Major Project I: Final Compilation & Reflection
| 04.02.2024 - 23.03.2025 (WEEK 1-WEEK 7)
| Tang Chin Ting [ 0366473 ]
| Major Project I / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
| Final Compilation & Reflection
| Tang Chin Ting [ 0366473 ]
| Major Project I / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
| Final Compilation & Reflection
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INSTRUCTIONS
SUBMISSION
Proposal Development
To begin the task, we first need to identify real-world problems and explore how an application or website can effectively address them. Our approach should focus on understanding the issue before considering potential solutions. I will collaborate with Yi Shim, Huey Yee, and Ming En as a team for this module.
Initially, we needed to identify a problem to solve. Each of us contributed our ideas in a shared document, and after reviewing them, we selected the most suitable one to pursue.
After the idea development, we decided to develop an app that compiles comprehensive information about local food restaurants in Malaysia. Our app features personalized recommendations, a "What to Eat" spin wheel, and reliable user reviews and comments. Unlike Google Maps, our goal is to create a more trustworthy and user-friendly platform that helps users easily discover and decide on their next meal. We named our app "MakanBuddy" app.
After finalizing our topic and receiving feedback from Dr. Chui Yin, we focused on refining our idea by conducting further research on our target audience, unique features, and other essential aspects to enhance the app's effectiveness. Here is our initial proposal:
Figure 1.1 Proposal Development
User Research
Next, each of us conducted interviews with three users to gather insights about our idea. We developed a set of interview questions tailored to different user groups, dividing them into local and international users to ensure a diverse range of perspectives.
I chose to interview three local users, all of whom are students and workers who enjoy exploring new food spots. Two interviews were conducted physically, while one was held via a Zoom meeting. Here are our interview questions:
Figure 1.2 User Interview Questions
I recorded the interviews and documented each user's responses, making it easier to analyze the data. Below are the interview recordings and responses from each user.
Click HERE to view the audio recordings
Figure 1.3 Interview Transcript & Recording
Our group user interviews summarize:
Figure 1.4 Group Member User Interviews Summarize
After collecting the interview data, we synthesized the raw information using an Affinity Diagram in FigJam to identify patterns and key user insights. For a clearer Figjam board refer to HERE.
Figure 1.5 Affinity Diagram in Figjam
Figure 1.6 Affinity Diagram in Figjam
User Persona & User Journey Map
Next, we worked on the user persona and user journey map. My role was to create the local student user persona, as my interviewees were all local users. This made it easier for me to analyze the data and develop an accurate user persona.
Figure 1.7 User Persona & User Journey map
Information Architecture Map
We used "UXtweak" to conduct a card-sorting activity based on our Information Architecture Map. This helped us understand how users categorize and navigate restaurant-related information. Our participants included two local users and one international user, providing diverse insights to refine our app’s structure for better usability.
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Figure 1.8 Card Sorting Analysis
The next step is creating the "Information Architecture Map", which helps us structure the app’s navigation and content flow. This ensures a seamless user experience by organizing features like restaurant listings, user reviews, and personalized recommendations in a logical and accessible way.
Figure 1.9 Information Architecture Map
User Flow Chart
For the next step, Ming En and I are working on the user flow chart. This will outline the step-by-step journey users take within our app, ensuring smooth navigation and an intuitive experience. It helps visualize how users interact with key features, from discovering restaurants to making decisions.
For the user flow chart, we start with the login/sign-up process. The app consists of five main pages: Home, Spin Wheel, Makan Pedia, Community, and Profile. The key feature allows users to search for restaurants and use the Spin Wheel to decide what to eat, ensuring a seamless and engaging experience.
Figure 1.10 User Flow Chart
Design Guideline & Sketches
We created a design guideline to ensure visual consistency, usability, and brand identity across our app. It helps maintain a cohesive look and feel, making the interface more intuitive and user-friendly.
Besides, we researched UI designs of food apps and developed our own color scheme, icon set, and font choices. Additionally, we designed a logo inspired by Onde-Onde, a traditional Malaysian dessert, to make it more relevant to our app's theme and concept.
Figure 1.11 Our Design Guideline
Here are my individual sketches and wireframes, created using Procreate. I designed key pages like the homepage, spin wheel, Makan Pedia, and profile.
This step allows us to visualize the interface, gather team ideas, and refine the design for a user-friendly and smooth navigation experience. It was quite interesting when each member came out with a different design of the interface.
Figure 1.12 Members Sketches & Wireframe Design
Project Deliverables
Click HERE to view the Full Proposal Slides.
Figure 1.13 Full Proposal Sides
Click HERE to view our Figjam Board.
Figure 1.14 Final Figjam Board
Click HERE to view our Presentation Slide.
