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SAVR

A 5 day GV-inspired, design sprint aimed at redesigning a recipe application to better meet the needs of users.

Case Study || 2020

savr3_edited.png

The Problem

Savr offers a wealth of diverse and great meals. However, users are often stressed by the complexity and inefficiency of instructions. Pain points include: too many steps, advanced techniques, lack of planning ahead, actual vs. stated completion time, lack of visual validation, and needing to wash hands prior to touching phone.

The Solution

The redesign offers users short videos demonstrating each step of the recipe, links to embedded how-to videos for more complicated techniques, a hands-free mode, user-validated time estimates, cooking alarms, and streamlined abilities to view needed items.

My Role

  • Research Analysis 
  • User Mapping
  • Lightning Demos
  • Crazy 8's
  • Storyboard 
  • Visual design
  • Prototyping
  • Usability Testing
Sole UX Designer

My Growth

I learned to let go of my penchant for perfectionism. I learned that swift and imperfect design can offer mind-blowing insight. I learned that working with constraints in budget, resources, and time can still allow for powerful UX design thinking.

Day One

In an effort to understand the problem, I gathered short notes and quotes from both written and spoken feedback on pain points.
At the end of day one, an end-to-end map of user experience was explored. I settled on the third map as it addresses the largest pain points discovered through the research phase. 

Day Two

Lightning Demos

I then focused on lightning demos of competitor apps to get inspiration and ideas. Tasty, Yummly, BigOven, SideChef, Epicurious, KitchenStories, Allrecipes, and Mealime were each explored; resulting in several design considerations.
Epicurious

Ratings & Probabilities

Mealime

Hands-Free

Side Chef

Step-By-Step Videos

Yummly

Cooking Alerts

KitchenStories

How-To Videos

Crazy 8's Exercise

During the Crazy 8's exercise, each new frame evolved from the last. Throughout the process I would spend a few seconds evaluating the frame prior to the empty one and questioning what aspects (navigation, features, visual design, etc.) were missing from the previous screen. 

Day Three

Solution Sketch

I ended up choosing the last sketch in my Crazy 8s exercise. By the end of the exercise, I felt like the last screen captured all of the essential elements.
  • The user is given flexibility to browse through recipes based on category (breakfast, lunch, dinner, quick, etc.) in a swiping navigation menu at the top.
  • The bottom navigation was crafted as Recipes, Favorites, Meal Plan, and Groceries; as the key features of our app (adding in groceries would allow for users to efficiently create a grocery list based on selected recipes).
  • The individual recipe screen (and subsequent recipe step screens) were built in such a way to allow for fluid navigation from one step to the next, as well as an option to exit out.
  • Users are given in-app links to tutorials for specific techniques they may be unaware of.
  • Iconography is used to reduce cognitive load for ingredients and cookware. 
  • An additional option of setting an alarm to accurately cook within a specific time frame are also present.

Day Three

Solution Sketch

I ended up choosing the last sketch in my Crazy 8s exercise. By the end of the exercise, I felt like the last screen captured all of the essential elements.

Storyboard

  • The user is given flexibility to browse through recipes based on category (breakfast, lunch, dinner, quick, etc.) in a swiping navigation menu at the top.
  • The bottom navigation was crafted as Recipes, Favorites, Meal Plan, and Groceries; as the key features of our app (adding in groceries would allow for users to efficiently create a grocery list based on selected recipes).
  • The individual recipe screen (and subsequent recipe step screens) were built in such a way to allow for fluid navigation from one step to the next, as well as an option to exit out.
  • Users are given in-app links to tutorials for specific techniques they may be unaware of.
  • Iconography is used to reduce cognitive load for ingredients and cookware. 
  • An additional option of setting an alarm to accurately cook within a specific time frame is also present.

Day Four

Prototype

I used Sketch to prototype out my designs for the sprint. Utilizing a Sketch kit for basic elements was immensely helpful in terms of speeding up the process of components without spending too much time fine-tuning new ones. Color choice was immediate for visual design, as there are pretty specific colors that are associated with food and warmth. Interactivity was relatively simple, given that it is a basic MVP with limited interactivity capabilities in a design sprint.

Testing Goals

  1. Discovering usability and ease-of-use for the “Set Reminder” feature. 
  2. Exploring use of in-app tutorials as a means to assist newer cooks. 
  3. Gaining feedback on “Hands-Free” mode; specifically with regards to the copy used to explain it, as well as the likelihood that a user would utilize the feature. 
  4. Gathering information on layout and copy (ie. is there enough information displayed on the recipe cards on the home screen to help users select a meal, do individual recipes have a layout that does not overwhelm the user in terms of cognitive load, etc.).
  5. Evaluating the statistics highlighted on recipe cards and individual recipes for value to the user (ie. cook time, would cook again, and ratings).
  6. Checking for clarity of the bottom navigation menu as it relates to options within the app. 
  7. Estimating the likelihood that a user would utilize the “Instructions” tab on the main recipe page to preview the steps to the recipe.

Day Five

Day Five

Usability Testing

Five tasks were given to 5 participants to accurately assess for testing goals. 
Considerations Included:
  • "Set Reminder" copy was confusing, majority excited about feature. 
  • "Meal Plan" feature copy was confusing.
  • CTA to begin cooking unclear.
  • Tutorials not visible within text.
  • Hands-Free feature major success.

Final Considerations

Many of the solutions proposed for this design sprint proved to be successful (ie. cookware/ingredients needed prior to, hands-free mode, fellow users statistics, layout). Other solutions were not given adequate visual hierarchy to be discovered by the user (ie. in-app tutorials, set reminder, etc.), but resulted in delight by each user during discussion post-testing.

Future Iterations

  • Clearer UX copy for CTAs.
  • Ensure user control and freedom over videos.
  • More onboarding support and education.
  • Change in-text link for tutorials to CTAs.
  • Include "Add to Favorites" feature at end.
  • Add numbers to each step of recipe at top.
  • Consider adding social aspect.
  • Provide substitutions or alternatives.
  • Add voice feature vs. hands-free features.
©2020 Emily Paul
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