SAVR recipes App: Modified GV Design Sprint

Background

SAVR Recipes is a new startup that wants to make it easier for people to follow new recipes, and cook great meals at home.

The Solution

I synthesized the research and determined the solutions would involve: An app that is Highly readable Filled with Visuals Simple and clear Hands free, if desired, to eliminate frequent handwashing

I summarized the user interviews and user persona information:

• Recipes can be challenging, and need to be broken down to minimize complexity.

• Technical terms and unfamiliar, less common ingredients need to be explained so users can avoid extra time researching them.

• Users want successful cooking experiences--food with great flavor and cooked just right.

Then, I designed a Product Map to describe the end to end user experience:

Research

Once I designed the product map, I researched and reviewed other industry design solutions to problems involving steps and processes.

General App Research

First, I researched popular apps outside the cooking space to find features and design solutions that matched the SAVR Recipes App user needs.

I looked at the Pocket App, an app for saving articles and web pages to remote for later reading. One of the best features is that it is highly readable offline, something that would help user with accessibility issues (vision). The app also uses computer narration, a feature I thought might eliminate the complaint of recipe users of frequent handwashing because they repeatedly need to touch their screens.

I also reviewed Skillshare, an app with thousands of online classes. For cooking classes I reviewed their process: Introduction, then kitchen essentials, then steps, then final thoughts.

And then Seamless, a food delivery app, which users described as simple, and user-friendly.

Industry-Specific App Research

I reviewed Apps in the cooking industry as well. Two stood out as most relevant for SAVR Recipe’s design and user problems

Users describe the Cookpad App as easy to use, provide a list of ingredients, and detailed instructions.

The Side Chef App most closely addresses the SAVR App user problem. Created by a cooking beginner, it explains what to do at each step. It includes step by step recipes with videos and images. Feedback from users included “clean,” “easy to navigate,” and “love the hands-free option.”

Information Architecture

Possible SAVR App Solutions:

Next, I sketched design solution ideas. Based on the research and design features uncovered and imagined, I conducted a Crazy 8 Exercise to come up with eight possible app design solutions.

Critical Screen

From these design solutions, I created the Critical Screen. I determined from the research this screen would be the main instruction field, with cooking directions and a follow-along movie clip. Then I sketched the Panel showing the screen design layouts before and after the critical screen. For this design, a description of tools would precede the cooking directions, with an overview of steps following the critical screen.

With the three ordered screens in place:

• Description of Tools
• Cooking Directions
• Overview of Cooking Steps

I then designed the app storyboard to show the sequence of app screens.

Storyboard

I focused on visual ways to help the user plan and prepare for dishes. I included an optional timer and progress circles to let the user know where they are in the cooking process and about how long each step takes to execute, and to eliminate unnecessary handwashing pauses. Each step has both written explanation and photo and/or optional video with no scrolling needed. Explanations are brief, with options for extra explanation for less common terms and ingredients. I focused on providing high value information with low design complexity.

Low Fidelity Prototype

High Fidelity Prototype

User Testing

For the SAVR Recipes App I interviewed 5 users with cooking experience. Each referenced recipes online regularly for their cooking. They each had specific frustrations and appreciations with using recipes online.

My goals for testing were:

1. To determine if the app’s navigation was intuitive. How would they use the app? Would they look at each button or just go straight to jump to recipes?
2. Are the extra features necessary, and if users understood their purpose (ie timer feature). Could the users correctly identify the buttons?

Reflection and Lessons Learned

• Users demonstrated each home chef can have different cooking needs, depending on the circumstances. The user might be in a hurry that day, or unfamiliar with a type of dish. They may need a quick jump to recipe or an in-depth tutorial instead. I adapted the app design to meet the needs of either situation. I had assumed a methodical chef would always be methodical, whereas a more creative, intuitive chef would always skip ahead to recipe details. The users showed me there is more complexity, and the app needed to be adaptable to the particular user.

• Features I had assumed would be helpful and welcome--for example, the hands-free timer--some users thought would be a nuisance, or stressful to use.

• I learned a simple, straight-forward but thoughtful design made a home chef’s user experience more enjoyable than an app promising a million features.

• In the next prototype iteration I would refine the timer feature, adding a pop up screen explanation of the feature/short demonstration of use.

Summary of findings

• -Many of the users expressed frustration with current online recipe structures where users had to “scroll and scroll” to get to the actual recipe. They need weed through copious content. A few indicated they liked the Jump to Recipe Button so they could avoid excess content reading, especially if in a hurry. The users said they might click on all the buttons (ingredients, cook, etc) or just jump to recipe depending on the level of recipe complexity.

• -Most were unsure if they would use the timer function. One user said she like that it was “small enough that it wouldn’t annoy me”. Another said she gets frustrated because she thinks recipes often “lie about how long things take.” They pointed out that prep time takes longer for a novice than a professional, so time needed would vary. Or that sometimes people want to cook leisurely vs. in a hurry.

• Several of the older users had difficulty reading some of the finer print below icons, so I increased the font size and contrast with the background.

• The button “Final Touches” was confusing to all users. It was intended to be the button explaining food pairing options, or plating options. I changed it to “Nutritional Info” which one user stated he was interested in, but was currently not included.

• The users thought the app was easy, simple to use overall.