Mobile app creation for bread enthusiasts
My solution: an app that has recipes you can filter, schedule, edit, and track
Project Summary
To a beginner, baking bread is complicated. There are lots of numbers and timelines to remember. Plus, it’s a bit of an art and a science made up of trial and error.
Master bakers seem to have the measurements and definitions down, but even experienced bakers want to continue to experiment and learn from each loaf.
The Bread Buddy app helps you schedule, complete, and track your sourdough bakes as well as duplicate, edit, and save existing recipes for future use.
Research
User interview guide
Proto-personas
Sketched feature wireframes
Kano analysis
Design deliverables
Information architecture
Design system
Presentation (video)
Clickable prototype
My role
I completed this project on my own without a team. All research, analysis, and design was executed by me.
Users
Novice and experienced home bakers
Methods
Competitor audit, user journey mapping, rapid feature ideation, contextual interview, Kano analysis, usability testing. Prototyping, design system, icon and logo design
Tools
Sketch, InVision, Google forms, Google slides, Zoom, Calendly, Notion
It all started with a “stay at home” order
Like many people around the globe, I made my sourdough starter during the beginning of the Covid-19 quarantine. Though I had been curious about the process for quite some time (after tasting a delicious loaf of sourdough made by a friend), I finally decided to take the plunge.
At the beginning, I was struck by all of the new terms levain (or “preferment”), lame, autolyse, the mysterious “fold” in place of kneading. In addition, the days-long scheduling out of feedings, mixing, foldings, formings, and restings... were others also finding this all a little complex?
So I decided to dig in.
Contextual inquiry with home bakers and sourdough survey
Goal
Get a sense of the environment people bake in, what excited them about baking, what stresses them out. Start to get a sense of what features might be useful or delightful.
Method
Interview with contextual inquiry and survey using Google forms
Findings
Everyone had their own system for planning and reminding themselves of next steps
Wanted to have their baking schedules integrated with their real lives
77% of users surveyed looked at recipes on their phone
Some bakers were more prone to experimenting, others liked the ritual and routine
Many were fascinated by the science behind baking
All had made various levels of investments into specialized bread making tools (pizza stone, lame for scoring, thermometer, scale)
Proto-personas from initial research
After interviewing bakers and analyzing survey results, I started to see some patterns. There were four distinct attitudes bakers tended to have--and they feel on two axes: 1) comfort and experience baking and 2) motivation to experiment versus follow a established routine.
Goal
Externalize themes to understand user needs
Method
Creation of proto-personas across two dimensions.
Solution-building and evaluation with Kano survey
After my initial research into the problem, I sketched 10 different product solutions that could help novice as well as experienced bakers in the kitchen. I then surveyed approximately 20 bakers and analyzed their responses using the Kano method.
From there, I prioritized features with bread journal and scheduler topping the list.
Goal
Come up with a range of different product solutions to evaluate
Method
Kano analysis
Next steps
Create a high-fidelity prototype to test with users that includes the top features
Usability testing with 6 bakers
To get a better understanding of how bakers would interact with my features, I created an interactive prototype using InVision and Sketch. Then, I conducted 2 rounds of usability testing with a total of 6 users.
Goal
Validate the desirability of product solutions
Method
Usability testing
Findings & Actions Taken
Users liked the scheduling aspect, but wanted to make sure it would be editable by user either to fit their schedule or fit their kitchen environment
Users wanted to be able to browse recipes before choosing one, so I added a home screen where users could view, filter, and save recipes
Mobile app prototype
