CVG Airport: A predictive data integration platform built with EASE.
A case study on developing a predictive data dashboard for a leading US airport in innovation.
The Challenge
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (CVG) International Airport services over nine million travelers annually. That’s nine million people to guide through the turbulence of traffic jams, security checkpoints, and gate changes.
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CVG Airport was looking for a way to connect seemingly disparate data points to better understand, and improve, this customer journey. The airport was specifically looking for a tool to equip their team to meet growing customer demand, fuel a growth mindset, and create efficient business practices.
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The challenge came down to this: airports have a data problem.
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Actually, most industries have a data problem. Making sense of hundreds or thousands of data points, and then getting the aggregated data to the right people at the right time, is no small feat.
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We partnered with CVG Airport to build an intuitive data dashboard to solve this challenge. Here’s how we did it.
Product Strategy &Â Design
The product strategy centered around creating an intuitive digital product that required little to no training for team members to integrate into their daily work. The tool would increase efficiency of staff and make data accessible and useful.
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Starting with the proof-of-concept
Our initial proof-of-concept was to write custom software to capture non-personally identifiable data that could be used to help determine when customers would arrive at the airport. This would use predictive analytics to improve the customer journey.
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We wrote the software, loaded it on a device, and ran it effectively inside of CVG Airport with real customers. This data was then captured and visualized using Metabase, an open-source tool that allows building dashboards and writing custom queries against a database.
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Running a design sprint
After we proved the software could be built and the data could be captured, we ran a design sprint with CVG Airport. We tested and built a prototype to best display the information.
Before EASE, we might have to go through five different websites to compile the data that now we can see in one glance.
The Final Product
Say hello to EASE, also known as Enterprise Awareness & Situational Exceptions. EASE is a data-integration platform for real-time operational responses. The robust platform collects key data insights to help airport operations teams predict customer behavior and direct confidently – solving problems before they become problems.
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The intuitive UI design stores and analyzes the data into tiles. The dashboard allows users to efficiently gauge the pulse of the airport and provides key recommendations when an action is necessary. EASE ingests complex data sets and automatically contextualizes thousands of data points across the entire airport. The software eliminates the time it takes to manually track down, input, and read your data, creating an action-oriented platform for users.
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“We’re proud to equip aviation stakeholders with valuable data allowing them to make more informed decisions about their operations,” notes Differential’s Managing Director of EASE, Stephen Saunders. “We believe in the power of data and its ability to be used to improve the travel experience for everyone.”
The Results
EASE helps CVG Airport improve day-to-day planning and scheduling, and prepares airport stakeholders for upcoming passenger arrival volumes and demands. The EASE team is currently in discussions with other major airports to unlock value for their teams.
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