Budget optimisation through conscious kitchen inventory management
Overview
High inflation and the spectre of an energy crisis make people more focused than in previous years on savings and financial optimisation. In addition, the fast pace of life and information overload make it difficult to make conscious decisions. Our project aims to support users in managing their household finances.
My Role
I worked with Justyna Kawałko, Weronika Zawadzka, Dominika Śpiewak, and Oliwia Charhouli — four talented UX designers. Working both synchronously and asynchronously, we went through a full design and research process.
Desk Research_v.1
We started our project with a literature review and analysis of available reports. We studied materials on financial management, savings, shopping habits, and conscious consumption.
The gathered data shows that the majority of Poles assess their financial situation as uncomfortable, and a third fear it could get worse. Nearly half of the respondents declare choosing cheaper products, and four out of ten people give up pleasures and expenses that are not essential.
More than half of Poles have savings, but as many as 47% of respondents have no financial cushion at all. Those who cannot save most often point to high inflation (42%) and earnings too low relative to expenses (40%) as the main reasons.
Interviews_v.1
We interviewed 8 people. Our aim was to learn about the following areas:
- Spending planning — how often they do it, how they do it, what tools they use
- Emotions, feelings, thoughts, and issues related to spending planning
- Saving — methods and tools
- Conscious consumption — how they understand it and what they do about it
- Knowledge of and involvement in various types of social initiatives
Insights from the interviews
They spend the most on rent and food
Saving is associated with lower quality products
Budgeting is boring
They see room for savings in the area of food consumption
They often eat at restaurants and/or order food due to lack of time or desire
Conscious consumption is associated with not buying hastily
They declare that they would like to live in a more ecological way
After collecting data, we felt that some of the questions remained unanswered. We decided to narrow down the research area and re-examine our discovery stage.
Desk Research_v.2
We decided to focus on food management and shopping habits, as it was one of the main themes that emerged from our earlier insights.
According to the Food Rationalisation and Reduction Programme, we waste 5 million tonnes of food a year. This means that as much as 92 kg of food ends up in the bins every second. Bread, meat, and fruit are most often thrown away.
Main reasons for food waste
- Forgetting about products — 58%
- Preparing too large portions — 28%
- Buying too much food — 23%
Interviews_v.2
We interviewed 10 people aged 26–45. We focused on the following areas:
- Meal planning methods and cooking regularity
- Shopping planning methods and frequency
- Shopping behaviour (spontaneous vs. planned)
- Food waste
- Managing food supplies at home
Insights from the interviews
Throwing away food is a very unpleasant experience
Most people believe that shopping lists would help them organise their food and reduce expenses
Shopping without a shopping list often ends in unnecessary expenses and greater losses
Most of the respondents do not check what they have in their home pantry before going to the store
Often they do not know what to cook, or they cook monotonously, which they do not like
They go to the store a couple of times a week and sometimes they buy unnecessary products
They would like to spend less time on planning and shopping
Persona
Based on the gathered data, we created hypothetical personas that became the reference point for further design work.
Competitive Audit
After better understanding potential users, we moved on to analysing the competition — both direct and indirect — to see how it addresses the needs we identified.
Value Proposition Canvas
With a clearly defined user vision and an overview of the existing competition, we defined the value we wanted to deliver to users.
Elevator Pitch
We decided to create a product for people who try to cook but don't do it regularly, and sometimes end up throwing food away — which often makes them feel uncomfortable.
Our solution will help users select food products in a way that allows them to be fully used to prepare various meals. As a result, users buy and store at home a set of ingredients from which they can cook as much as possible — without wasting food. The application supports rational food management, prevents waste, and helps minimise unnecessary expenses.
User-Story Map
We mapped out the interactions that users go through to achieve their goals within our product.
Solutions Audit
Before moving into design, we analysed well-known digital solutions. We drew inspiration from various sources and design patterns to better understand possible directions.
Design Studio
During the design workshop, we iterated and refined our solutions multiple times. In the process, we also created a system of points and rewards to support user engagement and product adoption.
Points earned for various activities can be exchanged for discounts in the OK Poznan application
Each meal with the seasonal vegetable of the month will be rewarded with a badge
You'll get a badge for using a product that's about to expire
We reward you for using the app regularly
Wireframes
Based on the developed solutions, we created wireframes and a simple information architecture. This allowed us to prototype the main user flows and begin testing.
Usability Study_v.1
We examined 6 participants via remote, semi-structured studies. Prepared tasks were made to unfold the experience of proposed solutions.
Example research tasks
- "Few of yours products can be added to your virtual pantry. Add 4 apples, 2 onions and 1/4 tomatoes sauce to your virtual pantry"
- "You have a plan for what you will eat, but you don't want to buy everything at once. Make a list of what is needed just for today's (Monday) meal"
- "You are home, packed and ready to cook. Open today's recipe and cook it with your new app"
We found 8 concerning errors, which we fixed and tested in another iteration:
- Critical errors: 2
- Significant errors: 3
- Small errors: 2
Barcode scanning
Users noticed that there was no preview of the shopping list; instead of streamlining the shopping process, it was extended (the user had to go back to the list screen and enter the scanning functionality again each time).
We added a preview of the shopping list on the bottom sheet, which allowed users to check the list easily.
Finishing cooking with the recipe
Users could not update the system about the state of the dish without using the easy cooking mode.
We added a button that allowed users to finish cooking even on the overview of the recipe screen (the button appears if a recipe is planned).
Menu planning
The process of planning required going through two screens. The slider component used for daypicking was illegible for the users.
We changed the flow of the recipe planner; we shortened possible actions and displayed a calendar on the main page.
Adding to the pantry
While in the pantry, participants had problems adding new products; they couldn't find functionality to add new products.
We have changed the components we were using for adding products. By using FAB, we have made the action of adding new products visible and always near the thumb.
Navigation on the cooking mode
Not all users knew how to go from one step to the next (SWIPE). Moreover, users felt overwhelmed by the number of possible actions in the simplified cooking mode.
We have added a button that allows users to move between screens. In order to simplify the process, we decided to resign from additional actions and change the operation of the timer.
Meal summary
Users noticed that they had to do more actions than they would like to use the application in a happy-path manner. One of the places that was overwhelming for users was the summary screen.
We simplified the summary screen view by removing proposed actions and placing them inside notifications.
Usability Study_v.2
We examined 6 participants via a remote, semi-structured study. We found 4 concerning errors:
- Critical errors: 1
- Small errors: 3 (naming corrections)
Generating a menu
Users didn't know the difference between an automatic and manual dish planner. Additionally, the manual process was assessed as time-consuming and unintuitive.
We have decided to throw away the manual dish planner; the choice between options was unclear and in some way unnecessary; the automatic way of planning had everything and was way faster.
Release
After many iterations, fixes, and polishing of details, we brought the "Słoik" project to its final version.
Maintenance / Development
At this stage, we would move into a continuous process of product optimisation. We would analyse how users interact with the application and identify problems they encounter. At the same time, we would develop functionalities that fell outside the MVP scope.
We would expand the statistics area to show the relationship between conscious food management and saving money even more clearly.
Additionally, we would develop the shared shopping list feature, particularly useful for people living with others.
In the context of our application, integrations with popular retail chains would also be valuable — enabling access to best prices, promotions, and e-receipts — as potential directions for further development.