defining the problem
◦ $166,000,000,000 of food goes to waste after being purchased every year.
◦ 18 to 24 year olds are the largest contributing demographic to food waste, so we asked...
"how might we improve the way young adults manage their groceries to reduce food waste?"
groceries tend to go bad before young adults know it due to their busy lifestyles.
with these, energy, time, and money are wasted and people are burdened with the guilt of throwing away food.
preliminary & secondary research synthesis
to better understand just how much food is wasted by letting groceries spoil and identify the key factors in food waste, we created a survey, conducted a diary study, and conducted secondary research, from which we were able to draw some patterns.
key insights
1. students struggle with keeping track of which groceries they have and when they've bought them: they don't want to waste food, but what they buy often slips their mind.
2. students gravitate towards cheap and convenient meals to save money and energy.
3. lack of time and organization means students tend to not be as mindful when purchasing groceries, and they often end up forgetting about them until they go bad, leading to guilt over having to throw away food.
user personas
ideation
when brainstorming ideas, the lack of organization and planning seemed like one of the most clear factors catalyzing the waste of groceries, so i pursued two potential products and used a mind map to brainstorm features for both: a smartphone app to track and organize groceries as well as a smart device that can be integrated into a refrigerator or pantry. i chose to move forward with the app because a mobile app is more accessible and appealing: it would be easier for users to download an app on a phone they likely already have, rather than invest into a completely new smart product. it's also more convenient in terms of portability.
mind map
low-fidelity prototyping
having selected to create an app, i created two low-fidelity prototypes on pen and paper. each ideation had a core feature of logging and tracking groceries, but approached the usage of groceries in a different way.
the first ideation was a simple organizational app, much like a to-do list. users can log their groceries and set recurring notifications to remind them to use them before they expire.
the second ideation aimed to implement the process of finding and cooking recipes as a game with an added bonus of social interaction, where users could 'like' each other's achievements or contributions (ex. cooking a recipe, contributing a recipe, etc.)
mid-fidelity prototyping
after collecting user feedback on the low-fidelity prototypes, i chose to focus on iteration 1. users reported that with iteration 2, they felt overwhelmed by the features and didn't see themselves being able to keep up with another social media app, even if the social media aspect is minor. furthermore, iteration 2 aimed to motivate users to use up their groceries by gamifying cooking, but users also observed that other constraints like time, space, and energy were also factors that impeded their ability to cook, and so iteration 1 stood out as a more relevant solution.
as for feedback for iteration 1, user feedback mostly concerned the refinement of the user interface as well as minor features such as implementing touch/swipe gestures, adding push notifications, and adding a settings/profile panel. users did enjoy the simplicity and overall user flow of the app, noting that it's very easy to get where they want to or cancel when they want to. integrating user feedback resulted in the prototype below: a simple app with only the essential and highly requested features. building on the high prioritization of simplicity, i removed the upper navbar, as it didn't improve usability by much, and condensed the settings/profile pages into one, since there's no social interaction system: the only purpose of the profile is so users can link their emails/phone numbers and sync their information across platforms. i also moved the navigation to the settings page to the bottom navigation bar.
considering that the feedback I received emphasized the importance of simplicity in usability, i aimed to further condense and organize components while maintaining intuitiveness. for example, the search bar can simply be typed into without opening up another overlay.
some users also reported that the amount of information for each item felt overwhelming at times. to combat this while keeping those properties as an organizational tool for those who do use it, i've reordered some components so that the required fields (item name, quantity, expiry date) are at the top of the visual hierarchy and have visual cues marking them as required. thus, the user experience becomes more intuitive and flexible.
usability testing: insights
◦ ability to toggle off certain properties and remove them from view
◦ having more graphics would make the app more enjoyable to use
◦ "i like how easy it is to navigate between views"
◦ users report that user flow is intuitive; little to no struggle at all navigating
◦ users found it easy to accomplish the tasks they wanted to do
final product
