collapsible section (accordion) .
Unclear Accordion Titles: The titles for some accordions were not useful or contextual enough for agents.
Attachments visibility : CS Agents require the ability to review all attachments simultaneously.
Project Success & Path Forward
Since the implementation A survey of trial agents during the rollout phase reported a "positive reception" to the new Customer Service Timeline.
Agents noted improvements such as clearer case visibility, faster updates, better organization, and increased efficiency when accessing reservation history and case information.
Current Focus Areas (Iteration):
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Improving hyperlink visibility.
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Ensuring inbound emails display within the primary widget (eliminating the new widget pop-up).
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Developing a feature for displaying all attachments in a single, consolidated view.