Join the Chefolution — UX Case Study
Perdue Farms leads the Chefolution by providing a personal, gamified learning platform that helps home-chefs level-up their skills in the kitchen.
Chefolution: A Gamified Skill-Developing Challenge from Perdue Farms
Ironhack- Final Project
Project Scope: Concept for Adaptive Recipe Site
Timeline: 9 Day Design Sprint
Roles: UX/UI Designer
Challenge
In the final days of our cohort, we were presented with the unique opportunity of working with a multi-billion dollar company to create something innovative. Our Lead Teacher had been in communications with a number of different companies in order to bring them on board for our first “real” project. He reached out to Ironhack Alum Kat Alderman, VP of ECommerce at Perdue Farms, to see if she had any projects that could benefit from having multiple UX/UI designers working diligently to come up with concepts. And she did!
The Perdue family is a fourth-generation, family-owned food and agriculture powerhouse with more than 11 brands under their umbrella. Already leaders in their industry, Perdue was looking for a way to connect with their customers on a more personal level, reaching beyond the grocery store and into the kitchen. The aim was to develop a recipe section for the soon to be launched Perdue Farms website. They came to our cohort because they wanted to create something that would be more than just informative, they wanted to turn the recipe section into a tool for conversion with an idea that would be Useable, Innovative, Enjoyable, Disruptive, & Shareable.
We were given a raw idea and it was up to us to use our skills as UX/UI designers to individually develop a concept with the potential to completely disrupt the industry. We were provided with extensive customer research, digital brand assets, as well as brand guidelines. Perdue motivated us further by offering some very exciting prizes to the top 3 projects. This meant our final challenge was also a competition and each of us would need to bring everything we learned to the table.
What follows is a detailed overview of the process I took and the data-driven design decisions I made along the way.
Discovery Phase
My foray into the world of UX has instilled in me a real passion for research, so I was ridiculously excited to go through the extensive reports provided by Perdue. In order to fully understand the business goals and needs of our stakeholders, I waded into the 82-page report that had been provided. It took a full day to read through the research, take notes, and synthesize the existing data into some key insights that would serve as a starting point for my primary research.
While the data in the provided documents was very thorough, I could see some key knowledge gaps that I would need to fill on my own. The focus of the research was on Perdue, its products, and the people that use those existing products. What was missing? Data regarding recipes and the people that use them. In order to match Perdue’s business goals with the unmet needs of their clientele, I would need to dive into my own primary research.
Research
First, I needed to get more information from our stakeholders. I participated in a group interview via conference call. During this, I was able to get a clear understanding of what Perdue Farms was looking for and how I might be able to achieve it. My mind was already working through some ideas and I used this opportunity to help guide me. I asked, “For this project, is Perdue wanting to create something that would live exclusively in the virtual realm? Or would you be open to a physical, direct-to-consumer product?” The stakeholder response was that an easily-executed product would be considered, but their current focus was specifically on driving engagement through the site itself. This helped me to stay focused on finding a solution that would live exclusively on the web with the potential to evolve into a physical manifestation in another phase.
Next, I conducted a competitive feature analysis to get an understanding of my users’ mental models and to identify opportunities for design. First, I looked at direct competitors to Perdue, then I narrowed in specifically on competitors in the recipe site space itself. I researched a wide variety of recipe websites and apps to determine the biggest competitors. From these, I charted out their existing features to find opportunities as well as a basis for my user’s mental model. I started with a broad analysis that covered one full white wall in my UX “war room”, and then distilled this into the most relevant features. During this stage of research, something became quite clear. In order to be competitive, this recipe section would have to incorporate several features to the recipe itself.
