Tabula Rasa iPhone App

Design of a Tabula Rasa app for the cafeteria of the FH Joanneum

Seminar work for User-Centered Design, summer term 2012 Department of Information Design, FH Joanneum, Graz Authors: Hannes Mitterberger and Nadine Sprague Support: Konrad Baumann

Executive Summary Problem

The problem was that there was not enough student usage at the cafeterias in FH Joanneum, called Mensa. The Mensa is located in the main building and has another small location in another building on the campus. This cafeteria is for the students, as well as the staff at the school.

From this initial problem, there needed to be visual communication in order to encourage students to use the Mensa more often. There were many different ways in order to effectively get more students involved with the Mensa, while making sure it suited the students foremost.

The problem was based on the interviews conducted with students who attend FH Joanneum. Each student interview displayed certain needs and wants that would increase the use of the Mensa. This led to personas that carried on the same characteristics and needs from the interview. Certain needs were distinguished, and therefore could be categorized and compared to other personas. Some needs included the different prices of the food, the quality, the nutrition and some others. Goals than were created to meet the needs of the persona. These goals shaped the development and final production of the visual communication solution.

Solution

The goals were important throughout the entire process of a solution because they helped guide and control what the best result may become for the persona. Our solution was to create an app for a smart phone – Tabula Rasa app. These goals allowed the app to be developed for students like our persona - Daniel.

The goals of the persona included: • Daniel wants cheap food.

• Daniel wants spicy food.

• Daniel wants the ability to choose different food.

• Daniel wants his meals to fit into his school schedule.

• Daniel wants more variety in the options.

• Daniel wants snacks • Daniel wants planned spontaneity.

• Daniel wants cheap offers.

The solution to this problem was to meet as many goals as possible, while keeping in mind other persona types and what more than one type of person could benefit from it.

Result

The result was a useful and effective app that is very appealing to students at FH Joanneum. It was able to capture a modern feel, while suiting to the students needs. With the students busy schedule it was important to create an app that worked well with their schedule making sure the app suited to the student and not the student fitting to the app.

Project Description

The beginning aspects of the project were individual, where we each interviewed different people. From this, we combined our results in order to develop the persona together.

Once this was developed we worked together to generate the goals, word cloud and brainstorming for the solution. Throughout the process of brainstorming, we together developed a smart phone app that was fitting towards meeting the goals set out by the persona.

From this point we individually took on different aspects of the design of the app. Nadine was able to make the sketches and wireframe of the app. While Hannes put together the sceen flow and the final detailed design. By working individually we were able to meet together frequently and combine our ideas, in order to make sure we could effectively produce the best and simples app.

We did some parts individually to put together the final project, but overall worked together to combine both of our ideas into the Tabula Rasa app. BY working together, we gained more ideas than first thought of, and were able to effectively meet the most important user goals from the persona - Daniel.

Interview Results

In order to inquire the customers specific needs, demands and expectations of their Mensa, several qualitative interviews have been carried out. The widely diversified results then have been carried together and a particular interest group was chosen to be focused upon.

This group shall be called the “fast and cheaps”, since they are typical students, mostly in a rush or at least not willing to devote a lot of time to waiting. They want to get their food as fast and as cheap as possible, but still don’t want to forgo variety and taste completely.

Here are a representative interview and the final filtered out results for the “fast and cheaps”.

Introductional questions: 1. a) Where do you get your food from on a typical day at the University of Applied Sciences?

Kebab / Snacks I brought from home. b) What would you prefer to eat on this sunny spring day?

Chinese noodle dishes. c) What are you going to eat today?/Have you had lunch yet?

Knacker sausages and puree.

2. What is important for you when it comes to eating? (if necessary mention: variety, quality (BIO, freshness), price-/performance ratio, transperency (origin), taste, atmosphere, health)

Spice (taste) / quantity (more for less) / meat / variety / somehow freshness.

3. Do you spare some kind of food?

No. 4. What kind of gastronomy and product stores at or near the University do you know?

Kebab-stand, Billa, Café, Merkur, Mensa.

5) Which of these do you visit the most?

Kebab-stand / Supermarket.

Check list to fill in: • Quality • Offer • Price/Performance ratio • Service • Atmosphere

I don’t care, I want it to be fast and cheap.

Doesn’t matter that much, actually, it’s okay.

Quite acceptable.

It needs to be fast, that’s the main thing.

Whatever, I prefer food to take along.

6. What do you think of the daily offers and dishes at the MENSA? Check list to fill in: • Quality Good.

• Offer Okay (I don’t eat there often).

• Price/Performance ratio Sometimes okay.

• Service Assembly belt-like.

• Atmosphere Hardly none (except for the “garden” in summer).

7. Would you like to learn more about origin and quality of the used products?

No. 8. When do you decide what you want to eat for lunch?

