Project Overview
Project Overview
Embedded Files
Five Out is a recipe organizer app specifically made for independent businesses within the food industry.
Five Out enables owners and managers to add, edit, organize, and archive recipes. This app hosts special features that allow owners and managers to provide specific access to staff and employees, thus eliminating the need for hard-copy recipes.
Can you find the seasonal dish named: "Peach Pavlova"?
Role:
Role:
UX/UI Designer
UX Researcher
Responsibilities:
Responsibilities:
User research and analysis
Persona creation
Wireframing
UI Design
Prototyping
Iteration of designs
Project duration:
Project duration:
August 2022 - September 2022
Tools:
Tools:
Figma, Miro, and Jamboard
Project type:
Project type:
Conceptual
The Problem
The Problem
There are roughly 490,000 independent restaurants and about 35,500 food trucks in the United States. Oftentimes, these small businesses rely on handmade recipe books and notes for meal prep, recipes, and training purposes. This type of recipe management has resulted in owner/employee hardships:
not enough recipe book copies for all employees
recipe books are lost or hard to find
personal recipe book copies are outdated
recipe books are unorganized
recipe books are only kept at the restaurant/small business
the time to search for a specific recipe can take longer than needed
lack of pictures to support understanding
lack of step-by-step guides
The Solution
The Solution
I created, Five Out, a recipe organizer app that allows users to quickly access, add, and organize recipes. As recipes and information are updated within the app, all employees will see changes to recipes, allergy menus, and training in real time. Five Out is the recipe organizing tool that will create a quicker workflow for employees by allowing quick search and access to recipes at the user's fingertips, anytime, anywhere.
Initial Research
Initial Research
I did not have a lot of background information about the food industry and what it entails, so prior to gathering research data, I had a few assumptions:
Chefs and cooks would be the main target users of this app.
The app would need categories based on time served: breakfast, lunch, and dinner
There would be a specific user age group - I am guessing on the older side.
The application would be used specifically for recipes.
User Interviews
User Interviews
With this being my first project within the Google UX Design Course, I was allotted the opportunity to empathize with what interviewees may say and feel within the industry. It was not required that I interview real people, however, it was encouraged.
I used 3 interviews provided through the course, and to practice and get used to research, I interviewed two people who have worked over 20 years within the food industry.
Key Insights from User Interviews
Key Insights from User Interviews
The interviews shed light on my initial assumptions, being that I was completely incorrect in the majority of my thoughts. I compiled a list of key takeaways based on the 2 interviews with the food industry professionals.
ANYONE who handles food will need access to recipes and food plating diagrams. This includes chefs, cooks, kitchen staff, waiters, servers, managers, and bartenders.
Target users will be a wide age range. Taking this into consideration is important for the accessibility of the application [age, reading level, and language].
Recipe binders used in restaurants contain more than just recipes. They contain: food diagrams, recipes for seasonal food items, drink recipes, food preparation recipes, and much more depending on the type of restaurant/business.
A variety of recipe books will need to be available to users to access or add recipes based on the food/plate category.
Recipe binders often have "tutorials" on how to cut/chop/dice food a certain way. These binders are a source for training new employees.
I need to consider how accessible these tutorials will be - what are the language/sight/reading barriers that some users may struggle with?
Depending on the business size, food binders can be accessed as a PDF on a computer, and at other times, food binders are printouts organized by the owner of the binder.
How can I design the application so that it is faster and easier to access on mobile devices versus a printout binder or a desktop computer?
Depending on the business and kitchen - some staff members access food binders weekly, whereas some staff members only need access once or twice a month.
What does the layout of the application need to look like or how does it need to be categorized so that anyone who uses the application can easily find what they are looking for?
Using the data gathered for user research, I created a user persona to best showcase one of my targeted users.
User Personas
User Personas
Considering the key takeaways from the interviews, I created user personas.
Meet "Rashod"
Meet "Rashod"
Rashod is a burger shop owner who needs a way to organize recipes and provide access for employees so that he can provide high-quality food to his customers consistently.
Sketching and Wireframing
Sketching and Wireframing
I began my process with a round of Crazy 8's (not pictured) ideating the home screen of my recipe application. I then continued to sketch and refine all the screens that would be used in the main user flow: Searching for a seasonal recipe, viewing the recipes, and accessing the step-by-step recipe slides.
After refinement of several screens, I created digital wireframes and a lo-fi prototype.
Usability Testing
Usability Testing
Two rounds of usability tests were conducted. Based on the data gathered, I refined my designs to best serve the users.
Some key findings in the first round of usability tests were:
4/5 participants could not access the step-by-step slides
5/5 participants were able to find the seasonal dish recipe
4/5 decreased the time to complete a task as they continued to test the application
The slide steps were difficult for users to access and at times - users didn't know the images led to slide steps.
I replaced the images with a button so that it would present the user with a clear option for them to press and explore.
An element wasn't caught during the first round of testing, but was added to the user flow for the second round - "adding a recipe".
Users had concerns with adding a recipe when the option was located at the end of the recipe list.
"I have to scroll all the way down to add a recipe, what if there are A LOT of recipes to scroll through?" - Kyron T.
I changed the "add recipe" option to a fixed button on the screen so that users could always have access to add a recipe.
Hi-fi Mock up/Prototype
Hi-fi Mock up/Prototype
The hi-fi prototype presents a cleaner user flow with added details for creating recipes and giving specific recipe access to staff.
Learnings
Learnings
With this being my first experience with UX Design, I truly learned a lot. My foundational knowledge of UX design has expanded and I have a better understanding of how to design an app from start to (almost) finish. I have grown skills rooted in the tools of UX design and I continue to practice and hone these new skill sets.
Data and research are major components of the development of an app or website. Without this valuable information, user-centered design is not possible. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE USER! A struggle of mine was during the first phase of the design process and creating well-rounded open questions for user research. I foresee that user research will be a struggle of mine as I continue throughout this course. I plan on growing my skills and gathering more insightful data through carefully crafted surveys and interviews. Thank you for taking the time to review my case study. Please feel free to reach out if you should have any questions or feedback.
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