Scalable Usability Testing

Transforming crew and catering outcomes by making usability testing a repeatable practice, not a one-off ask.

94.2%Participant satisfaction in a follow-up survey — exceeded an 80% target

22%SUS score improvement the Crew team achieved on its own, 71.3 → 91.3

50%Scope reduction on the Catering project, driven directly by usability insights

A toolkit built to scale, not a one-off study

Facilitator guides, SUS scoring files, and standardized summary templates turned one-off testing into a repeatable practice — accelerated with Delta's own AI tools.

Facilitator guides & SUS scoring

Standardized templates any team could pick up and run.

Standardized scoring

Consistent, comparable scores across pilots and teams.

AI-accelerated summaries

Delta's own AI tools sped up turning sessions into findings.

Challenge

Crew and Catering teams at Delta relied on informal, inconsistent user feedback mechanisms, making it difficult and expensive to identify user needs early and measure usability improvements across iterations.

Approach

1

Introduced usability testing with end users

Brought structured, actionable prototype feedback into teams that had previously relied on informal input.

2

Built a testing toolkit across domains

Developed and deployed facilitator guides, SUS scoring files, and standardized summary templates for reuse across teams.

3

Automated summary creation with AI

Used Delta's own AI tools to accelerate turning usability sessions into shareable, actionable summaries.

Outcomes

✓

Crew teams shifted development to prioritize a mobile approach based directly on pilot feedback.

✓

Catering project scope was reduced by 50% as a direct result of usability insights.

✓

The Crew team independently replicated the process, achieving a 22% usability improvement (71.3 → 91.3 SUS score).

✓

94.2% of participants reported satisfaction in a follow-up survey, exceeding the 80% target.

Growth opportunity

Embed usability testing as a standing product-lifecycle practice, create a centralized insights hub for data-driven decisions, and expand into AI-powered testing capabilities to scale globally across Delta IT.

Key learning

"A framework doesn't need a mandate to scale — it needs to make people's work easier."

Testimonials

"Watching you lead usability testing for reroute pay was insightful. I am planning to continue to incorporate usability testing with the crew team for future initiatives."

— Stephen Young, Product Manager

"Thank you Alex for leading the Usability Testing sessions with the catering team, and for translating that feedback into the prototype before development begins."

— Product Manager, Delta Catering