Snacker App

Snacker is a snack-ordering app for moviegoers who don’t like to wait in queues to order at the counter.

Role:
UX Designer & Researcher

Deliverables:
UX Research, Wireframes & High-fidelity Prototypes

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Improved the snack-ordering experience at cinemas for busy individuals by creating an intuitive and adaptable app; effectiveness was evaluated by analyzing user interactions with the editing features.

The Problem

Queuing up at the cinemas to order snacks is time-consuming and tiring which often results in running late and missing parts of the movie.

Going to the cinema could be a way for social bonding as well as having quality family time. However, standing in long queues for ordering snacks negatively affects this experience. This transforms a perfectly fun evening into a stressful one when they have to rush to their seats to make it in time for the movie.

The Goal

The goal was to create a snack-ordering app targeting busy professionals and parents, enabling them to swiftly and conveniently order snacks at cinemas, with added flexibility for editing orders.

I measured effectiveness by accounting for the number of times people use the editing options.

Discovering and Defining User Pain Points

The first step towards designing a snack-ordering app for the movies was to empathize with the users and learn about their experiences, frustrations, and needs. As a result, I decided to conduct the first round of interviews to understand user needs regarding ordering snacks at a cinema.

Inconvenience

Users felt that queuing up was inconvenient especially if they were running late or managing their kids.

Inflexibility

Users felt that apps don’t provide flexibility in editing or canceling an order in case they make a mistake.

Inaccessibility

Voice command assistance is often not available for a hands-free experience.

Crafting User Personas

Consequently, I developed aggregated empathy maps to differentiate between what the users think, say, feel, and do. Based on the findings, I developed two user personas that would represent the target audience.

Shelly is a working mother of one who needs easy, quick and flexible ways of ordering snacks at the cinema because she doesn’t want to queue up again in case her daughter wants to order something else.

Ahmad is a busy young working professional who needs voice command technology for ordering snacks at the movie theater because he doesn’t want to miss out on the movie by queuing up in case he’s running late.

Developing User Journeys

Once I constructed the user personas, I developed user journeys to further understand the pain points and emotions of the users as well as to recognize improvement opportunities during their journey of ordering snacks at a movie theater.

Ideating Creative Solutions

I used the Crazy Eights technique of sketching ideas for solving the user problems.
I also utilized the How Might We method to explore options and cater to user needs.
Lastly, I conducted a robust Competitive Audit of four indirect and direct competitors to understand what the market already offers and where it lags.

As a result, I came up with the following user flow of the app and created both big-picture and close-up storyboards to conceptualize how the snack app would achieve its goals.

Testing Prototypes by Conducting Usability Studies

To test the low-fidelity prototype, I designed a usability testing study. The main aim of the study was to figure out if the users could quickly, easily, and flexibly place orders on the Snacker app. Five participants were asked to perform tasks in an unmoderated usability study.

To analyze the results of the study, I made several notes and created an affinity map on Jamboard. This led me to develop themes and further consolidate the data.

Iterations Based on Usability Studies

Based on the two usability studies, I made changes to the order editing feature and added cart notifications as they were of utmost priority.

Order edit screens before and after usability studies

Round 1: Users were confused about whether the option to edit only allows adding more items or could also cancel the previously placed order.

Cart screen before and after usability studies

Round 2: Users were not able to ascertain if the cart gets updated or not upon adding each item.

Prioritizing User Accessibility in Design

Keeping accessibility in mind at all times, I made sure my designs reflected the importance of making products accessible to all people.

High Contrast

I used high contrast sensitivity colours with 4.5:1 pass ratio that would enhance the readability of the app .

Voice Technology

Allows users to have the option of a hands-free experience.

Visual Hierarchy

Helps users differentiate between visual elements based on priority.

Designing Low & High Fidelity Prototypes

Lastly, based on usability studies and feedback from peers, I continued iterating the design to make it more user-centric and accessible.

What I Takeaway from the Project

Appreciation for design process as a takeaway

Appreciation for the design process

Going through the entire research process of gathering primary data, conducting the research, and then culminating it all into a visually aesthetic, user-centric design was a wholesome journey for me.

Collaboration with designers

I realized that as a UX researcher as well as a designer, collaboration with other designers is crucial so I would ask fellow designers for their feedback.

Next Steps

Since designing is an ongoing process and user needs and demands keep changing with time, I would want to further investigate whether the changes made to the app addressed the user pain points by conducting another usability study.

Let's Collaborate!

I am always looking for new opportunities to collaborate with businesses and individuals who share my passion for creating great user experiences. If you have a project in mind or just want to say hello, feel free to drop me a line.

