What’s the Problem?
When it comes to learning how to cook, I noticed that there was a significant instructional gap between live, in-person classes and resources like cookbooks, TV shows, and online videos. Combining my passion for teaching and cooking, I created Cookin, an app that offers culinary enthusiasts the opportunity to book one-on-one cooking classes with expert chefs from the comfort of their own homes.
Content Audit
I wanted to see what features potential users would be interested in. But first I took to take a step back to investigate people’s relationship to food and cooking. I used social media to recruit about 60 participants to answer a 13 question survey.
SOME KEY TAKEAWAYS
Over 80% of participants would be more interested in cooking if they had guidance.
Almost 50% of participants were interested in improving technique.
4 out 5 participants are cooking for their family or for someone else.
The results of the survey not only helped me understand my user’s preferences, but it reassured me that my motivations for creating the app were aligned with user needs.
Now humbled, I conducted a content audit on Wyzant, an online platform connecting students with private tutors in various subjects. The purpose was to gain insights into the overall architecture, offerings, and functionalities of a tutoring website.
While Wyzant provided an extensive range of tutoring options, I observed that several pages suffered from redundancies, an overload of information, and basic UI issues. My primary takeaway from this audit emphasizes the significance of prioritizing and streamlining key functions for a more effective user experience.
Survey
I had the perfect plan. I was going to go all out and do as much in-depth research as humanly possible on every food, recipe, and cooking instruction app I could find to gain key insights and ideas (aka flex how committed and thorough I was as a researcher). So I took a…
Deep Dive into Competitive, UX, and SWOT Analysis
However… I completely misjudged the functionality of my application.
I realized that I was not addressing the problem that I set out to solve, which was bridging the gap between live cooking instruction and online how-to videos. Most, if not all of these apps were the latter. My app really needed to be functioning more like a tutoring app!
What did I learn from this mistake?
Even though I felt like a dumb-dumb, I was grateful to figure out my misguided focus early in the process. And it wasn’t all a wash! I did a ton of research on what made certain apps stand out from others in the food space. I specifically noticed how a fair amount of apps spent way too much time on onboarding and superfluous functions.
User Interviews + Affinity Mapping
I wanted to add some qualitative research into the mix to make sure I was connecting with actual people and isolating their interests and needs. Would they want to use this app? Why? Were there any particular features that they would find useful?
I was surprised!
After some extremely productive conversations and using affinity mapping to find interest overlaps, I got a very good sense of what people would use the app for. BUT having set out to create an alternative resource to online how-to videos, I was surprised that users kept suggesting to add a similar section. It actually gave me an idea to have a function where tutors can introduce themselves and give a sample of their teaching style via video.
Card Sorting
I conducted a Hybrid Card Sort using OptimalWorkshop on 9 participants over the course of one day. I wanted to give my participants some boundaries with the predetermined categories that I used for my initial Sitemap, but also wanted to be open to suggestions.
I was happy that I did this, because a few participants had surprising category placements that helped me consolidate categories and develop a clearer and more encompassing Tutor Section.
After talking to potential users, it was easier to understand their nuances and motivations, so I wanted to go further and really put myself in their shoes. I wanted to visualize their journeys to make sure there was clarity and intuitiveness while catching potential pain points and bottlenecks.
I chose to create two distinct user personas: the seasoned home cook and the curious novice.
The seasoned home cook persona embodies the experienced user who seeks efficiency, advanced features, and practicality. The curious novice represents those who are new to the domain and prioritize simplicity, guidance, and a gentle learning curve. Developing these personas enabled me to empathize with users at both ends of the expertise spectrum and consider their unique needs throughout the design process.
Creating mental models, journeys and task flows was the next logical step. By mapping out how users conceptualize tasks, workflows, and interactions, I could uncover potential cognitive gaps and alignment issues, allowing me to identify areas where our design could better match their expectations.
By adopting a mobile-first approach and emphasizing core functionalities, I opted to start with low-fi wireframes in my app's design process to efficiently convey essential user interactions and layouts.
It was all going according to plan…
After creating hi-fidelity mockups, I thought it was important to get outside eyes on my designs and decisions so I reached out to a design community to get feedback. I was grateful to receive a healthy amount of collective criticism!
From Paper to Mid-Fi Prototype
In order to start testing out the basic usability of Cookin, I used my low-fi wireframes to map out a flow and then designed a mid-fidelity prototype focusing on the tasks laid out via our personas.
I also started to sketch onboarding pages and desktop designs once I was more confident about using the minimal amount of features needed for these tasks.
(An Embarrassing Journey in Three Parts)
I developed a Usability Test Plan and recruited six lovely participants to remotely test our mid-fi prototype with some focused tasks. I conducted and recorded each session (with permission) over ZOOM where a link to a prototype hosted in FIGMA was shared with the tester.
Until it wasn’t…
There were many issues, so I utilized affinity mapping and a rainbow spreadsheet to help organize and sort errors, observations, and quotes, which helped highlight the most glaring issues.
Three High-Severity Issues
What did I learn from this micro-debacle?
You would think with the amount of research that I put in, I would have focused on simplicity and clarity, especially after performing a content audit on a comparable website full of redundancies. Even though this was my intention, especially by taking a mobile-first approach, I saw how easy it was to get caught up in the clever minutiae of wording and assume users would be on board. It seems obvious now, but focusing on clear and familiar navigation should always take precedence when designing, especially for new users.
Cooking as a community
I documented the 20ish peer notes and suggestions, explaining why I either accepted or rejected the notes. Spoiler alert: I accepted most suggestions. I then designed updated versions of each page.
Accessibility
I used WebAIM’s contrast tool to make sure my pages were compliant with WCAG AA and AAA standards, and needed to adjust about ten of my designs.
Some Final Mockups
Actually it’s just beginning!
I’ve continued to make small changes to the design and layout, and was recently inspired by a particular shade of dark green on a natural mattress website which I implemented as my main color.
New hypotheses have emerged!
After focusing on accessibility, I see how important it is to spend time designing the session portal so that it is fully accessible for all.
Forever testing
I am going to take a step away from the design for a few weeks and then come back with some fresh eyes to do another round of UI refinement. This will allow for more user testing to help fine-tune the app.
Nothing! I’m Perfect!!!
Clarity Over Cleverness
Especially while labeling main functions and buttons.
I am NOT the User
As a foodie, the features that I think are cool are not necessarily what the users think are cool.
Fail Fast
Try, fail, learn, try again. It’s the best way to refine your product in a productive way.
Beginner’s Mind
My mind was open, my ego was non-existent, and my enthusiasm was high. This helped me take chances and learn quickly.
Thank you so much for scanning through this case study!
I am happy to chat further about my process, findings, and decisions. Or I can take you through my grandmother’s meatball recipe step-by-step. I’m just an email away!