KENZØ Web Application

Case Study

Project Overview

Problem: Trying to live a healthy lifestyle today can be challenging. From busy work schedules to families to having a life in general, when is there time? So much research and planning goes into living healthily that it can get overwhelming and time-consuming, especially if there is no clear starting point or path to follow.

Solution: KENZØ - an AI-based website and app where users can take the stress out of planning a healthy lifestyle. Users can have an open conversation with MAIA to browse a recipe database, create a meal plan and a workout plan based on given criteria, and a grocery list that can be transferred seamlessly to the user’s preferred store or delivery system.

Impact: An AI-based platform that takes the stress and challenges out of users lives trying to live a healthier lifestyle.

Background: In the UT at Austin UX/UI Bootcamp, this was the final project we had to present before graduating. Our task was implementing AI into any website or app idea our group decided on.

My Role: Project Manager & UX/UI App Designer

Timeline: October 19, 2023-November 15, 2023

Competitor Analysis

Direct Competitors

CarbManager

Advantages

  • Assist in meal planning and recipes

  • Videos discussing health, nutrition, and exercise

  • Offers free and subscription-based options

Disadvantages

  • Focuses on the keto diet only

  • Options are limited if you do not have a subscription

NutriSystem

Advantages

  • Brand longevity and trust of customers

  • Brand recognition and sponsorships

  • Has an app (NuMi) that aids in tracking progress

Disadvantages

  • High pricing

  • Doesn’t allow input of substitutions

  • One size fits all approach to dieting

Indirect Competitors

MyFitnessPal

Disadvantages

  • Relies on user-generated content for its food database

  • Users may find the app's focus on calorie counting to be overly restrictive

Advantages

  • Onboarding accounts for activity level

  • Tracks weight, exercise, and water consumption

Noom

Advantages

  • Collects and analyzes user data to provide insights into their behaviors and habits

  • Offers highly personalized plans for each user

Disadvantages

  • Focuses on tracking and categorizing food but doesn't provide structured meal plans or recipes

  • Subscription-based; relatively expensive

Survey & User Interviews

Our team planned to interview users based on the survey data we received. We created a survey with 12 questions regarding users’ knowledge of health-based apps and AI, current health routines, and their comfort with AI-based platforms. We received 30 responses.

From those 30 responses, we interviewed 11 users with in-depth questioning regarding their current health routines, app and website knowledge, AI knowledge, and opinions on health-based platforms aiding diet and exercise. With the interviews, we determined any pain points or barriers that users face when using health and AI-based platforms.

Interview Plan

Most users we interviewed want to lose weight, do not follow strict diets but have either dieted or calorie counted before, and do not follow a routine in terms of exercise and diet but would be open to trying it if it was easier for them to accomplish.

Affinity Diagram

User Insights

“Keeping track of your meals and calories is helpful when you are working towards a specific goal.”

“I feel better when I eat healthy and workout, so that keeps me motivated.”

“I like to cook easy, non-complicated recipes, especially since I’m only cooking for 2 people.”

User Persona

From the interview data, a user persona was created. We debated creating two different personas, but we eventually decided on only one since the end goal for each persona would have been the same.

Meet Kara

  • 27

  • Data Analyst

  • Austin, TX

  • Was very an active athletic in school

  • Living on her own with her kitchen for the first time

Demographics

Kara is a 27-year-old recent college graduate learning to navigate the “real world.” She was active and healthy in high school and undergraduate because she played sports.
Since graduating from graduate school and transitioning to the “real world,” she has found it challenging to juggle work-life balance, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle has become complicated.
She wants to get back on track by finding healthy recipes that meet her dietary needs and preferences, having her meals and exercise routine planned out for her, and having her groceries sent to her preferred store so she can pick them up after a busy day at work.

Biography

  • She wants healthy recipes with a meal plan to implement them

  • She needs a fitness routine that she enjoys

  • She needs to order her groceries for pick-up because of her busy schedule

Goals & Needs

Pain Points

  • Feels overwhelmed researching healthy foods

  • Planning meals & grocery shopping take up too much time

  • Creating & sticking to a workout routine can be challenging without structure

What would Kara want?

Recipe database with recipes that meet her specific criteria of needs.

A chat feature with the AI to easily talk to if she needs anything.

A favorites button & page to easily access recipes & workouts she enjoyed.

“Add to Grocery List” button for easy transfer to pick-up her groceries.

Videos for workouts so she knows how to properly do them.

Feature Prioritization Matrix

Our team jotted down our ideas for website and app features separately. We then placed them on the Prioritization Matrix to decide which features we would focus on the most.

Value Proposition

KENZØ is a meal-and-workout-planning web application with a built-in virtual assistant, MAIA. KENZØ helps users solve the problem of planning and living a healthy lifestyle in this busy world.

We’re better because we allow users to easily create meal and workout plans through AI-generated assistance, a grocery list that transfers to their preferred grocery store, and digestible information for even the most beginner users.

We’re believable because our AI assistant has high-quality data, delivers content using retrieval augmented generation, and uses the most reliable generative tools.

Initial App Sketches

It's time to get my hands dirty! I drew up a few screens for the app design that I thought would be a good starting point for my partner and me to create mid-fi wireframes. Considering what Kara would need in the app design, I drew the homepage, the meal plan page, and the grocery page.

Mid-Fi Wireframes

Home

MAIA Chat

Workout Plan

Favorites

Grocery List

Recipes

Meal Plan

Mid-Fi Usability Testing

My partner and I tested 5 users on our mid-fi app design to get their opinions on the layout, name, features, functions, and any other feedback they had for us. Many of our users were very helpful in our testing, even leading us to change the name of our platform because of negative feedback.

Mid-Fi Testing Insights

Change the name and branding to make it less food-specific

Add a calendar to the homepage of app

Make favorites alphabetical order + add a search bar

Change the MAIA chat button. Users didn’t understand the “Ā”

Mid-Fi Iterations

Change Platform Name

Update MAIA Chat Button

Add a Search Bar + Alphabetize Favorites

Add a Calendar to Home

High-Fi Usability Testing

After iterating on the mid-fi design, it was time to test the high-fi design with our same users to get their feedback on the changes! The users had 3 tasks to complete while testing so we could determine whether or not they successfully tested. We also allowed the users to give additional feedback.

Usability Test Tasks

  1. Open a chat session with Maia and progress through a full chat flow.

  2. Open up Recipe Favorites and find Chia Seed Pudding.

  3. Complete the Self-Paced Workout version of the “Weights” workout.

High-Fi Testing Insights

Loved the name change & colors!

Add nutrition information to the recipe page.

Add a pause workout button for workouts with MAIA

Add a MAIA message that covers what she can help with

High-Fi Iterations

Add Nutrition Information to Recipe Page

Add a “Pause” Button on MAIA Workout

Add a MAIA Message

Final Prototype High-Fi App Mockups

Home

Meal Plan

Recipes

Workout Plan

Self-Paced Workout

MAIA Guided Workout

Grocery List

MAIA Chat

MAIA Reply

Main Favorites

Recipe Overview

Conclusion

KENZØ was the last project I completed in my UX Bootcamp. I enjoyed being the project manager for another project and helping my peers. Although there were a few hiccups with my group not finishing tasks in the time I assigned, I was able to talk to my team and help them complete the designs that they were not able to finish before presenting.

This project is one that I am very proud of, not only because it was my last project but because I believe it showcases how much I have grown as a designer and project manager throughout my time at the bootcamp. My team and I received amazing feedback when we presented our design, and I was able to answer all the questions that were asked by peers, guests, and teachers.