Hi, I'm Michelle. 

Aspiring UX/UI Designer based in Perth, Western Australia

I am aspiring UX & UI design, with a passion for learning more about UX & UI.  

I want to be able to improve people's experiences through design. 




Case Study: Design an app for a Korean Restaurant

The Product

A food delivery app for a Korean takeout restaurant, DakDak. Target users are the people that at least order take away food once a week.

The Goal: 

To create an in house mobile food ordering app for a Korean restaurant (DakDak) instead of using UberEats or Menulog delivery services, which allows DakDak to have more control over the online orders and avoid additional costs.

Easy, simple and efficient for users to complete the order via the app,

The problem

Time was not the only fact limiting people from cooking their own meals. Other problems included obligations, interests, or challenges that make it difficult to get groceries for cooking or go to restaurants to dine-in.

Key Methods

  • User research 
  • User Interviews
  • Creating user personas
  • Competitor and comparator analysis
  • User journey mapping
  • Usability testing
  • Sketching, wire framing and prototyping


My Role

UX designer designing an app for DakDak from conception to delivery.


Responsibilities 

  • Conducting interviews
  • Paper and digital wireframing
  • Low and high-fidelity prototyping 
  • Conducting usability studies
  • Iterating on designs

Project Duration

Four months on this design project.


Key Tools

Figma and Miro.


Understanding The Users

  • User research 
  • Personas
  • Problems statements 
  • User journey maps

User Research

I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I’m designing for and their needs. 

The primary user group identified through research was working adults who do not have the time to cook at home.

The research confirms that the time was not the only fact limiting users from cooking their own meals. Other user problems included obligations, interests, or challenges that make it difficult to get groceries for cooking or go to restaurants to dine-in.

Pain Point One

Orders consistently delivered late so the hot food items arrive cold. Not being able to see how long it will take for the order to arrive.

Pain Point Two

Struggle to add special notes, for example "Sauce on the side" or "No onions".

Pain Point Three

There is no a rewarding system for returning customers.

Pain Point Four

The menu is not updated, some items customers want to order always shown as "Sold Out" online or the items are not for sale anymore.

Persona: Alex

Problem statement: Alex is a busy senior data engineer who needs a way to track the food order because previously they have waited a long time to get the food and the food is not warm anymore when they arrive.

Persona: Morgana

Problem statement: Morgana is a part time food packager who needs an easier way to order the food as they experience difficulty to order food over the phone or in person at restaurant because they do not speak or understand much English.

User story for Alex and Morgana.

User Journey Map

Mapping Alex’s user journey revealed how helpful it would be for users to have access to Dakdak’s app for a faster and easy way to order without leaving the house.

Competitive Audit Report

Competitive audit goal

Compare the ordering experience of each competitor’s app

Who are your key competitors?

Our key competitors are NiniChicken and Chumek.

NiniChicken is a medium sized business who oers slightly more expensive Korean chicken than what we oer in DakDak.

Chumek is another competitor that has a similar price range but oers more wide-ranging menu for their Korean food.

Both NiniChicken and Chumek are direct competitors to DakDak.

Gangnam Style is an indirect competitor to DakDak. It oers variety Korean BBQ which targets similar audience DakDak has.

What are the type and quality of competitors’ products?

NiniChiken’s app has a smooth ordering process, does one-click payment, however it needs work on a few things such as it can be a bit overwhelming for users as a lot is going on visually, it does not oer a loyalty rewards program, it does not oer any audio accessibility features and it is only available in English.

Chumek’s app has a modern minimalist design with strong brand identity. Overall it is visually appealing, from colours, fonts, style and imagery and not only that it is easy to navigate. The only downside is that it does not have a reliable delivery tracker. The app oers audio option for menu available in English and Korean.

GangnamStyle’s app makes users feel welcome, well-designed and easy to use. However as it is quite simple it can be too brief at times which causes missing information. We found it dicult to nd key information such as location and operating hours. The app does not have any features for visual impairments.