Then, I created my market positioning chart to get a visual snapshot of the space and to identify the uncontested market that would become my Blue Ocean of opportunity. This has become one of my favorite UX artifacts because it is the first point of visual sensemaking. As usual, I gave my axes deep thought. I looked at how the users could interact with the recipes and how much control they had in refining search results. This gave me the axis of Customizable v Limited. I then looked at the type of interaction generated by the website/app. This gave me my other axis of Informational v Experiential. With these created, I charted my competitors and Perdue’s existing platform. This showed me a blue ocean of opportunity. This would help guide my research and ideation.
Next, I conducted primary research in the form of interviews and surveys. I was careful to engineer the questions in the most holistic way possible. I needed my subjects to relax into the interview so that they would feel comfortable talking at length. In order to arrive at the most ideal interview questions, I first sent out a survey. Surveys yield far more than quantitative data, they also indicate how someone might react to certain questions. After receiving 23 survey responses, I reviewed the data and finalized my interview questions. Then I hit the pavement!
I conducted 6 user interviews. Two with users who fit the primary target audience identified in Perdue’s research as well as four others with more varied backgrounds. During these interviews I discovered some startling data. That temporarily threw me for a loop: the average adult DOES NOT use a recipe when cooking. WHAT?!
It is right around this moment that things really kicked into high gear. If the target audience for product purchasing does not use recipes, then who does and how do I find them? In order to coax my User Persona into revealing itself, I first synthesized the data from my interviews and surveys into the most valuable insights. Then I grouped them into an affinity map for visual sensemaking.
My data revealed that the majority of adult chefs learned to cook in their youth and applied that knowledge to their current culinary efforts, building on their experience to inform the dish. These users consider recipes to be a necessity for baking but will freestyle savory dishes utilizing existing culinary skills. These users fall into a tribe I dubbed “Base + Build.” B+Bs fall into the target audience identified in the research provided by Perdue.
These users are likely to source ingredients from Perdue Farms, but they would not need to use the recipe section. Digging deeper, I was able to uncover a few other key insights that helped me to understand my user’s mental model. I discovered two gateways to the B+B tribe that revealed the potential user tribes.
➤ Habitual home chefs started learning to cook as children, between the ages of 8–12 years old. At this age, the recipes are simple and use very few kitchen tools or ingredients.
➤ Individuals begin to acquire cooking skills after leaving the family home, normally between the ages of 18–24 years old. At this stage, the individual relies on recipes to learn how to work with different ingredients and protein types.
While B+B’s will not use a recipe in 95% of their kitchen endeavors, there are a few key exceptions to that rule:
B+B’s will look for a recipe when…
➤ …working with an unfamiliar ingredient.
➤ …trying to make a specific new dish.
➤ …learning to cook on their own.
Amongst my survey respondents were individuals who noted that they don’t cook at home at all. Using my great big “WHY” shovel, I kept digging until I uncovered their core Pains.
➤ Recipes are too rigid with specific tools and ingredients that cannot be modified.
➤ Recipes that have too many steps or ingredients are immediately overwhelming and intimidating to a novice chef.
➤ The sheer number of recipes encountered when online searching leads to cognitive overload.
Define Phase
Applying the data from Discovery, I created a User Persona and Empathy Map to better empathize with the user. Now that I had synthesized the data I could identify my user tribe. This was a challenge for me in this project. My research had led me to two different user groups with a common thread: learning. Recipes have their greatest value with users who are developing their culinary skills at any age. While the biggest area of opportunity lies in learners from 8–12-years-old, I would need more time to conduct research with that audience that would give me the appropriate data to move forward.
Given the nature of this design sprint, I chose to focus on my secondary audience. This comprised of adult learners ages 18–24 focused on improving their culinary skills. These learners are likely to use recipes and purchase the ingredients which makes them an ideal target audience for the Perdue Farms recipe section.
I then created a User Journey Map focused on my primary user and their current experience with recipe sites. For this scenario, Jasper would be trying to prepare a new recipe for the first time. In this journey, I identified three friction points that would become my design opportunities.
➤ Cognitive overload when trying to find a recipe.
➤ Issues sourcing ingredients for a recipe ahead of time.
