KAIALEARNS.COM

Savr Recipes

Role / Services

Design Sprint & Testing

Role / Services

Design Sprint & Testing

Role / Services

Design Sprint & Testing

Year

2024

Year

2024

Year

2024

We've all been there...the panic, the uncertainty, the hiss of water boiling over onto the stove as you smear ingredients against your phone screen, desperate for guidance.

If you’ve ever tried to cook using an unfamiliar recipe you found online, then you know how chaotic and overwhelming the process can be even when it all goes right. Even for seasoned at-home chefs, navigating the kitchen without knowing all the exits can lead to a 5-ingredient pile up right inside your oven. I’m tasked with running a design sprint, broken down into 5 days, to quickly test out a possible solution for a recipe app named Savr. Savr has a growing library of great meals and an active community of at-home chefs. The platform has hundreds of user tested and reviewed recipes, but they have received some negative feedback on recipes that are longer, more complicated, or that employ more advanced techniques. The focus here is on user feedback related to the actual preparation of a meal. Accuracy and ease of use are key to giving users a better solution. I’ll be following GV’s five-day model, breaking down the process day-by-day to give a more linear walk through of what ended up being the key ingredient to improving Savr’s user experience.

If you’ve ever tried to cook using an unfamiliar recipe you found online, then you know how chaotic and overwhelming the process can be even when it all goes right. Even for seasoned at-home chefs, navigating the kitchen without knowing all the exits can lead to a 5-ingredient pile up right inside your oven. I’m tasked with running a design sprint, broken down into 5 days, to quickly test out a possible solution for a recipe app named Savr. Savr has a growing library of great meals and an active community of at-home chefs. The platform has hundreds of user tested and reviewed recipes, but they have received some negative feedback on recipes that are longer, more complicated, or that employ more advanced techniques. The focus here is on user feedback related to the actual preparation of a meal. Accuracy and ease of use are key to giving users a better solution. I’ll be following GV’s five-day model, breaking down the process day-by-day to give a more linear walk through of what ended up being the key ingredient to improving Savr’s user experience.

To better address Savr users’ concerns, I needed to get a good understanding of the limitations. The folks at Savr were kind enough to walk me through the following:

day 1 - map

To better address Savr users’ concerns, I needed to get a good understanding of the limitations. The folks at Savr were kind enough to walk me through the following:

day 1 - map

To better address Savr users’ concerns, I needed to get a good understanding of the limitations. The folks at Savr were kind enough to walk me through the following:

day 1 - map

Constraints:
Current recipes are text only, ordered lists
Solution should be designed for SAVR native mobile app where it's used the most
Solve for user experience while cooking rather than cataloging and saving

Understand the problems:
Create a better experience for a user who has chosen a recipe, and is in the kitchen - ready to start cooking and following instructions

Research & Personas:
I was provided with quite a few interviews with Savr users and home chefs. From there, the Savr persona Nick was born.

Constraints:
Current recipes are text only, ordered lists
Solution should be designed for SAVR native mobile app where it's used the most
Solve for user experience while cooking rather than cataloging and saving

Understand the problems:
Create a better experience for a user who has chosen a recipe, and is in the kitchen - ready to start cooking and following instructions

Research & Personas:
I was provided with quite a few interviews with Savr users and home chefs. From there, the Savr persona Nick was born.

User Interview Highlights

Here are some insights directly from Savr users when prompted: tell us about your experience cooking a new recipe for the first time.

Maria enjoys challenge of learning new recipes, does not love the mess it creates or constant hand washing to view phone


Dan wants step by step instructions/photos/videos along the way


Anna needs no stress, no rush, wants to enjoy cooking, but needs to get all the prep done up front


Anthony needs help avoiding small mistakes, timing/flavor, that doom the dish


Lindsey also wants to save time with prep


Ron hates clean up and unnecessary dirty dishes


Sylvia struggles with timing on more advanced recipes


Sara needs help with “foundation” techniques

and definitions


Let’s take a look at what happened when our user Nick tried to cook a new Korean dish for some friends.