Spontaneously.

9. a) How and where do you get your informations from concerning the current menu?

On-site. b) Would you like to get these informations beforehand?

Yes! If yes, how? (online, Smartphone-App, e-mail, terminal, announcements)

An APP would be nice I guess..

10. a) Which online-services do you use already (timetable, iCal, etc.)?

Calender and mail. b) Would you like to import the menu as an iCal entry?

No. 11. Would you like to make suggestions for dish-offers?

Yes. If yes, how?

E-mail.

12. Do you have any further improvement suggestions concerning the offer and the service of the MENSA, as well as communication between MENSA and students?

Actually, no.

Persona

Personas are fictive people, representing typical users of a target group. They help demonstrate important characteristics and aspects of this certain target group (in this case the “fast and cheaps”) and make it easier to understand the coherency of the design-process.

DANIEL “More for less!”

- Outgoing - Socially competent - Hardworker - Profit orientated - Outspoken ..and he never borrows money from anyone, because he hates to be in somebody’s debt.

Age: 21 Gender: Male Status: Single Nationality: Austrian Degree Program: Public Relations

Location: Greenbox - flat with 2 roommates

Occupation: Cashier at McDonalds - Part time

Transportation:

Favourite Object:

-prefers to go by bike (since it’s a fast, cheap and flexible form of transportaion).

His grandfathers typewriter: he loves to write and compose on it. Nobody else is allowed to touch it.

-takes the tram very seldomly (eg. when it’s raining)

Needs/Wants: • Cheap and fast food • Prefers the Kebap-stand near his program’s building, because he thinks it’s cheap and good for what you get.

• He likes spicy food.

• Mostly snacks • Taste still quite important • Atmosphere barely important • Prefers people around to eat with • Enjoys meeting up with friends on breaks • Uses his cellphone for communication etc • Uses facebook

Scenario Problem Scenario

It is Monday at around 12:05 pm, and Daniel just finished class. He needs to finish a project for his next class, which he wasn’t able to complete last night, because he was too tired from work (he works Saturdays and Sundays). He can’t concentrate because he is terribly hungry, so he decides to go to the “Little Mensa”, the closest option since it’s in his program’s building, and he just wants to be filled quickly so he could continue with his work. He had messaged his firends during class to meet up with them for break. Usually him and his friends would just go to the kebap-stand near the building, or he would eat some snacks he brought from home but he didn’t manage to fill up his refrigerator this weekend and he only has 2 Euros with him, so he couldn’t prepare a snack at home and he can’t afford a kebap. A friend messages him to try out the Mensa. So, in hope of finding something quick, cheap and filling as it has to last him until 3:15pm (when his next class ends), he walks into the Little Mensa, and is provided with very little options.

The options he does see are confusing and disorganized, which allows him not to make a proper decision. He first sees the hefty schnitzelsemmel, as he is hungry and it will fill him up. He then sees the price (2.60,- Euros) and realizes he can’t afford it. He then sees the offered potato-wedges, which he could afford.. but he observed some random guy eating the dish and he feels dissatisfied with the price-performance ratio. Daniel is disappointed with the options the Little Mensa provides, and even more with how high the price for food is (especially for “little dishes”), since he is used to cheap offers like for example at Mc Donald’s.

Once he realizes this, he has to resort to eating an apple from another friend, and therefore does not feel satisfied with lunch.

The problems that arise from this scenario are: • Price: too expensive for students • Quickness: good location, but there is not enough time to decide what food based on price and quantity to eat it as well

Solution Scenario It is Monday at around 12:05 pm, and Daniel just finished class...

Option 1:

He remembers he got a Student Bonus Card (Buy 7 meals at the Mensa or Little Mensa, and get one free) and orders a Schnitzelsemmel with extra spice.

Option 2:

He takes out his smartphone and uses the special-mensa-app to inform himself about the regular menu and the special offers (e.g.: something like the 1 Euro offer at Mc Donald’s for leftover-food to make a decision).

User Goals

The Little Mensa was unable to fulfill his needs and wants, and therefore may not fulfill needs of other busy students. The location is great for the students, but when students may see the price and the options they reconsider and take the time to visit somewhere else that may be more in price, and/or will have more options. Either way the Little Mensa is not welcoming students to eat there.

fresh

doesn’t care

cheap

doesn’t care

origin

doesn’t care

vegetarian

doesn’t care

quantity

doesn’t care

taste

doesn’t care

lactose

doesn’t care

variety

doesn’t care

healthiness

doesn’t care

Experience Attributes comprehensive helpful familiar easy-to-use structured flow interactive young youthful student modern responsive logical filtering personalized forward looking logical simple convenient intuitive accessible fast fun practical understandable efficient clear flexible