➤ Inability to follow a recipe because of hyper-specific ingredients or tools.
Now that I had an understanding of the user’s journey in the current marketplace, I needed to get a deeper understanding of their interactions with recipes specifically. For this, I determined what jobs users’ would “hire” a recipe for.
Before moving into ideation, I assessed my user journey map, JTBD framework, and affinity map to come up with some guiding questions.
How might we…
➤ … make more adaptable and customizable recipes?
➤ … make using recipes a more engaging and exciting process?
➤ … reduce cognitive overload when searching for a recipe?
Ideation
I time-boxed myself for each question and came up with a number of potential features. I realized very quickly in this ideation session that there were a massive number of potential features. I used a MoSCoW chart to organize the features. As I looked over my chart, something became extremely clear. My Musts were all features I needed simply to be competitive in the recipe market. These all applied to changes in the format of the recipes and in how users would interact with it.
As I reviewed the chart, something else occurred to me. I couldn’t JUST work on the recipe itself. I needed to reach for something more. The main problem Perdue had asked me to solve was how to get users to engage with the recipes. That meant going beyond offering the most streamlined and user-friendly recipe experience available and creating a connection with the user that would draw them first to the recipe section and then into the Perdue family of products.
With that in mind, I returned to my notes from my conversations with the stakeholders. Their focus was on leveraging the recipe section as a gateway to Perdue and its brands by driving social engagement. The current incarnation of the recipe section was failing to do this. Using this lens, I returned to my MoSCoW chart and looked for the feature that was exclusively online (as per the stakeholders) and Useable, Innovative, Enjoyable, Disruptive, & Shareable.
For this project, my biggest opportunity was in the Could Have section of my MoSCoW chart. There were feature ideas that went beyond the recipe itself and could foster a deeper connection between the user and Perdue Farms. I cross-referenced the business goals, stakeholder directives, user research, and problem points to help guide my design decision. When I had come to a data-driven decision about which feature I would focus on, I took my ideas to Perdue.
I reached out to Kat Alderman once more and checked-in with her to see if the concept was one Perdue would be interested in seeing come to life. She connected me with the individual in charge of recipe creation at Perdue Farms, otherwise known as a subject matter expert. They informed me that Perdue’s recipes are currently geared towards users with a beginner to intermediate cooking knowledge. They also provided me with some examples of skills they would expect to see at each stage of culinary development.
Having spoken with Kat and the Perdue team, I could confidently move forward with my feature knowing that it aligned business goals with user needs and had a high level of feasibility. Based on this, I combined two ideas into one to create a gamified skills challenge I would call “Chefolution”.
To recap, I had discovered that my users’ biggest pain points lay in cognitive overload, hyper-specific recipe ingredients and tools, and timely sourcing of ingredients. Chefolution answered these by providing a customized set of recipes based on the users learning goals, having the built-in features providing alternatives to tools and ingredients, and providing the user with the ability to plan meals and schedule ingredient delivery at their convenience. It would also answer business goals by providing an engaging and shareable gateway to Perdue Farms through their recipe section.
Design Phase
Interaction Design
Now, it was time to begin planning my prototypes. I focused in on my KDF and drew out a “happy path” user flow to help guide my prototype development. I drew concept sketches based on this user flow. Then I dove headfirst into prototyping.
Low-Fidelity Prototype
For my lo-fi prototype, I built off the concept sketches and my user flow to design a set of screens that would guide the user through the process of setting up a “Challenge Week” as well as leveling-up. I usability tested with 6 users and discovered some points of friction.
My cheeky attempt to use industry-specific terms in the copy had confused my users. I had used round shapes for buttons instead of traditional ovals which didn’t give my users the context they needed to understand their use. The final friction point centered around the shopping list creation. The users were concerned that by adding all of their recipes to the shopping cart at once they would have too long of a list to go through for cross-referencing their inventory.
