Tinder for catering services
Research and ideation for a better online catering booking experience.
Dec 2022 - Feb 2023
Native app
Researcher & designer
My role
Timeline
Platform
Project overview
‘YUM.’ - A mobile application designed for locating and reserving catering services based on specific criteria such as location, tags, and availability. This app facilitates communication and appointment scheduling with caterers. Additionally, it allows users to personalize their event menus by selecting and customizing individual items.
To add a unique twist, I plan to incorporate the concept of the Tinder app feature into my app. Users can match with available caterers by swiping left or right, recognizing that ‘Love comes from the tummy’.
🤵♀️❤️🤵
Love comes from the tummy
🤵♀️❤️🤵 Love comes from the tummy
What to create
To address the shortcomings of existing products on the market and provide a more user-centric experience, there’s a need for a platform that offers comprehensive information to users in a user-friendly manner. Such a platform should not be tied exclusively to specific venues, ensuring more flexibility in catering choices and locations.
Additionally, I would like to create an app for booking wedding tastings, where users can explore a variety of dishes and menus offered by caterers and select their preferred options.
Design process
Research
Ideation and wireframe creation
Mockups and style guide
User testing and iteration
Going forward
Research
Current product problem:
Traditional wedding and catering services
After conducting secondary research with basic search terms like “catering services nearby”, I found that the results did not provide the comprehensive information I needed. I was unable to determine key details such as:
The duration of tasting sessions
Estimated costs for a wedding with 100 guests
How to source a diverse Asian food menu for my special day
This experience revealed a common issue with many catering websites: they often lack essential information or have a user-unfriendly interface. It can be challenging to find a wide variety of cuisines to choose from. Most websites seem geared towards promoting catering companies that require you to use their venues for your wedding, which limits flexibility in terms of locations.
User research
User research played a crucial role in understanding users’ needs and their experiences while utilizing the product. Conducting interviews with previous users revealed the challenges they faced during wedding planning.
Initially, my focus was primarily on set menus, but these interviews helped me expand my perspective, highlighting the importance of how users connect with caterers in the market. Notably, a significant portion of the feedback (80%) was about time management and communication issues between caterers and clients.
It also helped me see the potentials of an app which serves both clients and caterers. Caterers can sign up and showcase their services, complete with availability and their unique strengths, including the menus they can provide. On the other hand, people in need of catering services can easily search for caterers, considering factors like availability to fit their busy schedules and location preferences.
Users’ pain points
After compiling the results of several rounds of studies from existing catering services and real time users, there are some main users’ pain points to focus on:
Financial pain point
Users often lack a clear pricing system for catering services and the overall cost of a set menu.
To address this, the app should provide a range of service prices, enabling users to make informed choices.
Process pain point
Users might hesitate to move between set menu items due to the fear of losing progress.
To solve this, allow users to save their progress and come back to finish later at their convenience.
Product pain point
Too complicated sign ups and hidden message. Sometimes it’s difficult to keep track of appointments and set menu items.
To tackle this issue, implement a straightforward sign-up process and enhance the ease of finding caterers for users.
Support pain point
Users are likely to have questions about contacting their caterer or may need assistance with changing caterers mid-process.
To address this, provide a 24/7 chat support and an email help center for users to receive prompt assistance.
Persona 1: Bing Smith
A busy mother who needs to find a caterer in 1 week's time
Bing Smith
32
Master of Finance
Living with her 1YO child
Finance officer
Get a caterer within 1 week, have a chat before meet up, set up a tasting menu
Name
Age
Education
Family
Occupation
Goals
—
—
—
—
—
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Tight Schedule, work and family obligations
Frustration
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Narative:
Bing is a 32-year-old finance officer at a bank. She juggles a full-time job while sharing the responsibilities of caring for her 1-year-old child with her husband. With her wedding planned within the next six months, Bing is on the lookout for a caterer. To accommodate her busy schedule, she's eager to have an initial chat with the caterer, possibly through a video call. Given her tight calendar, Bing has set aside only next Wednesday for a meeting and menu tasting.
Persona 2: Teddy Ng
Need to find a trustworthy and LGBTIQ+ friendly caterer
Teddy Ng
29
Bachelor of education
Living with his partner
High school teacher
Get a caterer within ASAP, have a chat before meeting, LGBTIQ+ Friendly
Name
Age
Education
Family
Occupation
Goals
—
—
—
—
—
—
Tight Schedule, wedding coming soon, homophobic caterer
Frustration
—
Narative:
Ted, a 31-year-old high school teacher, is gearing up for his wedding in just two months. In this urgent situation, he is desperately searching for a trustworthy caterer. The urgency stems from a distressing experience with a previous caterer who was both unreliable and homophobic. This unfortunate situation unfolded when the initial caterer withdrew from Ted's wedding plans, leaving him with less than two months to secure a new caterer and finalize the menu. Despite his efforts to search amidst his busy teaching schedule, Ted has yet to find a new caterer due to the demanding nature of his wedding preparations.
Problem and vision statements
Problem statement:
The market is lacking of a trustworthy and time efficient platform for booking a caterer that clients can choose and connect with.
Vision statement:
The creation and design of ‘Yum.’ application will benefit the users in finding the right caterers in a short amount of time. Furthermore, the convenient selection of menu items and the easy scheduling of wedding tastings will be helpful to users in their wedding planning journey.
Primary persona:
A busy mother, pressed for time, urgently seeks a caterer before the upcoming Wednesday to accommodate her hectic work and family life. She requires the ability to communicate with the caterer, set up menu tastings, and schedule appointments—all conveniently managed through a single application.