Keeping Nick’s experience front and center, a happy path for him might might look something like this:

Let’s get down to it - Savr is not the first and only recipe app. The market is full, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We can learn from other developers’ mistakes while getting a good idea for what already works.

day 2 - sketch solutions

Let’s get down to it - Savr is not the first and only recipe app. The market is full, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We can learn from other developers’ mistakes while getting a good idea for what already works.

day 2 - sketch solutions

Let’s get down to it - Savr is not the first and only recipe app. The market is full, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We can learn from other developers’ mistakes while getting a good idea for what already works.

day 2 - sketch solutions

View my competitive analysis of Rocket Money & Bobby

Here are what other competitors are up to:

Recipe Keeper

• Has user pick favorite cuisines, level of proficiency, dietary restrictions, allergies, etc.

• Setting the standard for recipe apps - importing recipes from other sources, searching through a robust set of filters and sorting

• Use very linear layout for recipe information

Yummly

• Has user pick favorite cuisines, level of proficiency, dietary restrictions, allergies, etc.

• each recipe has separate tabs for: overview, ingredients list, directions, user generated notes, nutritional facts, and reviews from other users. Having these sectioned out may be less overwhelming to some users.•

• Recipes that aren’t directly from Yummly take you to external tab which isnt my favorite, no options for full meal (most things are separated by course)

• The app has “Yummly Guided” recipes, which feature video on a loop at the top so you can watch the different steps (motion graphics, not video)

• Has ability to sync with bluetooth kitchen devices

Umami

• Several options to import recipes - create, scan, recipe url, recipe browser (just takes you to google within the app), as well as a long list of popular recipe websites (Allrecipes, Bon Appetit, etc.) that the user can browse and import from those websites

• The “Start Cooking” CTA brings you your ingredients in a checklist, and instructions in the next tab

• Allows user to set timers within the app

I used a Crazy 8s sketching matrix (8 timed sketches, 1 minute each) to get some ideas on paper quickly. The areas I wanted to focus on given the interviews and research, were step by step tutorials, tabs for information to reduce cognitive load, a ticker with information like prep time and serving count, and giving users tips as they are cooking like when they can brown meat or what they can prep while a protein is cooking. I tried to combine the best parts of ALL the sketches, so the challenge will be to structure them in a way that invite the user to digest all the information quickly and get cooking.

crazy 8s exercise

I used a Crazy 8s sketching matrix (8 timed sketches, 1 minute each) to get some ideas on paper quickly. The areas I wanted to focus on given the interviews and research, were step by step tutorials, tabs for information to reduce cognitive load, a ticker with information like prep time and serving count, and giving users tips as they are cooking like when they can brown meat or what they can prep while a protein is cooking. I tried to combine the best parts of ALL the sketches, so the challenge will be to structure them in a way that invite the user to digest all the information quickly and get cooking.

crazy 8s exercise

I used a Crazy 8s sketching matrix (8 timed sketches, 1 minute each) to get some ideas on paper quickly. The areas I wanted to focus on given the interviews and research, were step by step tutorials, tabs for information to reduce cognitive load, a ticker with information like prep time and serving count, and giving users tips as they are cooking like when they can brown meat or what they can prep while a protein is cooking. I tried to combine the best parts of ALL the sketches, so the challenge will be to structure them in a way that invite the user to digest all the information quickly and get cooking.

crazy 8s exercise

The solution I chose to flesh out tries to get to the heart of the problem–what happens once the cooking starts. For that reason, I started with a pre-selected Recipe (rather than address browsing or importing), and tried to break different areas of information down so they are always visible, and digestible. How might we allow users the control to what information they get, how quickly they get it, and where they see it within the chain of events.

day3 - decisions decisions

The solution I chose to flesh out tries to get to the heart of the problem–what happens once the cooking starts. For that reason, I started with a pre-selected Recipe (rather than address browsing or importing), and tried to break different areas of information down so they are always visible, and digestible. How might we allow users the control to what information they get, how quickly they get it, and where they see it within the chain of events.

day3 - decisions decisions

TACTICAL ELEMENTS


With these sketches, I’m aiming to get an idea for the best plan of attack for our user Nick. Some ideas include:


Scrolling ticker underneath the recipe name with pertinent “at a glance” information


Video intros change with the recipe tabs (Ingredients & Tools, Prep, Cook, Notes) and can be collapsed to scroll further down the chosen tab


Multiple timers by category (protein, starch, veg, etc.), while the user can scroll through the instructions and cooking tips.


