Designing an app for diners to enjoy seamless group decision-making experience, alleviating planning fatigue.
Deliverable:
Mobile Design
Role:
UXUI Design Lead
Team:
Personal Project
Timeline:
Oct 2023- Jan 2024
Tools used:
Figma, Protopie, Adobe Creative Suite, and Lookback
📋 Context
How can we be more efficient with making a decision?
Gone are the days of endless scrolling through restaurant reviews and repetitive "what are you in the mood for?" texts. Group dining decisions have become a battleground of conflicting preferences, information overload, and fragmented communication.
Restaurant Discovery Apps
Group Decision-Making Tools
While numerous restaurant discovery apps like Yelp and Google, and communication apps like WhatsApp and IMessage exist, I identified a gap in the market - none truly bridges this gap of the collaborative aspect of choosing a restaurant.
⚡ Problem
How can we help diners streamline group dining planning?
Overload of restaurants leads to decision fatigue and hinders the process of finding a suitable restaurant for a group.
Growth of 1.4-1.9% annually
2020
2021
2022
2023
100
80
60
40
20
10
0
Millennials
Gen Z
Others
55%
20%
15%
10%
Social media chats
Phone calls
Emails
Time-consuming research for informed decisions
Diners spend 15 minutes researching (solo) vs. 48 minutes in group planning - (OpenTable 2023 Diner Preferences Report)
💡 Solution
Easy group dining: Plan meals with friends in one app.
I have designed a mobile application that offers a convenient platform for friends to coordinate and make dining plans without switching between multiple apps or communication channels.
✨ Outcome
What did we achieve at the end of this project?
While Bite didn't become a fully realized app, the user testing with a sample size of 18 users proved the concept's validity and identified valuable user needs within the group dining space.
📚 Market Research
I researched already existing apps that have attempted to solve this problem.
I concluded that there aren't many user-friendly mobile tools out there for streamlining collaborative group dining decisions. The main finding is that while these platforms offer valuable information, none of them fully address efficient group restaurant selection. Beyond just the real-time communication between users, I saw an opportunity to create a space where users can tackle information overload that comes from trying to accommodate everyone's preferences.
👤User Research
I interviewed 6 people and surveyed 32 frequent diners to learn about their pain points.
I specifically aimed to understand the needs, motivations, and frustrations of individuals when it comes to finding and making decisions together in a group regarding dinning. From the survey, I obtained 32 responses and additionally conducted interviews with six participants in the US, aged between 16 and 35, who have a preference for dining out.
🗃️ Affinity Map
Overall, people feel that existing apps overlook the unique dynamics of group dining experience, leaving a noticeable gap in the market.
With each major insights on a sticky note, I grouped the insights by similarity and topic. The following themes emerged.
Findings
Collaborative Decision-Making: All participants emphasized the importance of involving the group in decision-making.
Time Efficiency: Participants expressed a need for an app that streamlines the process of finding, discussing, and finalizing dining plans.
Conflict Resolution: Many participants shared instances of conflicts arising from different preferences and sought ways to address this.
Real-Time Communication: Participants desired a platform that enables seamless communication within the group during the decision-making process.
Centralized information: Participants wanted the access to comprehensive restaurant details, reviews, and the ability to make reservations without leaving the app.
🚀 Design process
Time to design- it's time to delve into the creative phase.
For Bite, a group dining app concept, I focused on a user-centered design process. Understanding the pain points of group planning through user research (interviews, surveys) informed core functionalities like real-time chat, filtering by dietary needs, and group decision-making tool.
🔥Feature prioritization
After prioritizing functionalities based on complexity and value, I opted to focus on improving communication, collaborative voting, and simplifying restaurant choices.
The goal is to avoid data saturation by making the options more manageable and user-friendly.
📈 Site map & User flow
With features prioritized, I started piecing together the information architecture.
A simple database with dedicated sections for restaurants, messaging, plans, and profile streamlined organization. Wireframes addressed key actions like setting preferences, finding restaurants, voting, and communicating. User feedback during prototyping helped refine the experience, including decision points for flexibility and requiring votes before seeing group results to prevent bias.
With the core functionalities defined, I focused on user interaction. The design prioritizes:
Preference Input: Seamless creation of individual preferences.
Restaurant Discovery: Efficient filtering based on group needs.
Voting System: Transparent and engaging voting process (no skipping).
Communication Hub: Centralized platform for group discussions.
This ensures a smooth user experience, fostering collaboration without succumbing to "bandwagon" voting.
📐 Wireframes
Visualizing summarized group dining information for intuitive interpretation
I rapidly sketched multiple user flows to explore ideas, prioritizing a divergent approach initially. These early sketches visualized the core functionalities of the app, serving as a foundation for the mid-fidelity wireframes that followed. The designs went through several iterations per screen due to evolving product goals and a constant focus on optimizing user experience.
📝 Usability Testing
I tested six users' ability to complete various task flows in the prototype.
In general, participants navigated through the processes smoothly, encountering only couple of errors or hesitation in all six tests. They offered feedback and posed questions concerning both the content displayed on the screens and functionality of specific features.
A discernible pattern of user confusion surfaced, particularly regarding certain features, notably the lack of filtering options for a substantial number of restaurant choices.
🔄 Redesign
Here's how I tackled user feedback:
Following the usability testing, I focused on addressing the pain points identified by users regarding the prototype.
🔍 Final design
Here's a detailed walkthrough of the final design of the app.
Early user feedback revealed cluttered interfaces and a lack of focus. Through iterative design based on user testing data, Bite received a modern makeover, prioritizing core functionalities and user experience. This refresh included innovative, scalable components, revamped micro-interactions, and a strategic refocus on the app's core value proposition.
🏆 Next Steps
KPI ( Key Performance Indicators)
If I had a chance to conduct KPIs, here are some goals of metrics I would've set to determine the success of Bite. Several benchmarks can be considered across different aspects of the app.
User Engagement
Steady increase in active users
Average session duration above 5 minutes
Users returning at least once a week
User Satisfaction and Feedback
High average rating on app stores (e.g., above 4 stars)
Positive user survey feedback on features and usability
Active resolution of user-reported issues
Conversion and Retention Rates
Over 50% of users creating dining plans after signing up
Retention rate above 40% after three months
High volume of meaningful in-app communication
Meeting these benchmarks will demonstrate Bite's success in enhancing group dining decisions and social dining experiences.
💖 Reflection
Bite is still a work-in-progress, on its way to becoming a reality.
When given a task, I dive into details and consider all challenges. Tight deadlines have taught me to prioritize effectively. Bite is still in progress, with usability testing and a new table reservation feature next. For the engineer handoff, I'll divide features into workstreams to ensure a smooth transition. This project has refined my critical thinking and design skills, resulting in a user-friendly app. Crafting Bite as a "Foodie" has been fulfilling, and I'm eager to continue evolving it as a personal passion project.