Secondary persona:
A busy high school teacher who needs to find a caterer urgently as well because his wedding is in 2 months. This persona also needs to find a special group of caterers online, not just any of available ones.
Ideation and wireframe creation
Scenario
Bing has a wedding coming and she needs a caterer to assist her with planning the wedding. She has been looking around online but it seems very hard to find a suitable one. Bing recently found an application called ‘YUM.’ and decided to give it a go. Bing puts in her selection for the ‘caterer’ filters such as availability, location, cuisine choices, etc. After logging in, Bing starts to choose caterers by reading the profiles and swiping left for no and right for yes. Bing finally chats with a caterer nearby and books an appointment for next Wednesday. Bing will attend the tasting sessions with the time and location provided by the caterer through the app.
User journey - Bing Smith
Goal: Find a caterer within a week and set up a menu for wedding.
User flow - Bing Smith
Open the app and start from homescreen to view and select caterers. Choose caterer and start communication and booking.
Paper wireframes
Selection screen
Users can view the most important information such as images of dishes, the caterer’s name, and a short introduction.
Users can choose either Yes or No for each caterer for matching.
Caterer’s profile screen
A list of information: Testimonials, tags, address, availability timetable, and tasting menu.
Users can choose either Yes or No for the caterer for matching without going back to previous screen.
Digital wireframes
Selection screen
Displaying images of dishes, caterer’s name and short introduction.
Photos of dishes to catch user’s attention
Basic info of caterer
Selection buttons for user
Caterer’s profile
Displaying all information of caterer profile such as testimonials, availability.
Grid view of dishes
Testimonials showing rating of previous services
Availability in calendar view for the ease of user
Selection buttons without navigating back
Tasting menu
Displaying availability and tasting menu by the caterer
Availability so user can keep track easily
Dishes name and description, including dietary
Menu in dropdown list , each heading indicates each type of dishes
Dish selection
Name and description with allergies and nutrition facts
Notification: a dish added to list
Dropdown menu remain for more dish selection
Mockups and styleguide
Style guide
The chosen typography for the app will strike a balance between simplicity and elegance, ensuring a refined and user-friendly aesthetic.
The primary color theme for the app will be a blend of regal and contemporary elements to instill a sense of trust and modernity among the users.
Early design
User testing and iteration
User testing report
Research goals:
Determining if users can effectively execute the planned task flow, resulting in time savings and heightened user engagement. Additionally, we seek to identify any obstacles users may face when searching for and communicating with caterers.
Research questions:
Can users successfully locate a suitable caterer based on their search criteria, and what is the average time required to complete this task?
What insights can we gather from users' interactions with the app?
Are there any specific points or features within the app where users tend to encounter difficulties or get stuck?
Will users patiently await confirmation from the caterer for tasting menu sessions?
Can users easily select items to create a personalized menu for their event?
Research KPIs:
‘Time on task’ will survey how much time a user needs to input location, availability, and some of the requirements to reach the point they can match with the caterer.
Conversion rates will survey the number of users who complete the user flow from matching with a caterer to choosing and scheduling an appointment for menu tasting.
System usability scale (SUS) will survey how easy the task is to input information, match caterers, chat, and make appointments from a scale of 1 to 10.
Methodology:
Unmoderated usability study
Location: Melbourne or remote (each participant will complete the study in their own home)
Date: Sessions will take place on January 29 (normal business hours during lunch break around 12 PM to 2 PM) and January 30 (after hours around 8 PM to 10 PM)
Length: Each session will last 5 to 10 minutes, based on a list of prompts followed by a list of SUS
Compensation: $25 Kmart gift card for participating in the study
Participants:
People who will get married in the next 6 months. They have full-time jobs and other obligations like family matters. They are both man and women around their 30s. They may not have time to use their phone for personal matters much during the day, except for lunch break or after dinner.
Two males, two females, and one nonbinary individual between the ages of 28 and 38. One participant is a person with a visual impairment.
The participants may indicate the percentage of completion on tasks and the easy of use with user flow.
User testing round 1 findings
Users want a better way to view caterer profiles and availability.
Users want a better logic and layout of menus and appointments.
Users want some suggestions and promotions for the service.
Iteration after round 1 findings
Seperate view for better interaction
Bigger image tiles for better view
Including address and fees for better information
Seperate step layout at booking for better logic, confirmation check to reduce errors
Tasting list at the bottom so users can find it easily
User testing round 2 findings
Users have trouble understanding the caterer’s information on caterer profile page
Users have trouble navigating between steps at appointment booking
Final design - iteration after round 2 findings
Dominant view of photo with icon, new selection buttons, added footer menu
Bigger tiles to show more info of caterer, availability is in list form for better view
Including name of each booking step to keep user on right track
Open view menu with bigger photos, redesign of tasting list with floating button
Checkout step with summary of booking before payment
Congratulation message for successful booking and next steps
Going forward
Impact
The caterer app aims to reduce the inconvenience and apprehension users often feel when reaching out to multiple caterers simultaneously, which can be an intimidating process. It acts as a bridge, facilitating connections between caterers and users, thereby promoting services and saving valuable time for both parties.
What I’ve learned
I've acquired valuable insights into design systems and developed a more user-centered perspective. The key lesson I've taken away is that what I assume or perceive may not always align with the users' perspectives. As a result, I've come to recognize that usability testing and thorough research are indispensable components of the design thinking and development process.
Next steps
I plan to incorporate introductory assistance to guide beginners in using the app effectively.
I will enhance the details in the sign-up process for a more comprehensive user experience.
Additionally, I aim to develop chat and appointment management functions within the app to further enhance its utility.