Cook for Your Life

As part of my Senior Capstone Project, I undertook a holistic redesign of Cook for Your Life's online digital meal planner. The objective was to enhance the user experience and facilitate the planning and preparation of healthy meals for cancer survivors.

At the University of Washington's School of Human-Centered Design and Engineering, I participated in a team Capstone project with Cook for Your Life, an organization focused on enhancing the health of cancer patients through nutrition. The project involved redesigning their Digital Meal Planner. This review will delve into the Design and Research techniques employed throughout the project, including Literature Reviews, Competitive Analysis, User Surveys, User Interviews, and Hi-Fidelity Prototyping.

Before addressing the design aspects, our team conducted a comprehensive literature review on cancer, cancer nutrition, and meal planning to understand the field sensitively. This review informed our survey and interview questions, as well as project goals. It also highlighted successful meal planners and their user engagement strategies.

Building on the literature review, we analyzed existing digital meal planners, emphasizing strengths like customizability and integrated organization, while identifying weaknesses such as pricing and limited meal options. This analysis guided our approach to developing an improved Digital Meal Planner.

With our secondary research complete, we aimed to deepen our understanding of our user group through surveys. Crafting a Google Survey with 15 questions, we reached out to a network of cancer survivors and patients courtesy of Fred Hutchinson's network. Our survey sought to uncover the pain points in cancer nutrition and meal planning, as well as the priorities of our user group.

The results revealed diverse meal planning strategies within our user group, with satisfaction rates exceeding 50%. Crucial factors in meal planning included improving nutrition, making healthier choices, and eating high-quality foods. Challenges centered around knowledge gaps, skill barriers, and time constraints.

Seeking a more nuanced understanding, we conducted hour-long, semi-structured interviews with five participants from our survey-takers. These interviews delved into the participants' current diet planning methods, tools used, satisfaction levels, desired changes, and perceptions of a digital meal planner.

Participants revealed unique experiences with food and cancer treatment. Accessibility of nutritional information emerged as a key factor in a meal planner, with a desire to understand the specific impact of recommended foods on their bodies. Flexibility within plans was emphasized, accommodating diverse preferences for planning or finding healthy meals on the spot.

Looking back, I have identified areas for improvement in the design process. A live walkthrough with participants would have provided more in-depth insights. Due to time constraints, we focused on a desktop prototype, but designing a mobile application could enhance accessibility. Additionally, involving current cancer patients in interviews and expanding perspectives would have been beneficial.

Participating in the Capstone project was a rewarding experience, applying user-centered design concepts in a real-world setting. Engaging with cancer survivors highlighted the importance of Human-Centered Design, with designers and researchers serving as the voice of users to create impactful products in the real world.