Southwest

In the summer of 2022, I had the great privilege of interning with the Innovation Team at Southwest Airlines' headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

At the time, the Team served as an internal consultancy, working with operations-facing departments across the company to leverage Human-centered design and instill an innovation mindset. With work ranging from localized continuous improvement initiatives to system-wide research & development projects, I was able to see a wide variety of operational environments and worked with countless Employees and Customers over the course of my internship.

Click on any image to open the gallery with more details.

Define & Understand: Primary Research

Establishing lines of investigation, writing observation guides, conducting analogous research & primary investigation (including bystander and immersed observation, interviews).

Redefine & Imagine

Process simulation with help from dozens of Coheart volunteers!

Make, Test, & Tell

Prototype observation, as well as Customer and Employee intercepts (interviews). Collaborations with Ground Operations and Technology.

Continuous Improvement & Short-Term Projects

Working with partner Departments on shorter-term engagements to better understand how operational conditions, business needs, and Employee & Customer experiences intersect. Partners including Ground Operations, Cargo, Network Planning, and Tech Ops.

In the Media

Curious to see more of the Southwest Innovation Team's work? Check out press coverage discussing the Team's continuation of the aforementioned boarding project vis-a-vis a testbed in Southwest's Atlanta facilities: