Usability test findings — Trip to Japan (Feb 2026)
usability-gist.md
For the full content of this gist, refer to https://gist.github.com/jokull/d54a2360b571febe93a2dabc5ab52709
Jökull Sólberg Auðunsson@jokull
usability-gist.md
For the full content of this gist, refer to https://gist.github.com/jokull/d54a2360b571febe93a2dabc5ab52709
Usability test findings — Trip to Japan (Feb 2026)
Source: User testing video (video-382132.mp4) — ~10 min session
Date: 2026-02-27
| Time | Event | Severity |
|---|---|---|
| 00:15 | Notices duplicate "Tokyo" in itinerary — trust drops | Medium |
| 01:30 | "Create Trip" does nothing — core flow blocked | Critical |
| 02:00 | Clicking listed places/hotels — no response | High |
| 03:00 | Re-attempts create trip — still broken | Critical |
| 03:55 | "Start Planning" shows spinner, unclear if it worked | High |
| 04:20 | Reaches checkout — payment split is clear ✅ | Positive |
| 05:20 | Can't assign activities to days | High |
| 05:45 | Wants save/share draft functionality | Enhancement |
| 06:00 | Requests AI-powered trip planning | Enhancement |
User fills in trip title, adds 3 destinations, clicks "Create Trip" — nothing happens. No loading, no error, no navigation. Repeated across multiple test steps.
"When I click create trip, actually nothing happens"
"I think I found a major bug"
Issue: https://github.com/trip-to-japan/trip/issues/1423
Clicking on places and hotels in lists does not open detail views or provide any feedback.
"I'm not sure if I click them, nothing happens"
"I think this might just be a prototype"
Issue: https://github.com/trip-to-japan/trip/issues/1424
"Tokyo 3 days" appears at both start and end of the route. Reads as a data error to new users.
"Three days in Tokyo ... and three days in Tokyo, which is confusing because it's listed twice"
Issue: https://github.com/trip-to-japan/trip/issues/1425
Clicking "Start Planning" sometimes shows a brief spinner, page reloads, but outcome is unclear. User can't tell if a trip was created.
"It does this little circle"
"Did it actually work? I don't know"
Issue: https://github.com/trip-to-japan/trip/issues/1426
User wants to save progress and return later, or share with a partner for co-decision making.
"If I could just save all of this and come back and check out later, that would be great"
Issue: https://github.com/trip-to-japan/trip/issues/1427
Top feature request: describe budget, timeframe, and interests → auto-generate editable itinerary.
"If I could just say, I'm going to Japan, I have $4,000 to spend for these two weeks and I really want to see nature, eat some good ramen, and I definitely want to see Mount Fuji"
Issue: https://github.com/trip-to-japan/trip/issues/1428
No mechanism to add activities to individual days. At checkout, user noted only hotels were listed.
"It's basically just hotels. I don't think I'm actually paying for any activities."
Issue: https://github.com/trip-to-japan/trip/issues/1429
Checkout/pricing summary — The payment breakdown was immediately clear: Due Today $319 (20% confirmation fee), Final Payment $1,278 (80% due later). User had no confusion here.
