Wicked Problems: Food Sustainability UX process — Design Thinking & Briefing

In our first week at the Iron Hack UI/UX Boot camp, we faced a wicked problem to solve using the design thinking method, in five days. We were a group of 4 power girls, Megha, Manon, Lucie, and I, and we chose Food Sustainability Subject.

As we were on remote because of the COVID-19 context, we used some tools like : Zoom and Miro to work in a team.

Photo by Olga Kudriavtseva on Unsplash

Food Sustainability wicked problem

In the last decades, there has been a rise in consciousness on the importance of good nutrition and the responsibility that individuals have to provide themselves with good food.

Organic food is not accessible to everyone, being restricted to those who can actually afford it. Supermarket chains and other big companies benefit from the organic food market and conscious customers, but don’t actually solve the situation — they just make the gap and the impact bigger with unsustainable models.

Here you can take a look on the Design UX process built in the five-stage process, by putting the user at the centre of the design.

1. EMPATHISE

This step is very important, and begins the design thinking process. That is developing an understanding of users’ unmet or unarticulated needs, with the goal of understanding who you’re designing for.

a. The market research

We realized a Lean Survey Canva, a tool to build our quantitative survey, to stay focus on the problem, and to get essential information from it.

Then we did a survey on google forms, that we share on social media and to our networks. The aim was to get more information in a short period of time.

• The results of our survey :

We built a draft of interview we will lead to 5 people to get qualitative data. We were working by pair, one was taking with the interviewed, the second was taking notes, and we used a tool to record if the interview people agreed.

The script was the same for all interviews :

• An introduction with an icebreaker and the action plan
• Ask if we can record the interview
• Mention that there are no bas answers, we need trust
• Questions oriented to define the why
• Thanks
• The results of our 5 interviews:

The image of organic local is associated for them to : positive, healthy, environment, positive impact on economy. They consume organic but would consume more local, but they do not find how to buy local, and they need to trust in the products, so they need traceability.

2. DEFINE

a. Affinity map

This second step of the design thinking process consists of synthesize our findings and problem statement, from that empathy work, focusing on the user’s viewpoint.

We create a point of view based on our user needs and insights, we made an affinity map.

We put all the data on Miro by notes from the survey and the interviews. Then we grouped the notes in different sections that we defined together by affinity. It helped us find the potential design opportunities.

• Here, our sustainable food affinity diagram :

We voted on three sections.

b. Empathy map

We used an empathy map, to change perspective and to put ourselves in the head of our users (what they think, what they see, say, hear, do). And therefore, to understand the main pain points and the gains.

c. Persona

We created a persona profile representing our primaries users.

Vegan Megan mainly buys organic food, she would like to buy more local, but can not find any local food close to her place : which is her main expectation.

Our persona, Megan Vegan

And then we brainstormed to generate a list of How Might we… And we kept three main ones. Then we brainstormed to get as many ideas as possible.

d. Problem Statement

How Might We help communities access the seasonal produce of their region, fuelling fair and honest relationships between producers and customers while ensuring food safety for all?

3. IDEATE

a. User Journey Map

After ideating, we create the user persona map of persona.

Here we present you a journey of Megan. She wants to eat a salad with tomatoes. She checks on her phone, and decides to go to the closet supermarket. Once there, she can not find any local tomatoes. She is disappointed, and she decides to go for an other vegetable. At the end, Megan is not satisfied as she has to change of the recipe.

In Megan Vegan’s user journey map, we identified by the actions, design opportunities. We imagined some solutions and we selected one.

b. Sketch

After we come up with a “good” idea, we need to validate it. A prototype should illustrate our idea in a way we can test it with people to see if it works. Before that, we sketched on a paper the solution.

Here the wireframes of our solution, the low-fi prototype.

4. PROTOTYPE

We used Figma to create our Mid Fi prototype, that you can test on the link.

Ok, you tried it ?

Please give us some feedbacks.

5. TEST

In our case study, we did not go to this step. But if you want, just try the Figma link, and share us by comments, your feedbacks. This is with your suggestions that we will improve the solution ;) so let’s go on comments.

CONCLUSION

I discovered by this study case :

• to adapt myself to work on remote and with an unknown team, but now we are the power girls ;)
• the process of design thinking was really intensive, and so interesting, because I was really surprises by the insights interviews, and will never guess this problem statement and solution without this design thinking process.
• Of course, I was not focus of what I was thinking but on what the users say.
• I really like repeat : what I know, is I know nothing …
• And anyway, for me, it was my first experience to work with some tools like Figma in group and Miro ;)

I like Miro, very powerfull tool.

See you soon ,

Zora