Sunshine Park
Sunshine Park is an amusement park located on the coast of Southern California.
The Problem
Park guests want to optimize their ride time by using a mobile app to order their snacks so they can reduce the time they spend waiting to get food.
Goal
The goal is to design a mobile app that allows park guests the ability to optimize their park time by being able to use their smart phones to customize, order, and save their park snacks. They will also be able to choose a delivery/pick-up option and track their delivery. Effectiveness will be measured by evaluating how many guests use the app to order their food as well as the feedback received from the guests.
Target Audience
Sunshine Park’s target audience are the park guests.
Initial Research Conducted
Define + Empathize
For this project, I created a short survey for my research participants to complete. I chose a survey as my method of collecting data because it was cost-effective and I could collect information in a timely manner.
In this survey, I inquired about what individuals liked and disliked about food ordering apps and what they would like to see in an amusement park snack shop ordering and delivery service. I also discovered their pain points. I created user personas and user journeys.
I researched direct and indirect competitors to gain ideas about visual design, tone, and function of their apps and websites to be able to come up with the best solution for this app. I researched Instacart, Disney Parks, Amazon Fresh, and Six Flags. I investigated general information, first impressions, UX, visual design and content for each competitor.
Survey questions:
1.Can you briefly describe your experience ordering food using a mobile app?
2.What did you like best about this app?
3. What did you like least about this app?
4. How often do you order food in person at an amusement park?
5.What do you like best about ordering food at an amusement park?
6. What do you like least about ordering food at an amusement park?
7. How likely would you be to use the app to have your favorite snack food delivered to you at the amusement park?
8.How likely would you be to pay for food to be delivered to you at an amusement park?
Pain Points
1
Customization
User would like to be able to customize snack items, have the app be aware of their allergies and preferences, and be able to save orders for future use.
2
Time
Park guests have full days when they go to Sunshine Park! Having food delivered to them allows for more time on park rides and improves the quality of their visit. Wait times are a big concern.
3
Ease of Use
App needs to be simple and easy to use to avoid delays and frustrations. Ordering, payment, and delivery are biggest concerns. Hitting a button “when ready to eat” is ideal.
Process
Paper Wireframes
I completed paper wireframes for the initial stages of designing this app. By quickly moving on paper using pencil, I was able to get ideas out fast, improve upon ideas, and focus on the journey through the app. I kept pain points in mind as I designed the app so I could eliminate them.
Information Architecture
I completed a diagram showing the information architecture for this app utilizing Dan Brown's "Eight Basic Principles of Information Architecture". This diagram helped to inform the digital wireframes and loft prototype I created.
Digital Wireframes to LoFi Prototype
The next step I took was to create digital wireframes. It was important that I refer back to the user research I had done when creating these wireframes. Below are examples of some, but not all, user pain points I incorporated:
-
User snack customization
-
Deliver pre-paid order now
-
User options for delivery and pick-up
Conducting UX Research and Testing Early Concepts
I used the provided UX Research - Plan template to aid in my planning for conducting UX research and testing early concepts. I came up with research questions, KPIs, methodology for the usability study, participants to include, and a script for the usability study.
I then observed five participants using my app through an unmoderated study. Each participant followed the same prompts. As they moved through the prompts, I observed their click path, wrote down quotes they said as well as any other observations, and graded each prompt based on how easy or difficult it was for them to complete. It was helpful to see where users were getting stuck, what they were thinking, where I could improve, and ideas they had to improve the app.
![Google UX Design Certificate - UX Research Study Plan [Template].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/7f645a_c4e1d848718041dcbf4d6af909f289c1~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_407,h_527,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Google%20UX%20Design%20Certificate%20-%20UX%20Research%20Study%20Plan%20%5BTemplate%5D.jpg)
Affinity Diagram
After I completed the unmoderated usability study, I created an affinity diagram using all of the observations I had written down. By putting all of the observations on individual sticky notes, I could then group them together, and was better able to understand and define problems in my design. This process was very insightful because there was a lot of data to work through, and grouping like-ideas together helped me get a sense of the bigger picture.
I conducted one round of usability studies and collected quite a bit of useful information.
There was some data that I felt I needed to act on immediately (P0, P1) and other data that could wait (save for P2, P3 and beyond), as this data contained extraneous suggestions (see finding point #2).
1. Users stated wording was often not clear and made suggestions to change wording.
2. Users had a lot of suggestions for extra things to add that they’ve seen and are accustomed to in other apps of a similar nature.
3. Map of park was not clear or easy to find.
4. Remove search bar on search page because there are too many search features.
5. When signing up, have two fields for password entry for verification.
Mock-Ups to High Fidelity Prototyping
Using the Lofi prototype and usability study information, I continued on to iterate on my design and create a HiFi prototype.
Accessibility Considerations
1
Used contrast in buttons and text
Initially, buttons had a yellow outline, but were changed to dark blue and then gray to increase contrast for those who have a visual impairment. I also made sure there was a high contrast between text and background.
2
Used a variety of icons to assist with navigation
I used a variety of familiar icons to assist with navigation, such as the 3 horizontal lines a the bottom of the page indicating direction toward the app's menu.
3
Images and Illustrations
I used images and illustrations for food items alongside word descriptions. I initially only had word descriptions for the items.
Final Thoughts and Lessons Learned
This was my first ever attempt at working through the entire UX process to design a mobile app. I learned quite a bit along the way and look forward to my next project. Reflecting back on the process, here are things I learned and will do differently next time:
-
Change preliminary research survey questions to be more specific to the goal of the app. For example, in this app, I would focus on improvements and challenges with delivery features and expectations around delivery.
-
Designing with parameters of what I can do in Figma in mind. For example, I didn't initially know about creating assets, such as buttons, so I created every button separately when I initially did my first mock-ups for the app.
-
Choosing between image style. I have illustrations and photos in this app, but I wish I had come up with a system for consistent types of images. Because this was my first time creating an app, I didn't spend as much time on the illustrations as I would've liked.
-
The importance of Usability studies and feedback. There were so many things that people pointed out to me that I hadn't even thought of, or had over looked. The language that I used in the app, such as the choices for the buttons and page headlines, made sense to me, but didn't always make sense to the user. This was good for me to learn about so that I could make appropriate adjustments. I'd like to learn more about content writing.
-
Accessibility. I am very interested in learning more about making my designs more accessible. I'd like I will continue to educate myself on this topic.