There were some major gains in the prototype as well. Users really enjoyed the swipe left/right for selecting their recipes for the week and felt that the concept overall was exciting and interesting.
Mid-Fidelity Prototype
I kept those friction points in mind as I created my mid-fi prototype. I added more context at the beginning of the process and had the user come to the prototype as a new rather than an existing user. I conducted 5 usability tests and discovered new points of friction. The swipe left/right feature did not have enough feedback to let the user know they had selected the desired recipe, more customization was wanted at the weekly set-up stage, and users still had blocked regarding the shopping list creation.
This feature was really entertaining. I had tested with some of the same users for lo-fi and mid-fi. The user who didn’t want to add all the recipes to the same shopping list in lo-fi did not want to create separate shopping lists. I dug a little deeper to discover what the underlying issue might be in this shopping list feature. I discovered that the user wanted the context of the recipe in mind when determining which items to add to the grocery list. I used this knowledge and applied it to my hi-fidelity prototype.
Delivery Phase
Brand Identity
The next step was to create a hi-fidelity prototype, but first I needed to develop the basis of Chefolution’s visual brand identity. To do this, I looked again at their competitors in the industry to get an understanding of what users expect to see. Recipe sites tend to have clean layouts with vibrant colors that pop and easy to identify icons to help users navigate. I used this and the existing brand aesthetic of Perdue Farms to inform my design.
I then determined brand attributes that would help me keep the core values of Perdue Farms at the forefront of my design. To do this, I looked once more at my research on the Perdue Farms brand family. There were a number of attributes that were immediately apparent. I selected Leader, Trustworthy, Honest, Innovative, and Wholesome.
Hi-Fidelity Prototype
It was finally time to start my hi-fidelity prototype! I had begun creating an atomic design index with my mid-fidelity, so all I needed to do was update my components to reflect the hi-fi design system with brand colors, typography, and icons. I then made some changes to the screens based on usability testing from the previous two fidelities. You can walk-through the final prototype here.
My development of the hi-fi UI for this concept presented me with a number of challenges. Before my cohort began, I had never used any of the UI tools I had grown to rely on. I did my best to incorporate the lessons I had learned in the previous 9 weeks of my cohort from my teachers as well as my fellow students. While my design eye is still in its infancy, I was proud to see the progress I had made since first being introduced to UI creation.
Conclusion
In addition to the development of the prototype, I contemplated the metrics by which Perdue would be able to measure the success of their new product. These included both internal metrics and social metrics as Perdue’s main business goal for this product was to make sure it encouraged engagement and was shareable.
I ended my project by contemplating the next steps for this product. It was one with a great deal of potential beyond its first iteration. In addition to eventually updating the UI and incorporating the compulsory elements for the recipe itself, there is the potential to turn this into a meal-kit. My data had shown that meal-kits were a huge area of opportunity as they are one of the most common facilitators of recipe interaction and solve for a number of common user pains.
The Chefolution challenge could be converted into in-person experiences, adapted to different age ranges, and turned into a brand all its own. This product has a great deal of potential built-in and adds a great deal of value to the business as well as the user.
And that’s a wrap!
I presented my project at our final Hackshow in front of Kat from Perdue. She selected the top three projects from our cohort and Chefolution was among them! The experience of working for a well-known company to develop this concept was an incredible opportunity and I found the open dialogue with their team to be invaluable.
Final Thoughts
This final project at Ironhack was a lot of fun. I reached the finish line at the end of my 9th week with all the energy of a sprinter who had just finished their first marathon. I was exhausted, exhilarated, and proud. A huge thank you to my lead teacher, David fast, as well as our amazing teaching assistant, Nicole Matos. They’re energy and professionalism helped keep our cohort going as we went through this accelerator program. I can say, without a doubt, they taught me everything I know about UX and UI design.
Thank you for taking the time to read through my UX case study. I would love to hear your thoughts on this case study. Leave me some feedback or connect with me on LinkedIn.
