Background Info & Opportunity

Foodie Friends is a passion project, where I want to find a way to bring two things I love together - food and local small businesses. My vision is to help local small businesses build stronger relationships with their customers. 

Hypothesis

If we make it easy for restaurants & café customers to provide immediate feedback to the small business through their mobile device, customers will be 3x more likely to return to the business. 

Process

Customer interviews

After holding 1:1 interviews with small business (SMB) customers and owners, and using survey data, I found that young professionals in their 20's to 30's were the most likely to provide impactful feedback, as long as the following principles are followed:

• Make it easy - SMB owners and customers are busy. Being able to provide and review feedback must be easy and convenient.
• Make an impact - Ensure customers know their feedback is being thoughtfully considered by the small business.
• Relationships matter - All experiences must honor and build relationships. Customers like being known as regulars and treated in a personal manner, while SMBs know positive relationships increase the chances of return customers.

Card sorting, Information Architecture, & Flow Diagrams

I conducted card sorting research to help uncover the most important features, and to gain feedback on the information architecture. Doing this helped me visualize the experience and identify any unintended complexities. 

User Flow Diagram:

Sketches

Starting new concepts with pen and paper is my favorite way to begin because it allows me to quickly go broad and sketch out many ideas. From there, I use post-its to help me create paper prototypes, which make it easy to demonstrate interactions. 

Below are a few select sketches I created during this step:

Paper prototype

One of the fastest ways that I like to get feedback is through paper prototypes. I took my paper sketches and used POP app to quickly test - and received feedback in minutes.  

Wireframes

After iterating the paper prototypes, I created wireframes which showed a more refined experience for Foodie Friends. Instead of jumping straight from paper prototype to visual design, I created these wireframes so I could continue getting feedback on the concept and flow, instead of the feedback getting lost in the details of the visual. 

Visual design

Once I was happy with the experience, I moved into visual design to bring the product to life.

Outcomes & Next Steps

I've received positive feedback from customers, and small business owners have stated that this app will address their fundamental need to improve communication with their customers. I have two small businesses who have requested to try this app once it's out in beta. 

For next steps, I'm continuing conversations with a developer to help make this app a reality.