Tapas Kitchen
An app which will enable senior citizens in Pune to order meals. The app will enable the user to enter specific dietary information and set up recurring meals at the preferred time.
My role
Independent Project
User Interviews | Persona Creation | User Flow Design | Wireframing | Prototyping | Usability Testing
Target Audience
Senior Citizens in Pune, India.
Tools and Duration
Figma, Illustrator, Miro | 2 months
Problem
Senior citizens in Pune face problems when it comes to food. This is a demographic with unique and specific diets. There is no service in this city which -
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Provides regular meal deliveries.
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Has an app instead of a website
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Has an interface specifically designed for seniors for ease of use, with amicable language and user friendly for this particular segment.
Solution
Tapas Kitchen is a service by the Tapas Team to design and deliver meals for senior citizens living in Pune, India.
I have been closely associated with this enterprise and worked with senior citizens through them for the past few years. I, as a UX designer, aim to design an application for this service precisely targeting this segment of the society as its users.
The design thinking adopted here is Equity over equality. Design ideas like sequential navigation, no hamburger menu, etc will be followed to make the user experience as elementary as possible.
Research
"The common facts of today are the products of yesterday's research." ~ Duncan MacDonald.
A summary of the primary research can be viewed here. This research study included interviews with the residents of Tapas Elder Care as well as the families of the residents provided some inputs on the idea of this application.
The secondary research conducted to find sources on designing apps for seniors can be viewed here.
The information gathered overall helped me get an idea about the general pain points. It helped me understand the hurdles senior users face while using technology as well as their expectations for a good user experience.
The Double Diamond method was used as the process for UX design for this application.
Potential Impacts:
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Enhanced Quality of Life: By providing a user-friendly platform for meal delivery and other related services, the app can greatly improve the quality of life for senior residents. It offers convenience, autonomy, and easy access to nutritious meals, reducing their dependence on others and promoting a sense of independence and well-being.
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Technological Familiarity: Introducing senior citizens to user-friendly technology through the app helps bridge the digital divide. It promotes digital literacy and empowers seniors to embrace and adapt to technological advancements, enhancing their overall digital skills and confidence.
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Data-Driven Insights: The app's usage data can be leveraged to gain insights into user preferences, meal trends, and service improvements. Such data-driven insights can help optimize operations, enhance the user experience, and tailor services to better meet the unique needs of the senior residents.
Competitive Audit
In order to understand the competitive landscape and generate relevant ideas, a thorough study of existing competitors was conducted. Special attention was given to local services operating in Pune. While meal delivery services were available, they primarily catered to students and lacked a tailored user experience for senior citizens. Remarkably, no services specifically targeting the elderly demographic were found. To gain deeper insights, a comprehensive competitive audit was conducted, which can be accessed by clicking here. This analysis further highlighted the unique opportunity to fill the gap in the market and provide a much-needed service for senior citizens.
Pain Points
Dexterity
Users cannot perform the usual navigational gestures like swiping because of aliments like arthritis. Fixed buttons are preferred.
Vision
The usual fonts and font sizes are difficult to comprehend with age due to limited visibility and compromised vision. Photosensitivity is also common with age.
Cognition
These users are still getting comfortable with tech. Clear instructions are necessary with every step.
Individual needs
When it comes to diets, seniors especially have specific individual diets. None of the competitors had these options.
Solutions :
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Fixed buttons. No swiping gestures. Simple navigation.
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Large font size (14-18 pts). Open Sans font used for better readability. Background to be a muted color instead of white.
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Instruction prompt boxes of a secondary color to be provided as per need.
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Option to upload personal diet chart or get in touch with a dietitian for individual needs.
Ideate
Brainstorming session
I conducted a productive post-it session on Miro, where I gathered and organized all the ideas swirling in my mind regarding the project. This collaborative digital whiteboard allowed me to visually capture and categorize ideas related to navigation and various random features.
To explore the extensive collection of ideas generated during this phase, you can access the Miro board by clicking here.
This exercise proved to be an effective way to brainstorm and consolidate potential concepts for the project, paving the way for further refinement and development.
Personas
Pramod is a retired mathematics teacher who lives alone. Their children live abroad and wife, who is in the early stages of dementia, resides in Tapas. They love to take walks in the park and painting. They have been looking for a meal delivery service for some time now as they have been advised to change their diet and the cook they hired cannot prepare such specific meals for them.
Pramod Dekhmukh
72 years old
Retired Teacher
Married, two kids.
Pune, India.
Goals
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To adjust to the lifestyle change of living alone.
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"I have to take care of my health till my son and his family come to live with me next year."
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To learn and become more comfortable with using their phone.
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To become a better role model for their grandkids.
Frustrations
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All meal services in and around Pune usually cater to PGs and students and have no healthy options.
