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THE PROBLEM


People who are on a diet or have a dietary preference often have a hard time searching for food that fits their needs.


WHY IS IT A PROBLEM?

As a vegetarian myself, it’s frustrating when I need to order delivery. It takes me a long time to find food that fits my needs, healthy, and easy to find in any food delivery app. For this case study, I’m using Uber Eats and Seamless apps to base my research and redesign of the UI.

The app will have the option to pick from a few different diets, such as Keto, Gluten-free, vegan, and more. Based on the option picked, the app will recommend restaurants and specific foods that will support the type of diet the user is following. The goal of the app is to allow users to order delivery food as any other user would. The app will have a simple, accessible, and visual design that will enable users to decide on what food to order quickly. The users will have the option to customize their profile to save their dietary preferences for future simple ordering.


DESCRIPTION OF THE KINDS OF USERS EXPECTED

The diet app will target urban, educated, health-conscious consumers. The main target is young and mid professionals. The age spectrum can range from ages 18 to 65. The users live busy lives in mid-size to large cities around the U.S. Some users want to stay fit, but not always have the time to meal prep, but don’t want to feel as they can’t order delivery foods. Others are committed to a diet to lose weight or keep it off and not always can or know how to meal prep. Based on observation, ordering healthy food is not always easy. As seen in research, I expect to have a slight majority of women using the diet app. Based on the data released by The NPD Group in 2013, “about 20 percent of adults report they are on a diet, down from a peak of 31 percent in 1991 according to NPD’s National Eating Trends® food and beverage market research. In 1992, 34 percent of women told NPD they were on a diet, and in 2012, 23 percent of women reported being on a diet.” According to U.S. Census Bureau, it can be calculated that in 2012, there were 23% of women (36,260,190) in America reported that they were on a diet, while about 16.7% of men (25,505,210) reported. Hungry for Change.


WHAT USERS CAN DO WITH THE APP

Users can order food from nearby restaurants while ensuring the options provided will follow their diet requirements. The app will have a simple and intuitive display that will help users feel comfortable ordering specific food choices. The interface will resemble some of the other food ordering systems, such as Uber Eats or Seamless, giving the users a familiar ordering experience. Users will search for foods based on their diet selection and will be given food options based on that selection. The interface design of the app will encourage users to keep on track by providing a simple and straightforward ordering experience.


“Ordering foods through a delivery app gives me cravings for unhealthy foods, as most of the pictures feature fast-food or unhealthy options. I wish there were a simpler way of ordering healthier foods.” – Martina

WHY IT’S USEFUL AND WHAT PROBLEMS IT SOLVES

Most food apps display food results based on location and type of food, not dietary preference. For people who want to stay healthy or are following a specific diet, this is a big problem. First, by showing unhealthy foods, users will second-guess themselves and feel guilty by wanting to order food not accepted by their diet. Second, some users will even get tempted and end up ordering food not included in their regime. Finally, by developing an app that will cater to user needs, they can spend less time ordering and more time enjoying their healthy food. As more people live busy, urban lives, cooking, or meal prepping is not always the right solution. “UBS Investment Bank forecast delivery sales could rise an annual average of more than 20% to $365 billion worldwide by 2030, from $35 billion.” Cheng, Andria. “Millennials Are Ordering More Food Delivery, But Are They Killing The Kitchen, Too?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 26 June 2018. The app will also help people stay on track by only giving them options based on their preferred diet. By narrowing the food choices, but still providing the same ordering experience users will not feel left out when ordering delivery at the office or family gathering. “Applications in which emotional impact is important, include social interaction.” “Social and cultural interactions entail aspects, such as trustworthiness and credibility.” The UX Book: Agile UX Design for a Quality User Experience 2nd Edition, p. 12.


WHY DO USERS CARE?

Staying fit and healthy is hard nowadays. There are too many food options, and the serving sizes only get bigger. Thus, keeping weight off or following a diet is hard. My target audience will care about this app because they often feel left out by not being able to order food with their friends and family. Causing them to feel annoyed and sometimes hopeless. 

