The issue of food waste has become increasingly prevalent, driven by various contributing factors. Many students, aiming to save money, take on the role of home cooks. However, in the process of purchasing groceries, a significant challenge emerges – improper management leading to substantial wastage.
Each year in the United States, between 125
and 160 billion pounds of food is left uneaten, amounting to up to 40% of the food supply.
Design Question
How might we help students aged 22-35 reduce food waste and manage their groceries better through the use of technology?
OVERVIEW
The Problem - Food Waste
Timeline
RESEARCH
Research questions
What are the leading factors contributing to food waste on an individual basis?
What do the grocery shopping, cooking, and food storage habits of a student aged 22-35 look like?
What obstacles do students face while trying to reduce food waste?
Research techniques
1
Secondary research which involved reviewing ~15 articles and research papers to find key statistics, confirming the significant problem of food waste.
2
Sent out a survey to our target users which received 61 responses.
3
To gain further insights, each of us carried out a semi-structured interview with 3 survey respondents.
4
Blended shadowing with the five whys method to observe 4 participants in their real environments and understand their thought process. This helped to understand how other miscellaneous factors might contribute to food waste generation.
We observed them while cooking, grocery shopping, arranging groceries, etc.
Research findings
Insight 1 - An unpredictable schedule throws off meal plans.
Most students have an unpredictable schedule. Even if they do end up making an elaborate meal plan, it is always disrupted by last minute plans.
Insight 2 - Most wasted food type is fresh produce
According to our survey findings, 88% students end up wasting vegetables as they are not used up till their expiration date. This was also confirmed during our field studies.
Insight 3 - Poor visibility within the fridge leads to forgetfulness
Difficulty in seeing what’s stored in fridges or pantries often leads to food being overlooked and spoiling. This is especially true in case of perishable items.
Insight 4 - Most students struggle with overpurchasing
Purchasing too much food, often influenced by sales or misjudgment, results in having excess that may not be consumed in time.
IDEATION
Jobs To Be Done Analysis
We organized the data collected over various periods to better understand user behaviors and emotions. By categorizing the information into areas such as meal planning, grocery shopping, storage, and cooking, each representing different jobs to be done, we gained a more comprehensive understanding of how factors like a hectic lifestyle and being forgetful contribute to food waste.
Affinity Mapping
We identified 7 distinct user patterns and began shaping those personas. Further, we organised our JTBD sticky notes within these patterns and created an affinity map. We then voted on the 3 most representative personas.
Refined Design Question
How might we help students aged 22-35 who cook for themselves reduce food waste and manage the fresh produce in their fridge better?
User Personas
Success Metrics
To design a product that best meets the needs of our users, we first needed to articulate the design elements most vital to them.
This list of “design requirements” could then be used as a guiding light in the design decisions we’d make moving forward. Based on our research and collected data, we identified six design requirements for our product.
1
Make food management effortless and reduce complexity
2
Help the user in proper storage and organization of food items
3
Proactively remind users of impending food spoilage for quick action
4
Flexible solution to account for unpredictable lifestyles
5
The solution should have a hands-free interface for ease of use in the kitchen
6
Mobile friendly solution to allow users to easily access and process their information
Ideation through sketching
We started ideating in the early stages of the project and carried out this activity of sketching 24 solutions to our design question. This helped us get as many ideas as possible out on paper.
After voting, we developed 3 promising ideas and elaborated on them. We evaluated all 3 using the MoSCoW method.
INITIAL SOLUTION
User scans grocery shopping receipt to log groceries into the database
User can invoke voice assistant for recipes, check logged groceries or log new groceries. It will also make meal plans for the user.
The solution has a mobile app so the user can access data at any moment
Voice Assistant Design
We initiated voice interface design using a traditional yet effective tool: the spreadsheet.
While designing, reading the scripts aloud is a crucial step. It's not just about the words; it's about how they sound when spoken. The conversation needs to flow naturally, avoiding any robotic tones. It was a process of constant refinement to achieve that friendly, conversational feel.
Using FigJam, these scripts were transformed into flowcharts, visually outlining the dialogue paths.
USABILITY TESTING
Usability Testing
We built a paper prototype of the mobile app and conducted Wizard of Oz testing for the voice assistant. We tested our solution with 4 distinct users.
We asked them to perform onboarding actions and then small tasks like logging groceries, asking for a recipe, checking inventory. Participants were asked to speak out loud while completing these tasks.
A Change in Direction
1
It is tedious to log groceries manually via the mobile app or voice assistant
Proposed change:
Based on the concept of Amazon Go, introduction of a sensor within the fridge which will detect fresh produce and maintain inventory in the app accordingly
3
Meal planning was more complicated than anticipated due to unpredictable schedules
Proposed change:
While we had to remove meal planning, the introduction of the sensor and recipe suggestion based on inventory helped combat the issue of food wastage
2
The mobile app user flow is not clear for first time users
Proposed change:
Changed certain aspects of the home screen with better navigation and indicators
4
There was a disconnect between the app and voice assistant
Proposed change:
Users wished to preview recipes on their phones, instead of having a voice assistant recite them. To tackle this issue, we introduced a feature of transferring the recipe to the mobile app.
5
Voice design ≠ Mobile app design
Proposed change:
Recognizing the absence of visual cues in voice interactions, we worked to prioritize clear verbal guidance and added context-maintaining prompts in our scripts.
FINAL SOLUTION
1
Sensor present in the fridge is able to log fresh produce, maintain inventory and anticipate expiration dates
2
Simplifies grocery logging for users, reducing manual effort
1
User can invoke voice assistant for recipe recommendations and check logged groceries
2
Hands-free interface so the user can focus on the primary task of cooking
1
User will be able check inventory on the go, make grocery lists and get expiration date alerts
2
Supplementary mobile application for easy data access
User Flow
Mobile Application Prototype
1
2
3
Home
1
Quickly check expiring items in your inventory for easy access
2
Make grocery lists easily to keep track of what to buy next
3
Blogs to promote awareness about food waste and provide quick tips
Recipes
1
Ability to filter recipes on the basis of preferences to quickly find recipes
2
A comprehensive list of recipes along with anticipated preparation times to help users with planning. The recipes are suggested on the basis of the allergy restrictions, dietary preferences and cuisine preferences added by the user
1
2
Inventory
1
Easily filter on the basis of type of food to monitor inventory and expiration dates
1
Grocery Lists
1
Create grocery lists for more efficient shopping and prevent overbuying
2
Filter lists depending on date and grocery stores
1
2
Voice Assistant Prototype
We created out final voice assistant prototype with a voice design tool named Voiceflow, to create a mid-fidelity prototype. This setup allows for real-time machine feedback, enabling us to test it as if we were a user hundreds of times.
REFLECTION
It's okay to go crazy (within constraints)
We started off with a mindset that we wanted to create a mobile app. But as we truly gave in to the 'process' and focussed on what users were saying, we were able to find a better and more usable solution
UI design is important
Due to our timeline and focus on developing the voice assistant prototype, we were unable to really focus on the mobile application design. This is something we will work on in the next steps.
Thank you for reading!
PS: This is a sticker that I designed to give out during the final showcase
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