How do competitors position themselves in the market?

NiniChicken positions itself to market the university students, working adults and families. NiniChicken oers authentic Korean specialises in Korean chicken. They are a medium business which has a few branches across Adelaide. Its app has a smooth ordering process that remembers the payment information in one-click.

Chumek positions itself to “bring amazing fried chicken to hungry mouths by showing love to traditional avours and pushing the bounds with contemporary creations”. Their target market is working adults and university students. They emphasise that their app is simple to use, one-click payment and lets you do group order options.

GangnamStyle positions itself as the place where working adults and families can nd great cooking. Their app oers 3 dierent languages (English, Korean, Bahasa Indonesia) to help their customers based to understand their menu.

How do competitors talk about themselves?

NiniChicken has adveised itself as real Korean food that oers authentic Korean chicken since 1999. Their customers have come to expect deliciously marinated, moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside pieces of chicken served with their choice of Korean causes that truly represents the culture. Ordering online in their app is easy and smooth for their made-to-order NiniChicken experience.

Chumek staed as humble beginnings which now has turned into more stores across Bangkok. Chumek oers traditional and constantly pushing contemporary creations of Korean food. They have promotions, exciting perks and VIP events which makes its customers paicularly loyal.

GangnamSyle is a small business who oers Korean BBQ which targets working adults and families. Their moo is “ The place where great cooking and fantastic vibes meet. We are here to serve authentic Korean food just as should be; nutritious and delicious.”

Competitors’ strengths

NiniChicken’s strengths include:

  • Making ordering and paying on their app easy
  •  Visuals in their menu
  •  Straightforward user ow
  •  Clear indication of clickable elements
  •  All key information is present 

Chumek’s strengths include:

  • Offering fun and easy way to order
  •  Easy payment processes
  • Offering Chumek perks and rewards
  • Providing app accessibility by having integrated with voice control software

GangnamStyle’s strengths include:

  •  Making customers feel welcome
  • Ensuring strong delivery quality standards
  • Providing excellent tracking for the orders on their app

Competitors’ weaknesses

NiniChicken’s weaknesses include: 

  • No loyalty program
  • No features for audio impairments
  • Visually too much going on, which could confuse customers navigation
  • Minimal brand identity 

Chumek’s weaknesses include: 

  • Unreliable delivery tracker 
  • Only offers 2 different languages in their app

GangnamStyle’s weaknesses include: 

  • No audio accessibility 
  • No loyalty program 
  • Difficult to find key information

Gaps

Some gaps we identified: 

  • No loyalty reward programs
  • Competitor products provide a limited accessibility features
  • Competitor product don’t offer health-conscious options
  • Delivery process is not reliable for some competitor

Opportunities

Some opportunities we identified include: 

  • Offers loyalty reward programs for customers to stay loyal
  • Offers customisation options for healthy ingredients or dietary requirements
  • Integrate our app with translation and voice assistive technology
  • Create a straightforward process for order, checkouts, payments and delivery tracking

Starting The Design

  • User flow
  • Paper wireframes
  • Digital wireframes
  • Low-fidelity prototype
  • Usability studies

DakDak user flow. Visual representation of the steps user will take to achieve the main flow.

Paper wireframes

Taking the time to draw the ideas to paper while still have the users' needs in mind. I found doing paper wireframes help me to have different ideas quickly.

Digital wireframes

As part of the early design process. I further explore the ideas from what I had from paper wireframe process, to make sure I still consider the findings from the user research.

Digital wireframes

Having the easy access to navigation is quite important for the design as it helps the user to navigate easily.

Low-Fidelity Prototype

The  low-fidelity prototype connected the primary user flow of ordering an item from the app, so this prototype could be used in the usability test with users.

View DakDak's Low Fidelity Prototype here.




DakDak's low-fidelity prototype for usability study.

