Michal Lenik's Portfolio

Cooking with IOT

Designing a seamless transition between the IOT appliance and the app that controls it.

The Client

Chefman IOT Appliances

The Problem

Chefman makes IOT (Internet Of Things) cooking products. I was approached by the company to help them solve the problem of transitioning users seamlessly from the recipe app that also controls the device, to cooking with the IOT appliance. Smart appliances are still relatively new to the cooking scene and for users just getting started, it is important that the process not be disjoined or too confusing for a user, even as they flow from the screen to the device, or they may abandon the process completely.

Discovery

My first goal was to understand the challenge. I spoke with a number of users who fit Chefman’s demographics and collected some user data:

1. Users are making quick assessments. Even before they get started, users want to know the basics of the recipe and process to help them decide if starting the recipe is even worth their time.
2. Users aren’t necessarily technologically savvy. This relates to both the application and the IOT device. Too many technical steps and they’re easily lost and are likely to abandon the process for something more basic (like a standard frying pan).
3. Users are preparing the food in advance. This is especially true with the multicooker I was working with. It was important to incorporate the ability to schedule when the appliance might go on in the future even if the user isn’t present.
4. Users find visual directions easier to follow. This was an important discovery. When speaking to users it became clear that a video or image based guide to cooking the food with the appliance would be an extremely helpful and attractive asset for the application.

"Maggie" User Persona

"Alyssa" User Persona

I created “Maggie” and "Alyssa" to consolidate all the data I’d collected and used the persona to help define my user stories and goals even further.

Interaction Design

In the interaction design I incorporated features to directly address the user data I had found in discovery:

1. Scannable overview of the recipe. This area is first on the screen and provides the information a user would want to see to help them decide if this recipe is worth their time. I also included reviews of the recipe the further help the user decide whether or not the recipe is right for them.
2. CTA buttons to power the device at each step. These functions allow the user to trigger the appliance directly from the app, based on the current step they are on. The appliance already knows what to do and for how long, they just need to press a button.
3. A “cook later” option. This allows the user to set a time in the future for the appliance to turn on. A user preps their recipe and then uses the application to schedule a time in the future to start the cooking process. The user will also be notified when the appliance has been triggered.
4. A video guide through the recipe. There is both a full recipe video on the recipe page, and clips for each step of the recipe.

Multicooker Interaction Prototype

Visual Design

Once the interactions were set I got started on the visual design. I did a lot of research into popular recipe applications and industry trends. I also polled some hard-core recipe app users in my circle about what visual elements they find appealing on their recipe pages and used those suggestions as inspiration. Because this functions as a recipe app as well it was important to showcase tantalizing photos of the food on the recipes themselves. I wanted the interface to be appealing and delightful but also easy to navigate and uncluttered. The background gradient will change with each recipe to match the recipe header image as well.

The two buttons on the bottom are the main actions the user can take. They remain sticky so the user won't lose them as the scroll to explore the recipe. It was important to keep them visible so that the user can move directly to his/her next step at whatever point in their exploration they decide they want to move forward with the recipe.

Multicooker Hifi Prototype

Chefman Recipe Screen

Chefman Step Screen

Results & Conclusion

This project has laid the foundation for the development of the larger scale Chefman IOT application. Though this project is still in development, this interaction scored a 97% on our remote testing usability scale. While testing live with users I was able to observe that users were easily able to navigate using the application to control the appliance. Users expressed delight at the ability of the application to communicate all the recipe specifics directly to the multicooker, so they wouldn't have to do it manually, as well as features like the recipe overview and the video directions. The majority of users I tested with said they would gladly use this application and the partner appliance to aid in their weekly meal prep.