Snacker App

Homepage

Menu

Cart

Checkout

The Problem

The Goal

The goal was to create a snack-ordering app targeting busy professionals and parents, enabling them to swiftly and conveniently order snacks at cinemas, with added flexibility for editing orders.

I measured effectiveness by accounting for the number of times people use the editing options.

Discovering and Defining User Pain Points

The first step towards designing a snack-ordering app for the movies was to empathize with the users and learn about their experiences, frustrations, and needs. As a result, I decided to conduct the first round of interviews to understand user needs regarding ordering snacks at a cinema.

Inconvenience

Inflexibility

Inaccessibility

Crafting User Personas

Consequently, I developed aggregated empathy maps to differentiate between what the users think, say, feel, and do. Based on the findings, I developed two user personas that would represent the target audience.

Shelly is a working mother of one who needs easy, quick and flexible ways of ordering snacks at the cinema because she doesn’t want to queue up again in case her daughter wants to order something else.

Ahmad is a busy young working professional who needs voice command technology for ordering snacks at the movie theater because he doesn’t want to miss out on the movie by queuing up in case he’s running late.

Developing User Journeys

Once I constructed the user personas, I developed user journeys to further understand the pain points and emotions of the users as well as to recognize improvement opportunities during their journey of ordering snacks at a movie theater.

Ideating Creative Solutions

Testing Prototypes by Conducting Usability Studies

Iterations Based on Usability Studies

Based on the two usability studies, I made changes to the order editing feature and added cart notifications as they were of utmost priority.

Round 1: Users were confused about whether the option to edit only allows adding more items or could also cancel the previously placed order.

Round 2: Users were not able to ascertain if the cart gets updated or not upon adding each item.

Prioritizing User Accessibility in Design

Keeping accessibility in mind at all times, I made sure my designs reflected the importance of making products accessible to all people.

High Contrast

Voice Technology

Visual Hierarchy

Designing Low & High Fidelity Prototypes

Lastly, based on usability studies and feedback from peers, I continued iterating the design to make it more user-centric and accessible.

What I Takeaway from the Project

Appreciation for the design process

Collaboration with designers

Next Steps

Let's Collaborate!

Snacker App

Homepage

Menu

Cart

Checkout

The Problem

The Goal

The goal was to create a snack-ordering app targeting busy professionals and parents, enabling them to swiftly and conveniently order snacks at cinemas, with added flexibility for editing orders. I measured effectiveness by accounting for the number of times people use the editing options.

Discovering and Defining User Pain Points

The first step towards designing a snack-ordering app for the movies was to empathize with the users and learn about their experiences, frustrations, and needs. As a result, I decided to conduct the first round of interviews to understand user needs regarding ordering snacks at a cinema.

Inconvenience

Inflexibility

Inaccessibility

Crafting User Personas

Consequently, I developed aggregated empathy maps to differentiate between what the users think, say, feel, and do. Based on the findings, I developed two user personas that would represent the target audience.

Shelly is a working mother of one who needs easy, quick and flexible ways of ordering snacks at the cinema because she doesn’t want to queue up again in case her daughter wants to order something else.

Ahmad is a busy young working professional who needs voice command technology for ordering snacks at the movie theater because he doesn’t want to miss out on the movie by queuing up in case he’s running late.

Developing User Journeys

Once I constructed the user personas, I developed user journeys to further understand the pain points and emotions of the users as well as to recognize improvement opportunities during their journey of ordering snacks at a movie theater.

Ideating Creative Solutions

Testing Prototypes by Conducting Usability Studies

Iterations Based on Usability Studies

Based on the two usability studies, I made changes to the order editing feature and added cart notifications as they were of utmost priority.

Round 1: Users were confused about whether the option to edit only allows adding more items or could also cancel the previously placed order.

Round 2: Users were not able to ascertain if the cart gets updated or not upon adding each item.

Prioritizing User Accessibility in Design

Keeping accessibility in mind at all times, I made sure my designs reflected the importance of making products accessible to all people.

High Contrast

Voice Technology

Visual Hierarchy

Designing Low & High Fidelity Prototypes

Lastly, based on usability studies and feedback from peers, I continued iterating the design to make it more user-centric and accessible.

What I Takeaway from the Project

Appreciation for the design process

Collaboration with designers

Next Steps

Let's Collaborate!

The goal was to create a snack-ordering app targeting busy professionals and parents, enabling them to swiftly and conveniently order snacks at cinemas, with added flexibility for editing orders.

I measured effectiveness by accounting for the number of times people use the editing options.