The Beginning of a Great Career; A UX Case Study on Suggesting Healthy Alternatives at Fast Food Restaurants.

Jessica Laughter
Aug 24, 2017 · 8 min read

The Problem

In recent years, obesity has become an epidemic that controls nearly two thirds of American’s lives. Currently, adults from twenty years and up suffer from being overweight as well as the consequential symptoms that poor health bring. Largely, these individuals experience higher medical costs, low mental health, and reduced quality of life. Americans must be aware that obesity is the leading cause of death in the United States and has left very few unaffected. So, the problem remains; what can we do to help those struggling with obesity lose weight and improve their quality life? Among one of the biggest hindrances to reducing obesity, is how readily available fast food is. Furthermore, viable options for healthier food is not marketed as often priced higher.


The Solution

My solution is a website that you can search for different foods/meals (by restaurant) and find out the nutrients of a food. After scanning through nutritional content, you decide if you are eating ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’ food. From there, you can seek healthier recommendations of that food/meal.


The Process

Initially, I was given this problem by my Lead Instructor at DevMountain to determine the best practices and processes of UX design. In doing so, I have also discovered the embodiment of human empathy and honed my problem-solving abilities. My methodology behind this Health Project revolved around five main partitions; to strategize, ideate, create experiment and execute.

  1. Strategize: Strategizing has become a foundation in UX design. As Max McKeown states,

“With a clever strategy, each action is self-reinforcing. Each action creates more options that are mutually beneficial to everyone. Each victory is not just for today but for tomorrow.”

In this project, my strategy entailed research, hypothesizing, interviewing my audience, and producing a creative brief. I also began to review my progress, results and started refining my approach. My first was one of the biggest; I decided to focus my effort on understanding my own assumptions and stereotypes when it came to Americans chose to eat fast food and why. Next, I began a week-long process of interviewing to health professionals, grocery store customers and fast food participants.

From the data gathered, I was able to piece together an underlying symptom of obesity; not only was fast food far more convenient and readily available, people earnestly believe that they were getting the healthier options in the drive through! By empathizing with my five in-person interviews, and 19 individuals who participated in an online survey, was able to start formulating a detailed creative brief. I hypothesized: If users were able to get health information from restaurants easier and faster, then they would choose healthier options if presented.

2. Ideate: Within the role of Ideation, UX designers begin to transform research into potential solutions to their primary problem. This is often the most exciting aspect of the UX design process. As the infamous Ray Bradbury declares,

“I don’t need an alarm clock; my Idea’s wake me”

How right this wise man is!

This step in the design process started with creating personas,

user flows

and user journeys.

This was an ongoing task that continued throughout the entire design process. The first thing I discerned was that processing Information Architecture soothed my analytical character. It gave me methodical thought and logic to a process usually abstract and ambiguous.

More importantly, as I began to ideate, solve and present solutions, a new side of my personality budded. My meticulous and analytical nature was affronted with a new person that strove to deliver these logical solutions in a creative and visual manner. Instead of communicating in diction and grammar, I was able to show character and flare for simple and direct explanations. Overall, a love of ideation took root and began to give my hypothetical solution content and substance.

3. Create: After forming personas, user flows, and user journeys, I next began to create. At the time, this was the greatest step in solidifying my design process. Until then, I hadn’t realized how much thought and knowledge is placed in visual design, color theory and other complicated processes that users unconsciously experience.

Prototyping is where I was able to mature the most in my design process. Each step was well thought out and either validated or challenged. This progression flowed from sketching out dozens of ten by ten (hand drawn) iterations, to designing low fidelity wireframes. Finally, they turned into high fidelity mockups that set me up for my biggest hurdle as a designer yet. This process alone occupied roughly two weeks of my time, as I strove to grasp each aspect of visual design.

Experiment: Usability Testing is the foundation of validating by (either) accepting or changing your design. I believe that user testing is a process that is often overlooked and not used frequently enough. I, therefore, initiated user testing at almost every step of my design process; even as I started writing this.

“The goal of a designer is to listen, observe, understand, sympathize, empathize, synthesize, and glean insights that enable him or her to ‘make the invisible visible.”

Hillman Curtis, Chief Creative Officer at Hillman Curtis

In this case study, user testing brought on many new iteration and designs to this website. I was given feedback from multiple users in person. To gain further clarity, I was also able to obtain advice from multiple professional user experience designers.

The wide range of feedback I received covered everything from user interface improvements to simplifying the user flow. I started 15 original high fidelity wireframes and resulted in removing four and adding six more. In the end, I was left with each wireframe viably tested and sorted through to best improve a user’s experience.

Among some of the top improvements of my usability testing was:

1. Improving color contrast on each of my wireframes

2. Implementing (or removing) some (un)necessary call to action buttons on each wireframe

3. Additional actions (such as rating a meal) to create a better UX.

4. Renaming a few key features of the site to clarify intention and give the user better discovery

5. Adding color schemes to my final high fidelity wireframes, as well as photos and larger icons that simplified each call to action .

Ultimately what makes or breaks a great UX Design is the ability to embody and connect to their users. User testing allowed me to do just this. I was able to improve both my process and understanding of people.


The Take Away

Execute: In the final step of my process, I was able to execute my project to date. By execute, I mean implement changes from user interviews, correct visual design errors and ultimately refine my project. I can now verify that my hypothesis, ideations and user testing have all led to a greater understanding of the UX design process. As established in my creative brief this project has multiple strengths to stress the importance of good user research and testing.

“User centered design means understanding what your users need, how they think, how they behave- and incorporating that understanding into every aspect of your process”

Jessie James Garrett

Within my project, the business goals, plan and deliverable of my website could not be tested because I was unable to obtain a developer to build this design. As Jessie Garrett states, nevertheless, understanding HCD is what truly matters throughout the design process. I believe I achieved that entirely. A few key take aways from this case study include:

1. Feedback from mutual professionals as well as users is essential to achieve successful goals.

2. Content is King! Content should be treated as evolving with its own lifestyle

3. Understanding the principles of Information Architecture are vital to create a UX fruitful process

4. Incorporating functioning wireframes, allows to everyone on the team to communicate and collaborate more effectively.

5. You can never test and reiterate ideations too much!

6. Just because healthier options available, doesn’t mean that people are going to choose them every time

7. Creating and communicating clear tasks during usability testing allows for you to gain a better understanding of the problems your project has.

8. Asking open ended questions and allowing the user/tester to direct the answer helps you gain clearness and insight into how your website is used

In conclusion, this health project helped me gain a sense of my strengths and weakness in the UX Design Process. I still have a lifetime to perfect this career and look forward to it eargerly. If there are a few things I could do differently if I was able:

First, I would take more time to write down and record my usability sessions (using silverback hotjar or quick time) and create a charts to support/reject my hypothesis.

Second, I would strive to implement google anaylitics. Since this was not able to be put on a live website, I look forward to the next time I do further usability testing here.

Finally, I will enjoy it even more! Whats most important is that I was able to walk through each step entirely and ultimately attain clarity and insight to a profession I will spend my life in.

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Jessica Laughter

Written by

Wife, Mother, PM, UX UI Designer, Animal Nut, Outdoor Lover, and Interdisciplinary Enthusiast ❤ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicalaughter/

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