When conducting research, I found that drawing on my personal experience as a student who used a shared kitchen during my first year of university was particularly useful, as I experienced many of the pain points first hand. To gain a broader perspective, I also spoke to friends and family who had also experienced living with a shared kitchen. Additionally, I explored resources from university websites, which provide students with advice on what to expect when living in communal spaces, alongside basic shared kitchen etiquette. 

Design thinking workshop

Following the IBM design thinking workshop, I developed my main persona, Marta, a 24 year old mature student, living with first year students. Using techniques introduced during the workshop, I created a stakeholder map, empathy map, ‘as if’ scenarios and a need statement. These helped me establish a clear user pathway and identify the features that would best support Marta.

Features

After analysis Marta’s pain points, I began developing fearers that would support her day-to-day life. The home page includes a ‘Kitchen Status’ feature, providing a live update of who is currently using the kitchen. This allows Marta to check whether the kitchen is overcrowded before using it. The ‘Weekly Chores’ feature allows users to see whether they are up date with their shared kitchen responsibilities. 

Other features are more personalised to Marta’s individual needs, for example, the meal planning feature provides fresh ideas for her weekly meals while showing the ingredients required for her food shop. Once Marta selects her meal plan, any missing ingredients are automatically added to her shopping list. Supermarket prices are displayed alongside the ingredients, encouraging more cost effective choices. The final feature is a shared calendar which shows when the kitchen will be hosting an event, allowing Marta to plan ahead.