Expediting Traveler Journeys:
Increasing Adoption of the Mobile Passport Control (MPC) App
Mobile Passport Control (MPC) UX Research & Web Page Redesign
✈️ MPC Details
Increase adoption of MPC, a free mobile app designed to help travelers move through Customs more quickly when returning to the U.S. after an international flight.
MPC allows groups and families to be processed at the same time, creating operational efficiencies in the Customs arrival area.
📋 Project Overview
Goal: Raise awareness and adoption of MPC among international travelers, especially groups and families.
Challenge: Travelers are confused about MPC and miss opportunities to use it.
Evidence: Usability testing on traveler program websites.
Asked single ease question (SEQ) to evaluate comprehension: How easy was it to understand the purpose of MPC and how to use it?" (1 = very difficult, 7 = very easy)
Low average SEQ Score: 3.5/7
📎 My Role: Lead UX Researcher & Designer
☑️ Led user research with travelers
Planned airport visits and user interviews
Synthesized qualitative feedback
Shared findings and recommendations with stakeholders
☑️ Redesigned Mobile Passport Control webpage using the US web design system, boosting SEQ scores by 3 points based on usability testing (n=15).
☑️ Facilitated collaboration with TSA to post signage about MPC while travelers wait in the security line (before departure).
🔍 MPC by the Numbers
1.8M—MPC users in FY23
4th—Dulles airport’s MPC usage ranking, after JFK, YYZ, and MIA
3 mins—Average time to complete re-entry with MPC
6.5M—MPC web page views in FY24
54%—Bounce rate from MPC web page
👥 Stakeholders
UX Researcher/Designer (Me): User research, UX design, handoff
MPC Program Managers: Behind the scenes
Dulles Airport Port Director & Officers: On the ground
Airports: Public-private
Airlines: Private sector
🗣️ User Research Approach
🔍 Step 1: Align on Learning Needs
(Discovery, goal-setting, and defining research focus)
👀 Step 2: Contextual Inquiry at Dulles International Airport
(Firsthand observation of traveler behavior)
🗣️ Step 3: Interviews with MPC Users
(Collecting direct user insights)
🖥️ Step 4: MPC Web Page Redesign
(Digital design iteration based on findings)
🤝 Step 5: Collaboration with TSA
(Cross-agency partnership and alignment)
🔍 Step 1: Align on Learning Needs
To solidify our problem statement, I asked the MPC Program Managers these questions in our early discussions:
Who do you think is using MPC now? Who is the target user?
How does increased adoption by target users increase operational efficiency in the Customs arrival area?
Is there a target proportion of MPC usage among travelers in the Customs arrival area? Is there an upper limit?
What are near- and long-term goals for the service?
What are your research interests across the traveler experience?
What are your hypotheses?
🗺️ Problem Statement
How might we boost awareness about MPC and increase usage among travelers returning to the US?
👀 Step 2: Contextual Inquiry at Dulles International Airport
Goal: Capture an operational snapshot by observing travelers moving through the line and interacting with officers.
Actions:
Observed processing during high and low traveler volumes
Spoke to travelers (service front-end) and officers (back-end operations)
Accompanied travelers through the line
Observed interactions between officers and travelers at processing booth
Insights:
Groups yield the most significant operational efficiencies through the single photo capture.
Pre-flight airline communications provide information to users at the right time to complete in-app tasks.
MPC awareness largely spreads by word of mouth today.
Officers welcomed higher MPC adoption, describing it as a 'the more, the better' scenario.
🗣️ Step 3: Interviews with MPC Users
Goal: Speak directly to users to understand who is using MPC, how they learned about it, the needs it met, and how they perceive MPC compared to GE.
Sample Questions:
How often do you fly internationally?
How would you describe MPC to a friend?
Walk me through your experience using MPC from start to finish.
Insights:
MPC works well, if you know about it.
There is no such thing as an “experienced” user (travelers recall very little about their wait in Customs).
Successful users don’t necessarily understand how it works.
🧠 User Personas
🖥️ Step 4: MPC Web Page Redesign
I used the personas above to guide my design solutions for the MPC web page, which is live now!
Bottom line up front (BLUF)
→ Lead with essential information about MPC's value.
Paint a picture
→ Set expectations to set travelers up for success.
No more hiding
→ Pull important details out of accordian-style FAQs and into the body content on the page.Consistency with federal websites
→ Use the U.S. Web Design System UI component library.Plain language
→ Speak directly to travelers with no jargon.
Coordination Challenges: Multiple stakeholders influence traveler messaging:
Airports, airlines, CBP, TSA
Messaging varies widely across channels and locations:
Some airlines promote MPC in pre-flight emails—others don’t
JFK and IAD use different signage styles, colors, and language
Result: Travelers face mixed messages, increasing cognitive load and reducing adoption
🤝 Step 5: Collaboration with TSA
Solution 1: TSA Collaboration
Partnered with TSA to surface clear, timely messaging before travelers depart
Created pre-departure materials that:
Highlight MPC’s value
Outline simple steps to use the service
Goal: Reduce confusion and encourage more travelers to take advantage of expedited re-entry
✅ Impact
☑️ 3-point increase in average SEQ score (6.5), indicating web page improvements were effective.
Retested with original user group
“The information provided is very clear and helps the individual reading this to understand the process and what they need to do.”
☑️ Enabled operational efficiencies in the Customs arrival area