KEY INSIGHTS
USERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO FILTER THROUGH RECIPES BY CUISINE TYPE, MEAL, DIETARY RESTRICTIONS, AND TIME IT TAKES TO COOK.
We found that those we interviewed desired a more personalized experience when searching for recipes to make. Users focused on health and who followed certain diets wanted to be able to filter by dietary restrictions. Many users also cited a lack of time to not cooking as much, so giving users the option to filter by the time the recipe takes to make will be helpful.
​
INTERVIEW #214:
Q: "Is there anything preventing you from cooking?"
UCI student: "Time and energy."
USER SHOULD BE ABLE TO SCAN OR ENTER INGREDIENTS THAT THEY HAVE BOUGHT TO GET APPROPRIATE RECIPES FOR THE ITEMS THEY HAVE.
Allowing users to do this through the system will save them time from looking for recipes online. They would be able to make recipes using just the ingredients that they already have at home. This can help them also save money from buying extra groceries or throwing old groceries out because they did not get to use them in time.
​
INTERVIEW #221
Q: "What do you like or don’t like about using recipes?"
UCI student: "I don't like that sometimes it isn't clear what should be done or used in the recipe. When they give you ingredients that aren't readily available to you, and don't mention substitutes, I have to go to multiple stores to find them. One time I went to a few different stores looking for this one product only to find out that it isn't sold in my country."
​
​
USER SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE ABLE TO SEE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION OF RECIPE IN ORDER TO KEEP TRACK OF THEIR NUTRITION MORE ACCURATELY.
Many users who want to cook more do so because they believe that it is healthier to cook at home rather than to eat out. In order to aid these users with health goals, including the nutritional information of each recipe gives users better insight into exactly what they are nourishing themselves with.
​
INTERVIEW #222
Q: "Would you consider any recipe/cooking application to help you cook more?"
UCI student: "Yeah I think it would be good to be able to reach my nutrition goals. I want to have recipes that are easily accessible with nutrients and protein consumption to help myself keep track of my macros. Having a specific app for that would be cool."
​
USERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO CONVERT MEASUREMENTS IN ORDER TO ADJUST AND PERSONALIZE THEIR RECIPES FOR THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THEY'RE COOKING FOR.
A common pain point found among those interviewed was that following recipes was difficult when the amount of the ingredients had to be adjusted for the number of people they were cooking for. The system should automatically adjust the amounts of each ingredient in a recipe depending on the number of servings the user desires to make.
​
INTERVIEW #217
Q: "What do you like or don’t like about using recipes?"
A: "I don't like the long paragraphs before getting to the actual recipe. I also don't like that it does not let me convert the amounts of ingredients for the number of people that are eating. It would be helpful if they do have that option."