DakDak affinity diagram helps me to group together research insights so that I can further understand and define the problems in the product and design.

Usability Study Findings One

Some users are unsure what to do after pressing "Add to cart" button. These users were not able to complete the core task.

Usability Study Findings Two

A couple of users are unsure what the icon of the top right hand side. They thought this was the way to go to "Your Account".

Usability Study Findings Three

After users confirm the order, they were taken to the thank you page and there was a pop up screen for the users to create an account. When users click on "X" or "No, thanks." users were taken back to the thank you page again but then the pop up screen came back again. These users were frustrated about this.

Usability Study Findings Four

Some users were wondering why they can't see the name of the restaurant throughout process.

They also mentioned why they can't see the "X" button properly when they clicked on the navigation menu.

A couple users tried to click on the "Popular Items" as it seems like a button.

I removed the button look a like for the "Popular Items" to avoid confusion for users.

As seen above, the "X" button is not visible. Users can't close the navigation menu easily because of this.

The pop-up keeps on coming back even when users already close it which caused frustrations to some of the users.

I have moved the name of the restaurant "DakDak" so that users can see it clearly.

I have also moved the position the name of the Restaurant "DakDak" so it aligns with the one we have on the homepage and "X" so users can close the navigation menu easily. 

The issue with the pop-up has been solved, making sure it doesn't come back when users close it. 

Once users close the pop-up, the users will go back to the order confirmation page.

DakDak's early stage of high-fidelity mobile app prototype.

Further Usability Testing 

After creating high-fidelity prototype for DakDak restaurant. I conducted another round of usability studies. Findings from the first study helped guide the designs from wireframes to mockups. 

The second study used a high-fidelity prototype and revealed what aspects of the mockups needed refining.

From these sessions, some users are confused how the order were confirmed without adding their payment details. They would want to have a tracking system for their order visually. 

I added more onto the design where users can add their payment details. You will be able to see the example above if users would like to add their Mastercard details.

I also added the order tracking system so the users will be able to track their order visually.



Refining The Design

  • Mockups
  • High-fidelity prototype
  • Accessibility

Further exploring how the buttons should look like in the mobile app. Keeping in mind, the buttons are the call to action in the main user flow and making sure users still able to see them while having the buttons visually pleasing and still align with the brand identity. 

After looking at the delivery page, I realised the yellow line in the map is a bit hard to see properly.

I have increase the weight of the yellow line in the map so it is easier for users to see.

I have also added the rewards system for the users as it is one of the pain points the users had.

While looking at the prototype I realised I have placed a wrong image of the "Spicy Chicken".

When users click on the "Spicy Chicken" from the homepage, the photo is not the same with the one from the homepage.

Before: The photo of Spicy Chicken did not match with the photo shown in the homepage.

After: Making sure the photo of Spicy Chicken is the same with one shown in the homepage.

I had to do more refining on the design to make sure that each frame has the same feel. 

We can see the "Checkout" located differently from the "Your Order"so I had to change this.

Accessibility 

Used icons to help make navigation easier.


Used images as visual imagery to help users understand what they can order.

DakDak Sticker Sheet

DakDak's high-fidelity prototype. View it here.


Takeaways

Testing a product with real users helps give a new perspective on things: through the usability studies, I was reminded to include a range of different participants to give as much diverse feedback. 

A key part of designing this product is interacting with users early and often.

Learning to stay away from my own assumptions and biases by keeping the users front and centre throughout the process of the design. 

While designing the DakDak app, I learned that the first ideas for the app are only the beginning of the process. Usabilities studies and peer feedback influenced each iteration of the app' design.

Next Steps

Conduct another round of usability study to validate whether the users pain points have been addressed.


Conduct more user research to determine any new areas of need.


Thank you for the time reviewing my work on DakDak’s app. If you would like to get in touch, my contact information is provided below.

Email: michellemaretha@outlook.com


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