SITA Australia
Mobile Travel Authorisation
A scalable + feasible solution that adapts to any country's cross-border needs for seamless travel.
My role
Product design
UX + interaction design
Interface design
Visual design
Information design
Design audit
UX strategy
Deliverables
Personas
User flows
High-fidelity designs
Interactive prototypes
Style guide
Design system
Component libraries
UX writing
Usability testing
Team
Product manager
Product owners
Scrum master
Designer (Me)
Mobile developers
Timeline
2024 - Present
Overview
In May 2024, I joined SITA Australia as the successor UX designer (at least on paper) for their Mobile Travel Authorisation (MTA) solution — a white-label app for cross-border traveller registration.
The key business requirement: the app’s UI and colours needed to be customisable so it could be rebranded for any country. Sounds simple enough.
HAH. If only.
The challenge
It didn't take long before I realised the following challenges, ranging from design hurdles to interpersonal dynamics:
1
Designing in ambiguity
No user research, usability reports, design system, or clear requirements — just an old app design to ‘make prettier’ and an accessibility report tested with internal stakeholders.
2
Role clarity + workflow gaps
Our product owner, still learning the process, relied on my designs for user stories while I waited on him — leaving developers waiting on me and creating a loop of dependencies.
3
Tight, shifting timelines
This added pressure on the developers — and by extension, me. Even after the timeline was fixed, uncertainty lingered and the team remained anxious about the unpredictable.
4
Other country requirements
There may be other requirements beyond UI colour rebranding that need to be considered alongside user needs and SITA’s business goals, adding another layer of complexity.
The UX strategy
As with every cloud's silver lining, these challenges helped lay the groundwork for a cohesive strategy.
User
???
SITA
Customisable design
Accessible design
Fast delivery
Improve team morale
Countries
Use their own branding
???
Understanding everybody's needs
UI UX audit, secondary research, user personas
UI UX audit on
old app design
The audit revealed a 5-step flow — passport scan, travel authorisation selection, questionnaire, summary, and payment — and highlighted the need for better visual, content, navigation and contextual clarity.
Secondary research
Next was turning to field experts and the internet to gain more context and thus understand the needs countries may have and want for an ETA.