A Native Mobile App Concept

My Role: Project Manager, UX Researcher & Designer | Duration: 2 Weeks

Project Overview

Solving the food waste….

Food Hero is a native mobile app that provides a platform for users to share their excess groceries with those who are on a tight food budget through a centralized drop off/pick up location. In this case study, I will be sharing how my team and I chose a problem space to explore, how we conducted our research to extract insights that informed our design, and finally, the concept that we came up with.

Framework

To guide us in our process, we used the Double Diamond UX Design Framework which provides a structured approach to design thinking and problem-solving.

1. Discover: This phase is about understanding the problem and gathering information through research, analysis, and synthesis. The goal is to gain a deep understanding of the user's needs, the business goals, and the constraints of the project.
2. Define: In this phase, the information gathered in the discover phase is distilled into clear and concise problem statements. The goal is to clarify the focus of the design process and create a shared understanding among the team.
3. Develop: This phase is about generating ideas and prototyping potential solutions. The goal is to explore a wide range of possibilities and narrow down to the most promising options.
4. Deliver: In this phase, the final solution is refined and brought to market. The goal is to ensure that the product meets the user's needs and the business goals.

The UX design process is iterative and flexible, and designers may move back and forth between steps as needed to create the best possible product for the user.

Topic Mapping

As the Project Manager, I was tasked to facilitate the discussion around the problem space that we would be focusing on for this project. I suggested that each of us write down a list of topics we’re interested in, and from there, we can see if there are any commonalities between our interests. One of our common interests was food, and so we came together to do a Topic Mapping exercise to help us narrow down our area of focus.

The topic of food waste stood out to us, and so we started discussing some of our assumptions around it. During our exchange of ideas, we also explored the current issue of rising grocery cost and how unfortunate that while so many people in the world, including ourselves, are struggling to afford food, we are also collectively wasting so much food. With that, we came up with our initial problem statement that would then guide us in our research process.

The Challenge

How might we help reduce household food waste while helping people with a tight grocery budget?

Our Partner