Mikayla Noh | DH 110 | Fall 2022
Cooklist is an app that helps to reduce food waste by keeping record of user’s pantry and encourages responsible consumption by formulating meals with products that are available in the pantry. They also provide meal plans to ensure what is going to be eaten throughout the week so that food waste is reduced to a minimum. Food waste is something most people are not too conscious of as food consumption is part of our daily lives. It is easily overlooked but this individual action of responsible consumption can contribute in reducing energy and help build a more sustainable future. After conducting a heuristic evaluation on the app, I have found some usability issues that can cause user to experience frustration and reduce their inclination of using the app.
The measurements that are used when users add ingredients or record used products are not intuitive. The quantity and units do not match with the real world. For example, if a user wants to write a recipe using 1 slice of bread, there is no unit option for “slice”. The jargon the app uses to indicate unit is difficult for users to understand. There is also no option to reduce quantity amount other than whole numbers. User won’t be able to indicate that they used “half” an avocado.
In the pantry section, all items are displayed as images. This convolutes the page and makes it even harder for users to find items. There are way too many unnecessary items displayed without clarity and reduces usability. A minimalist design would be more helpful and easier for users to navigate through the section with just necessary information displayed.
When searching to add in shopping list, it only allows user to search through one grocery store at a time. Also, when writing a new recipe, the user needs to add ingredients one at a time as well as the quantities one at a time. These limitations make the app less efficient and overall delays the user when using the app.
I will be conducting this usability test to confirm these concerns and possibly learn about other usability issues that may arise during the test. I hope to reduce the noise and unnecessary complexity of the app that may diminish user experience by using the empirical data collected through the usability test. Hopefully I can help improve the app’s usability so that users can gain positive experiences and feel more inclined to consistently use the app to engage in sustainable lifestyles.
To test the concerns stated above, I asked participants to complete three tasks.
1. Add items to pantry and find specific item’s expiration date along with what item is expiring latest and earliest.
2. Make a recipe and add it to the meal plan. Update meal plan and pantry.
3. Add items to shopping list and find which grocery store has the best options.
The pilot usability testing took place outdoors of a cafe in Los Angeles, California. My laptop was used to display the survey and to run OBS for screen recording. The participant’s face was recorded by the laptop’s camera to capture facial expressions. An introduction of the usability test and app of interest was first explained to the participant. The participant was then given an informed consent form to sign and some pre-test questions regarding any previous experiences before the tasks.
My phone was used by the participant to perform the tasks within the app. To capture the user flow, I asked my participant to start screen recording on the phone once they began the tasks. Upon completion, participants were given post-test questions that recorded the perceived effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with the app to assess their experience. For the final section of the survey, participants answered some demographic questions.
The usability test went smoothly overall as the user confirmed the concerns I found during the heuristic evaluation. I was also able to find other usability issues while disregarding some that I thought would be a bigger issues. For example, I didn’t realize how difficult it can be for users to find recipes including items that are only in the pantry. Although it can be difficult to find, I learned that it is a very appreciated feature that should be highlighted more. I assumed that the measurements did not match the real world and my participant was equally frustrated with this mismatch. It took a bit of time to complete the usability testing but I am glad that the tasks were able to be completed.
I learned from this pilot usability test that some of the steps that I ask to do can be a bit too complicated for the user. The user took a longer time than what I had expected to complete the tasks. To keep the usability test within the time limit, I should reduce the amount of steps I ask users to do. I also learned that some of the wordings for the tasks can be confusing. I should elaborate more in the directions and write clearer instructions. I also had some disruptions during the test because a call was incoming and my laptop started ringing as well because it was connected. The call also stopped the phone’s screen recording so some parts were not recorded. I learned to make sure to put everything in “do not disturb” mode before starting the test and to be more conscious of whether the recording is on.