THE EDEN
A mobile app design for a restaurant that offers regional, national and global cuisine.
Time
June 2021 - August 2021
Project
Mobile App Design
Category
Case Study
The Problem
Ever tried to make a reservation over a phone call and ended up being seated at the noisiest place for your special night?
Or felt irritated when asked to fill a feedback form after your meal?
The Goal
Provide an easier way for users to choose a table during reservation and add a simpler feedback mechanism
EMPATHIZE
What do the users say?
I conducted interviews to qualitatively assess the problems in a fancy restaurant. I also conducted user surveys to understand the users I'm designing for.
"It's too loud when a group is celebrating"
"It would be nice to have an image of the food"
"We only go to the restaurant for special occasions, so we would like to be seated in a quiet atmosphere"
"We are often in a hurry, so it would be nice to know how long it takes for the food to be delivered"
Pain Points
Reservation
Choosing a table without knowing where the table is located in the restaurant is difficult
Feedback
It is difficult to give honest feedback with no motivation
Time
Users are frustrated when they have to wait for the food for an unexpected amount of time
IDEATE
User Persona
User Journey Map
DESIGN
PROTOTYPE
High Fidelity Key Screens
Micro-Interactions
TEST
Test out the Prototype
Usability Study Findings
I conducted 2 usability studies.
I conducted the first one with the low-fidelity prototype and updated the screens. I conducted the second round of the usability study with my high-fidelity prototype. With the findings of the study, I updated my screens to make them more user-centric. Given below is the findings of round 1 and round 2 usability studies
Round 1 Findings
1. Users found the icon for the Add to Cart button difficult to understand
2. Many users tried to search for food to order, but the search function was missing
3. Users looked for a way to save items to order them again later
Round 2 Findings
1. Users found it difficult to find the navbar
2. Users did not know how to navigate the"Successful" overlay
3. Users wanted to know the motivation to give feedback (i.e. discount for selected customers) ahead of time
Design Iterations based on Findings
Early designs only allowed users to close the overlay, thus leading them to believe they would be returned to the checkout page. After the usability study the close option has been replaced by the "Return to Home" button
Many participants during the usability study felt that they should be notified about the discount before the feedback page. To address this, I added the information in the checkout overlay.
During the usability study, various participants had found it extremely difficult to choose a table to which the orger was to be delivered. In order to make this process easier, I enlarged the size of the buttons and made the text legiible.
REFLECTIONS
Accessibility considerations
Keeping in mind, users with limited vision, color contrast ratios of the screens have been taken into consideration.
Logout has been made consistent across different screens of the application
Considering users with motor or dexerity impairment, device gestures have been limited to tap and drag
Key Takeaways
While designing the application for The Eden restaurant, I realized that each stage of the design process required continuous feedback to achieve the best possible version of the product. Each iteration of the application was shaped by usability studies and peer feedback.
I’ve learned that even now, the app isn’t complete. There are still many user needs to address and features to incorporate.
Impact
The application made users feel like The Eden restaurant truly valued its customers and thinks about how to make their journey pleasant.
Quote from the usability study
Next Steps
1. Evaluate the current prototype with potential users by conducting usability tests.
2. Enhance the application’s accessibility for users who are not proficient in English.
3. Gather a diverse group of users and conduct additional user research to uncover new areas of user need.