SMS phone number verification
Context
One of the first UX projects I worked on was an SMS phone number verification prompt during the booking process. It enables partners to verify the trustworthiness of potential guests.
Guests who verify their phone number tend to cancel less frequently than those who don't, meaning more completed bookings. It goes like this:
- Guest begins booking a property
- They're asked to include their phone number
- A prompt appears asking them to verify their phone number with an SMS.
This prompt was what I worked on.
An overview of the phone number verification process
Problem
Over time we observed in some countries some users didn't receive this verification code. We knew because they told us in the prompt when they selected “I can’t receive the code”. If users can't verify their phone numbers, they can't stay at their desired property, partners lose out on business, and it negatively impacts Booking.com
I wanted to better understand why some users didn't receive the verification code.
Solution
I proposed a troubleshooting feature into the product.
When the user follows a series of suggestions that could resolve the problem, we helped them complete their booking.
And with our internal tools, we measured and tracked which of the suggestions were resolving the issue thereby helping us improve the feature in the longterm.
Learning
By solving a user problem, I was able to create business impact. During this project I learned to:
- Look at edge cases from all angles
- Align user needs to business goals by creating solutions for both
- The scientific method—how to propose solutions and interpret data.
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