Easy-to-Use Simple flow logical simple structured comprehensive logical practical easy-to-use understandable Fast Efficient flow responsive helpful convenient fast accessible decisive Modern student youthful familiar forward looking dynamic enthusiastic fun Personalized filtering interactive intuitive satisfying intuitive flexible incorporate beneficial

Tag Cloud

logical easy-to-use practical flow clear comprehensive structured

simple

fast

decisive

efficient flow

helpful responsive

convenient

enthusiastic familiar student

modernyouthful

forward looking

dynamic

incorporate flexible

beneficial

intuitive

personalized filtering interactive satisfying

Moodboard

efficient

simple

personalized

modern

Brainstorming Results

More Bang for his Buck

increase satisfaction

GOALS FAST

more desireable

(reduce price)

student bonus card? decision aid

more options

location-independent? better visualisation logical viewtiful present well

worthwhile

(special offers)

APP! interactive?

filtering? neatly arranged

Screen Flow Regular Menu Tabula Rasa Please Choose: Regular Menu Snacks Offer of the Week Pre-Order

Tabula Rasa Regular Menu Option 1 Option 2

€

Option 3

€

Option 4

€

Option 5

€

Option 6

€

none

mon

Main menu. (select Regular Menu)

€

tue

wed

thu

fri

Regular menu or snack menu screen. (change the filtering options at the bottom)

Pre-Order Tabula Rasa Please Choose:

Tabula Rasa Please Choose:

Regular Menu

Pizza

Snacks

Sandwiches

Offer of the Week

Noodles

Pre-Order My Order Main menu. (select Pre-Order)

Tabula Rasa

L 6,70€

S 5,00€

bacon eggs broccoli tomato ham chicken pineapple spinach

OK Pre-Order menu, with foods that you can personalize (select pizza)

XS 3,80€

?

Personalized pizza page, where the user can choose the size and toppings (select small pizza with bacon, eggs and broccoli, and hit the OK button)

Tabula Rasa Regular Menu Option 1 Option 2 none

€

Option 3 cheapest

€

healthiest Option 4

€

Option 5

€

Option 6

€

mon

V tue

wed

Regular Menu Option 1

€

Select one:

none

Tabula Rasa

thu

Information describing the dish.

L fri

Tabula Rasa Small bacon eggs broccoli Total: 5,00€ Estimated Time: 25 min.

Overview of order. (hit the order button, if all above items are correct)

€

Option 2

Pop-up screen for filtering and ordering the menu items.

The day of the week is automatically selected. (select cheapest, vegetarian)

Order

€

Option 3

€

Option 4

€ V

L

thu

fri

cheapest mon

tue

wed

Pull-down menu when selecting one of the options, a description of the food is presented. (select any option and search through the options offered at the Mensa)

Tabula Rasa Order Number

0784563 Estimated Time 0 min

25 min

Order My Order page, with order number - to show when picking up food- and the estimate time.

Hand Drawn Prototype

Wireframe

Tabula Rasa Please Choose: Regular Menu Snacks Offer of the Week Pre-Order

Tabula Rasa Regular Menu Option 1

€

Option 2

€

Option 3

€

Option 4

€

Option 5

€

Option 6

€

none

mon

Tabula Rasa Please Choose:

tue

wed

thu

Tabula Rasa Please Choose:

Regular Menu

Pizza

Snacks

Sandwiches

Offer of the Week

Noodles

Pre-Order My Order

fri

Tabula Rasa Regular Menu Option 1 Option 2 none

€

Option 3 cheapest

€

healthiest Option 4

€

Option 5

€

Option 6

€

mon

V tue

wed

Regular Menu Option 1

€

Select one:

none

Tabula Rasa

thu

S 5,00€

Information describing the dish.

L fri

Option 3

€

Option 4

€

cheapest mon

tue

wed

V

L

thu

fri

Tabula Rasa

XS 3,80€

bacon eggs broccoli tomato ham chicken pineapple spinach

OK

€

Option 2

Tabula Rasa

L 6,70€

€

Small bacon eggs broccoli Total: 5,00€ Estimated Time: 25 min.

Order ?

Detailed Design

Summary

This entire process was very important in order to learn how to develop personas, create goals and to brainstorm visual communication solutions. The user is the most important aspect when developing a solution. So in order to focus on the user, it is helpful to have a persona, and someone that can always have the results reflected around, but also making sure to focus on the target audience and other people affected by the solution.

Something important that we learned was to make sure to focus on the goals, and not get too carried away with making it extravagant, but instead making sure it meets the needs and goals set out by the users.

It was an important project to work in a team, because there was more development and ideas that occured in order to create the best solution needed. Teamwork is important in a project to make sure that both people are on the same page when thinking of ways to do carry out the solution.