TACTICAL ELEMENTS


With these sketches, I’m aiming to get an idea for the best plan of attack for our user Nick. Some ideas include:


Scrolling ticker underneath the recipe name with pertinent “at a glance” information


Video intros change with the recipe tabs (Ingredients & Tools, Prep, Cook, Notes) and can be collapsed to scroll further down the chosen tab


Multiple timers by category (protein, starch, veg, etc.), while the user can scroll through the instructions and cooking tips.


day 4 - prototype

day 4 - prototype

Now if you’re thinking, “wait a minute, I thought one of the constraints was Savr’s text-only (bulleted checklists) catalog.” You would be correct! In Day 3, while sketching, I started to integrate video into the recipe steps and layout. This, unfortunately, will not do at this time.

However, in setting up my screens and general recipe card structure, video would’ve been way too much to incorporate and test. The focus now, rightfully, goes back to the need for advanced warnings, multiple timers, and carefully timed tips.

My testing sessions were on the casual side. Since this flow is pretty linear, and I’m really only focused on what happens when the stove heats up, The ask was simple - head straight to Shrimp Scampi and start cooking. I took some time to ask them about their experiences with finding recipes and following along. I then gave users 1 task - Use the app to follow a Shrimp Scampi recipe. Each user spoke aloud while they worked, and I tried to probe a little with each person about their unique goals.

day 5 - testing

My testing sessions were on the casual side. Since this flow is pretty linear, and I’m really only focused on what happens when the stove heats up, The ask was simple - head straight to Shrimp Scampi and start cooking. I took some time to ask them about their experiences with finding recipes and following along. I then gave users 1 task - Use the app to follow a Shrimp Scampi recipe. Each user spoke aloud while they worked, and I tried to probe a little with each person about their unique goals.

day 5 - testing

“I was confused by the icons at first. I read them, but wanted to click for more information,” Sara* told me during testing. When I asked her what she expected, she said “I wanted to view each alert separately…but I love the built in timer.” 
One pain point Sara has when cooking along in general is having to switch between stove/oven, her browser, and her timers.

Dustin wanted to dive right in. Instead of clicking around the recipe tabs, he hit Start Cooking almost immediately after reviewing the ingredients. This lets me know the persistent START button will definitely be used by more eager chefs.

User Tyler scrolled through the recipe first, and took note of the alerts on the recipe home page. She, too, wanted a little more information or a clearer understanding of what they meant. As they exist in Round 1, she wanted to click them. The timers also could’ve been clearer. Although they are color coded, Tyler was quick to point out that she didn’t know which color meant what.

One user, a mother of 2 who enjoys cooking for her family, made a good point - we have only 2 timers in this recipe. What happens when there are more? If we consider user Tyler’s feedback, the colors aren’t indicative of which timer is what on their own. The prototype doesn’t address either of these but it is crucial to consider going forward with any changes.

The cooking experience–from choosing a recipe you like or that makes sense, picking ingredients at the store, to executing an unfamiliar technique--can be extremely intimidating to a lot of people. In a time where people are really searching for places to tighten their belts, financially or physically, a recipe app can be an arena where a person can wrest back a little bit of control over their lives. Cooking at home to save money, researching ingredients for their health benefits, wanting to build a little more warmth into your life with a fulfilling hobby, these are Big Things that can make an oversized impact on your life. How might we reduce the chaos to make that experience more enjoyable, more predictable, more satiating?

findings

The cooking experience–from choosing a recipe you like or that makes sense, picking ingredients at the store, to executing an unfamiliar technique--can be extremely intimidating to a lot of people. In a time where people are really searching for places to tighten their belts, financially or physically, a recipe app can be an arena where a person can wrest back a little bit of control over their lives. Cooking at home to save money, researching ingredients for their health benefits, wanting to build a little more warmth into your life with a fulfilling hobby, these are Big Things that can make an oversized impact on your life. How might we reduce the chaos to make that experience more enjoyable, more predictable, more satiating?

findings

This prototype hoped to whittle away at the trial-by-surprise that comes with a new recipe. There are areas of opportunity with multiple timers. Figuring out what it looks like when you have 3, or even 4. Finding more complex recipes for a wider array of user needs. I would’ve loved to research what AI and large language models can do to really help at home chefs make the best meal possible, regardless of their skill level, dietary restrictions, or ingredient limitations. This one user flow could yield quite the feast.