Overcoming Misconieved User Insights
A UX Design solution for folks who want to go vegan but struggle with the lifestyle change
UXDI Project 1 Retrospective
Introduction
This project was a 4-day challenge meant to introduce all of the elements of the of the UX design process. Kind of like a survey course in college, this project was meant to touch on all of the aspects within the UX design process: discovery and analysis through research, synthesize and refining ideas through sketching and design, and iterating based on feedback and prototyping.
For this project, I interviewed a user who indicated that he wanted “more diversity” in his cooking repertoire. This was the initial problem presented to me. As I dug in on certain responses to my questions, I was able to elicit several key insights that became the central focus of my design strategy. Turns out, the desire to diversify his cooking repertoire was code for the fact the he is trying to convert to veganism and doesn’t know how to do this.
Once I established the central issue, I was able to infer two central themes from this dilemma:
- Becoming a vegan takes commitment and dedication. It requires a person to change deeply rooted eating habits and traditions.
- Trying to become a vegan without a solid plan and support systems in place is a recipe for failure.
Problem Statement & Design Direction
After my interview with the subject, I was perplexed. I struggled with getting to the crux of the problem. I was stuck on the fact that he wanted to diversify his cooking , but I knew there was more too it. My path to enlightenment looked like this:
Getting at the Crux of the Matter:
Step 1:
This affinity map helped me to categorize and label the data points and themes throughout the interview — but! There were some pitfalls with this approach for me. I still struggled with getting to the crux of the problem and the affinity map was not helping. I needed to “step outside” of the data points and re-imagine things from a 30,000 foot view versus just looking at the sticky notes.
Step 2:
I come from a world of spreadsheets. For better or for worse, this is who I am and how I think. I ended up with 4 worksheets in my attempt to breakdown the problem. I think the preferred way for me to do this was through sketching out ideas, but that proved unproductive for me, and since this was a short timeline, I didn’t want to spend too much time spinning my wheels.
Despite the orderly appearance of my spreadsheet, things got messy. I ended up jotting down notes and ideas at any time and at any place. These then fed into my spreadsheet. From here, the problem began to become more clear and I used my spreadsheet to iterate and organize my ideas and ultimately refine my ideas towards a central focus.
Design Solution: Introducing ZeroFoodPrint (ZFP)
ZeroFoodprint is a movement aimed at not just reducing a person’s foodprint, but eliminating it. People who become part of this movement will have access to targeted set of tools that are geared toward supporting and keeping members engaged and motivated during a difficult transition period. ZeroFoodprint is also for people who have successfully transitioned and who care about the environment and want to help other do the same. It’s part social and part personalized, but it’s 100% fun. More importantly it’s effective. Members of the ZeroFoodprint movement have a higher success rate than those who try to go it alone. By filling out your profile and completing an in-depth questionnaire, members will be given personalized reports that will help them to stay motivated and give them access to the tools and resources they need to be successful. Most importantly your success helps to save our plant.
My concept was further crystalized through the use of wireframes. Here I was able to step inside the user’s head and create an experience based on the identified needs.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
An overview of the ZFP App
Summary
Based on feedback from my interview subject, he indicated that he would definitely love to have this available, but felt there was “too much on the screen”. Other feedback included ideas such as taking a more behaviorist approach, where users could elect to put money in an account and they would be penalized for poor eating and dietary choices. Money would be deducted from their account and donated to a charity of their choice when they didn’t meet their target. Most people want to make better choices to help the environment, but, as mentioned, it involves changing deeply rooted behaviors. Building in both positive and negative reinforcements that are higher stakes would likely be more effective.
I think that this product could be generalized even more to support not just vegans, but any person looking to reduce their foodprint — though vegans and vegetarians are likely the majority of this population. There are, however, other folks such as “locavores” who want only locally sourced products that may also benefit.
This was a first attempt at designing a solution for an identified need, and next steps would be to conduct more interviews, continue to refine, gather feedback and iterate.