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EMPATHIZE


I interviewed a few people who usually order food at work. The goal was to explore the entire ordering process from deciding what to eat to adding a meal to the cart and check out process.

To discover pain points in the user experience of the popular food delivery apps, I interviewed a few people from my job who usually order food for lunch. I wanted to capture how people with varying diets use and interact with different apps. I interviewed five people in their 20s and 30s, who use Uber Eats, and Seamless and have dietary restrictions. I then gave them tasks to perform in the app of their choosing and observed their behavior.


TASK SCENARIO 1 — Look for a healthy meal that offers delivery in each of your favorite delivery apps. Describe the steps that you see and the choices you are making.

TASK SCENARIO 2 — If you were following a stricter diet such as vegan, can you find any options that appeal to you? Describe the process you see while looking for options.

I listened to my interviewees and took notes mostly. I observed their gestures and body language. I also did a few sketches after the sessions to remember critical moments of the conversations. 

The conclusion was eye opening. All of the people I interviewed took a long time to find a meal that followed their diet. The filter sections where not meeting their needs and the visual design was confusing as it was displaying an array of options, non of which were what they were looking for.


WORK ACTIVITY NOTES

WAAD — WORK AFFINITY ACTIVITY DIAGRAM

Requirements > Interaction design > Transaction flow


USER PERSONA

I created a user persona to help me understand and communicate who I wanted my app design to target. Based on research and interviews, I added their motivations, goals, and behaviors.


CONCLUSION

Needs
An easy and convenient way to eat healthy at work when she doesn’t have time to meal prep.

Wants
She would love to be able to order delivery food without having to worry about the calories or being tempted with greasy, unhealthy food.

Pain points
At work, she’s swamped and often doesn’t have time to eat or grabs whatever she finds in between meetings. Many of her coworkers order delivery food, but it’s usually not a healthy option. 

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SYNTHESIZE


Synthesis — Two Main themes:

1. Users need an easy and convenient way to order food when they don’t meal prep and still be able to stick to their diet or dietary preference.

2. Most food delivery apps don’t have the functionality to filter by dietary restriction, giving these types of users an overwhelming amount of information making it hard to pick a meal.


INITIAL AI


LOW-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES

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IDEATE


USER EXPERIENCE ECOSYSTEM

Ecological
Similar look and feel as many of the popular food delivery apps. Emphasis on allowing users to pick and order foods that follow their dietary needs.

Interaction
Similar usability features to other food delivery apps such as scrolling and swiping as well as iconography and imagery usage. Simple layout clear labeling of items and buttons.

Emotional
Bright and colorful images that make the user hungry and eager to order these types of foods. Same experience for ordering as any other food delivery app, but cater to my users’ group, they won’t feel as they are missing out. Users will develop brand (app) loyalty as a result. 


UX STORYBOARD

  1. User opens the food delivery app
  2. The user goes to the top of the screen and clicks on the dietary button
  3. A screen slides from the bottom with dietary options
  4. The user picks the Vegan option by tapping on the text
  5. The user also sets Vegan as her preferred filter option as she won’t order anything out of this diet
  6. By clicking the apply button, the dietary screen slides down
  7. The user then scrolls down to the recommended section 
  8. The user swipes left through the options to see if there’s anything she likes
  9. The user finds a food option that she likes and clicks on it
  10. A new screen slides right with the food description
  11. The user then looks a the whole description and adds it to her cart
  12. The user orders the food for delivery

HIGH-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES


T-HIGH-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES

This is awesome! I love the addition you made by integrating the fitness app. From a user’s perspective, having these two apps integrated would be a huge benefit. I think this creates a huge opportunity for the app owner as well. Having data on when users are working out provides insight into the perfect timing to send them deals and reminders for the delicious food they can order when they are most likely to be hungry! — Antonia
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