Figure 1.15 Final Presentation Slide
FEEDBACK
Week 1:
Ms. Wong asked us to propose our initial preliminary ideas for this module, where we finalized and narrowed down our options to two ideas: a Food Reviews & Guide app and a Smart Parking app. After presenting both ideas to her, she advised us to avoid the Smart Parking app, as many other groups had already proposed similar concepts, and the scope was too broad. She mentioned that the Food Reviews & Guide app was a slightly better choice, but she encouraged us to clearly define its strengths and uniqueness compared to existing platforms like Google Maps or other social media apps. To refine our idea further, she recommended that we conduct additional research and discuss our approach in more depth.
Week 2:
Ms. Wong advised us to narrow down our Food Guide app by focusing on a single concept. After further discussion, we decided to specialize in state-specialty cuisines, refining our app’s scope to Malaysian authentic local food, primarily promoting traditional dishes from each state. Once we finalized this idea, Ms. Wong approved it and instructed us to proceed with user research, including interviews and other relevant methods. She also reminded us to ensure that our interviewees align with our target audience to gather meaningful insights.
Week 3:
Ms. Wong approved our user interview questions after we presented two sets of interview questions: 10 questions for local interviewees and 10 questions for international interviewees. We also explained our reasoning for having two sets of questions, as these two groups face different challenges and approaches when discovering local food. She then instructed us to proceed with the user interviews, after which we could work on the interview transcripts and affinity diagrams to compile and analyze the information gathered from the 12 interviewees. Additionally, she recommended synthesizing the data after collecting all responses to facilitate better comparison and identification of common insights.
Week 4:
Ms. Wong asked us to include the raw data input for the user interview answers, before come to the synthesis data. For the user personas, we have only included basic information about the users. Ms. Wong suggested that we add a section that delves deeper into the users' habits, preferences, and needs to enhance our understanding of them. Also, the user journey map needs to be revised too. The map contains five stages: Exploration, Consideration, Onboarding, Engagement, and Loyalty. While the content for the last three stages is acceptable, however, the first two stages are incorrectly written. These stages should reflect the user before using the MakanBuddy app, not describe users who are already using the app.
Week 5:
In Week 5, Dr. Wong suggests that we should move the user personas to Figjam for better visualization and organization. Additionally, our ppt animations should be removed to maintain a cleaner and more professional presentation. For the slides, we should use pickup point to clearly present the content. To enhance clarity, each user persona should be presented on a separate slide. Furthermore, the summary of interviewee insights should be highlighted to emphasize key findings. Our user journey map need to modify specifically by changing "Awareness" to "Exploration" to better reflect user actions before using the app. Lastly, user habits should be incorporated into the user persona to provide a more comprehensive understanding of user behavior.
Week 6:
Ms Wong gave us feedback mainly on our User Flow Chart and Presentation Slide. First, she mentioned that the User Flow Chart needs some changes. When users log in, they should go to the Home Page first instead of other pages. Other than that, our User Flow Chart is complete, so no further changes are needed. For the Presentation Slide, she suggested removing the excessive details. We don’t need to present everything, like the Interview Questions and Interview Data Summary. Instead, we should focus on the key points to make our presentation clear and concise.
Week 7:
All the lecturers advised us to refine the market positioning of our MakanBuddy app. Mr. Shamsul pointed out that similar functions could be achieved through Facebook groups and other platforms, while Mr. Razif raised concerns about user retention, questioning how we could keep users engaged. He suggested looking at Duolingo, a popular language-learning app, to understand how it successfully attracts and retains users. Our group realized that we had not clearly highlighted our app's unique selling points, making them less understandable. To address this, we incorporated new pages in our final submission and presentation slides to clarify our app’s uniqueness. We also responded to the lecturers' feedback and Q&A session questions by providing well-structured answers to ensure our concept was more compelling and well-defined.
REFLECTION
Beginning the Major Project I journey, we as a team chose to address a real-world problem by creating "MakanBuddy," an app that would provide in-depth information of local eating spots in Malaysia. Our intention was to design an intuitive platform with personalized recommendations, a "What to Eat" spin wheel, and genuine user reviews, setting it apart from existing solutions such as Google Maps.
Our initial phase was co-ideation, where all members contributed ideas, and the MakanBuddy concept was born. User research came next with interviews of local and international users to capture diverse thoughts. This was then consolidated in an Affinity Diagram in FigJam so we could visualize the patterns and what were the main user needs.
Our design cycle involved creating a cohesive visual identity, including color scheme, icon set, typeface selection, and logo inspired by the Malaysian dessert, Onde-Onde. This reference to culture gave our app strength and popularity. Procreate helped us create sketches and wireframes for individual prominent pages such as the homepage, spin wheel, Makan Pedia, and profile. It allowed us to combine various concepts, making the app more accessible and aesthetically pleasing.
Over the course of the project, we discovered the central role that user-centered design played. Engaging with actual users directly provided us with valuable insights to drive our design choices. The iterative processes of prototyping and user testing consistently exposed us to areas for improvement, indicating the need for design flexibility and responsiveness. We also discovered that the integration of cultural elements, such as the use of an Onde-Onde-motivated logo, resonated positively with users, developing their user engagement with the app.
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