Food’s Favourites: Making it personal — a UX case study

Ryda Rashid
Bootcamp
Published in
5 min readAug 7, 2023
Photo by Pablo Merchán Montes on Unsplash
Due to privacy concerns, the project has been revised.

Note: This is one of my previous projects, which I am excited to share with you. This article provides valuable insights and lessons learned that can be applied to avoid potential pitfalls in similar situations or to consider alternative strategies. Let get into it! :)

Goal

To provide users with a convenient way to save their favourite items, speeding up their shopping decisions.

Impact

  1. Increase no. of returning users.
  2. Increase revenue and transactions.
  3. Increase product conversions.

Introduction

Have you ever planned to order that one favourite dish, but then you look for it again and can’t find it anywhere?

To solve this problem, we introduced a simple yet practical feature called ‘Favourite.’ This feature allows users to save their preferred items for quick and convenient access in the future.

Favourite: Why do we need this?

Our data shows that our users ordered the same thing from the same restaurant over and over again. So it’s quite obvious that:

1. We can help them find their favourite restaurants and food easier

2. This is also a way for us to get more orders from our users.

It’s killing two birds with one stone. Why not?

What’s our Plan?

The plan is to start with building a favourite feature for restaurants and dishes where the users can save their favourite restaurants and dishes to order whenever they want and share these restaurants with their friends and families.

Persona

We created 3 personas for this project which are:

  1. Explorer Eika
  2. Habitual Helen
  3. Host Han
Personas

We kicked off by incorporating Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) method to ensure that we covered the user’s needs and goals.

When I’m browsing, I want to add valuable contents in my favourite, so I can use it as a quick access for when I need to refer to it on another day.

We conducted this exercise within our team, which helped us translate it into story mapping. The purpose was to better grasp the emotional aspects of the customer experience. It not only opened our minds to new ideas but also allowed us to identify potential obstacles that need to be overcome.

Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD)
Story mapping

Worst Possible Idea

Let’s dive into the exciting details of our approach! In addition to implementing the Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) method, we spiced up our ideation sessions with a thrilling method called Worst Possible ideation.

This unconventional method involved our team members purposefully exploring the wildest and most outrageous ideas during brainstorming sessions. Surprisingly, this approach proved to be incredibly effective in generating a plethora of unique and innovative concepts.

The best part? It was an absolute blast! Collaborating with the team, we pushed the boundaries of creativity, allowing ourselves to think beyond the norms and come up with unconventional solutions. The energy in the room was electric as we laughed, challenged one another, and unleashed our imaginations in pursuit of the worst ideas possible.

Worst Possible Idea

Personally, it was an exhilarating experience. Being my first time conducting such a session, I found it both fascinating and enlightening. It opened up new avenues of thinking and encouraged us to break free from conventional constraints. If you’re interested in exploring this method further, you can learn more from the Interaction Design Foundation (IDF) here: http://bit.ly/3pzVttU

First-stage of Design Iteration

We made the first design iteration to study how they will explore this new feature and what are all the circumstances they use in this app.

We divided our study into two scenarios

  1. First time user
  2. User has favourited
First time user
User has added to favourites

Design Critic

Initially, our idea was to create a subtle message for first-time users. However, PM expressed to make it more prominent and noticeable to ensure that users are aware of this new feature. This raised some important questions: How can we effectively educate users about this feature? What is the core purpose and benefit of this feature? Will it bring novelty and value to the user’s experience?

Second Round Iteration

Taking into account the feedback received, we iterated on the design flow to make it more prominent, noticeable, and engaging in the restaurant screen.

We make it more prominent and noticeable to ensure that users are aware of this new feature.

Final Prototype

To enhance user understanding and align their expectations more effectively, we have incorporated animations in our design. By leveraging animations, we aim to communicate information and interactions in a more engaging and intuitive manner.

What’s Next?

This is just a start for our favourite feature! We’re not stopping at just menus and restaurants. We’re exploring ways to take it further. How about adding a scheduling functionality for your favorite dishes? Imagine having the power to plan and indulge in your preferred meals at the perfect times. Stay tuned for more exciting updates!

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Bootcamp
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Published in Bootcamp

From idea to product, one lesson at a time. Bootcamp is a collection of resources and opinion pieces about UX, UI, and Product. To submit your story: https://tinyurl.com/bootspub1

Ryda Rashid
Ryda Rashid

Written by Ryda Rashid

Product Designer — To help aspiring designers and design students, I write. http://rydarashid.co

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