A User's Experience

A user like Carlton gets home after a long day and then has to meticulously select and procure his food. He is tired from his workout and it’s a Thursday night, so the house is running low on groceries. He loads up the app, spends some time browsing, has a quick internal argument on whether he wants Chinese or Mediterranean food. He chooses a Mediterranean spot 3/4 of the way down the list, because the delivery won’t take long, it’s cheap, and has a decent chicken salad. It took him 10 minutes to pick out the restaurant. He selects a gyro and a falafel sandwich. After he has confirmed his order, he is taken to another review screen for payment. Again he gets to check his order and chooses to pay with Apple Pay. He plops down on the couch, watches the new season of Chef's Table on Netflix. Halfway into the episode the food is delivered and he can enjoy.

Solution

My overall impression of this application is that while the experience is good, it requires refining and tightening up. A user can spend nearly 10 minutes scrolling through restaurants before they pick one. They have to contend with a million options. The confusion around the ordering process needs to be improved. Users will be turned off by the complexity of the process. Something can be done!

I aim to:

• Simplify

• Add breadth and space to the visual design in order to clarify

• Maintain the pleasant vibes

Redesigning the app doesn’t mean a massive overhaul but instead it needs an editor. In my experience, an editor’s role is to remove excess while maintaining the integrity of the product’s story.

My Assumptions

My Assumptions:

The user is logged in

The user wants food ASAP

The user has preferences that are important to them when ordering food

When ordering food, convenience is the user’s priority. This is why people order food instead of making it. They don't have time, talent or means that making food requires.

Sketches

The success of this app requires a more visual, intuitive design. Making the app more user friendly will help make users decisions clear. Cards, an increase in white space and better transitions would create clarity.

New Features to Aid Users

After researching I discovered that too many options results in a negative outcome for the user. To capitalize on this idea I want to work in a new type of card that offers a simpler ordering experience. The goal is to avoid an over-burdened process and skip most of the decisions a user has to make to order food. 

The research says too much choice creates negativity so I added an option that removes too much choice. This creates a fast and efficient ordering experience.

It's like Amazon Dash for the food a user wants. Push for Pizza experimented with this idea. Access to previous orders and a data model, will help GrubHub understand what a user wants. Why not take advantage of this?

The flow for this is to first open the app and then BOOM, a user is hit with what they want. Users use Apple Pay and are just a confirmation away from their fufillment. No browsing, just food.

Outcomes

Users need to get to their intentions as fast as possible. Promote the food users want. Leave off unnecessary UI and UX chrome. This experience maintains the GrubHub flare while making the process easier for the user.

The User's New Story

GrubHub applies the new logic I have made for their app.

On a Saturday, Carlton goes out on the town. After a few drinks he comes home tipsy, tired and starving. He browses GrubHub. When he launches the app he sees an option for a large pepperoni pizza. Without hesitation he taps the card and is prompted to pay. After a moment of drunken difficulty he manages to scan his thumbprint for the Apple Pay confirmation. He has an impromptu karaoke session and just as the neighbors bang on the walls, the pizza shows up. Viola! Carlton is satisfied.