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Lack of options in homecooked meals.
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If they plan on ordering food, they have to individually place an order for each meal.
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Their vision and hearing is slightly diminishing.
User Flow Diagram
Before entering the design phase, a user flow diagram was meticulously crafted to establish a clear understanding of the app's navigation. This essential step aimed to create a user journey that is both simple and straightforward, ensuring a coherent and user-friendly experience specifically tailored for seniors who may not be highly proficient with technology.
By mapping out the flow, I gained a comprehensive overview of the intended navigation and envisioned a smooth and intuitive user experience.
The user flow diagram served as a valuable reference point to guide the subsequent design process, ensuring the final product would meet the needs and expectations of the target user demographic.
Design
Paper Wireframes
Five different versions of the home page...
To kickstart the design process, I find it valuable to swiftly sketch out rough screen ideas on paper before proceeding to create wireframes. This initial step allows me to visually conceptualize and explore a wide range of ideas, ensuring that every possible concept is considered. By assessing the harmony between elements and evaluating various design choices, I can refine and iterate on the best solutions. Notably, in this project, I made a deliberate decision to forgo the conventional pop-out menu approach and instead opted for a bold and prominent home screen menu. This shift in design direction is reflected in the designs I have created, which showcase the evolution of the interface. These sketches serve as an important foundation for the subsequent wireframing stage, providing a clear vision and direction for the overall design of the app.
Digital wireframes
Moving forward from the initial paper sketches, digital wireframes were meticulously crafted using the design tool Figma. This stage allowed for a more detailed and precise representation of the app's interface and functionality. While the majority of the wireframes featured placeholder text and symbols for elements such as buttons, icons, and images, the main menu and some product cards were populated with actual text to provide a clearer understanding of the content structure. By using these placeholders, I was able to focus on the overall layout, visual hierarchy, and user flow, ensuring a coherent and intuitive design. The wireframes served as a crucial step in the design process, enabling me to iterate, gather feedback, and make informed decisions before proceeding to the next stage of the project.
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Simple navigation.
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Big pictorial menu, not a hamburger menu.
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Big font & button sizes.
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Sequential model for placing an order.
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Minimalist design.
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Pop-out instructions.
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Clear, objective, and educational language without being condescending or patronizing.
Low Fidelity Prototype
All screens and buttons were interconnected to create a functional prototype that accurately simulated the navigation and page transitions of the app. By linking the various elements together, I could evaluate the effectiveness of the interface and ensure a seamless and intuitive user experience. The prototype served as a valuable tool for conducting a usability study, providing participants with a tangible and interactive model to explore and provide feedback on.
To view the low-fidelity prototype, click here.
This crucial step allowed me to test the user flow and assess the overall usability of the design. This prototype served as a pivotal milestone in the design process, paving the way for further refinements and improvements based on user insights and observations.
Usability Test
A comprehensive survey was conducted following the development of the prototype to assess its functionality and gather feedback from actual users.
Survey - View
This moderated study took place in person and involved 10 residents from Tapas Active Aging, 5 staff members, and 5 family members of the residents who matched the targeted persona. In total, 20 individuals participated and provided valuable insights.
Positive Insights:
Text
The font type and size received some good general feedback. Participants appreciated the clear and concise presentation of information on the app.
Buttons
The buttons were large enough and most users didn't have trouble understanding how each button worked.
Navigation familiarity
Users expressed comfort and familiarity with the interface, emphasizing the success of designing with their needs and limitations in mind.
Scope for improvement:
Instructions
12/20 participants noticed and liked the instructions box but asked for more instructions to be provided with each step.
Dietitian
18/20 participants said that placing a call in the middle of placing an order was troublesome. A different designed needs to be approached for step 2.
Images
16/20 Participants wished for more pictorial descriptions of instructions or steps.
Evaluation
Takeaways
Impact:
The users who participated in the interviews and surveys expressed great enthusiasm for the concept of the application and the general features.
What I learned:
Through this project, I gained valuable insights and experiences that significantly enhanced my skills as a UX researcher. The opportunity to conduct an in-depth survey allowed me to delve deeper into user behavior, preferences, and needs. By actively involving the target users, I gained a better understanding of their perspectives and was able to refine the application accordingly.
Next Steps
Tapas Elder Care is undergoing rebranding and logo redesign. Once the company colors and logo is finalized, then we can build the final mockups and high fidelity prototype using the insights from the usability study with the final color scheme.
This application and service is set to launch in Feb 2022. I will also be refining the logistics, marketing strategies, cost analysis etc. till then.
Scope:
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This application can also be used to promote Tapas Elder Care and it's other services.
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The model and Information Architecture for this application can be used to expand the demographic for the next billion users.
THANK YOU for taking the time to view my work. Please feel free to get in touch or leave some feedback!