COOKING BUDDY
An ADHD-friendly application to help users cook and clean in the kitchen
Cooking Buddy aims to address the challenges faced by individuals with ADHD (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) in kitchen environments by creating a user-friendly and accommodating kitchen design. The focus was on improving the user experience for neurodivergent individuals and promoting accessibility, sensory considerations, organization, and focus within the kitchen space.
Team Members:
Sanika Gadam, Nooha Mohammed,
Tori Beerbow
Duration
10 weeks
My role
Product Designer
Problem Space/Background
People with ADHD, face challenges in the kitchen such as distractions from a disorganized environment and the tendency to forget important items. A perfectly clean home may seem a perfect solution, however it may be unrealistic for everyone and may even make the one of the problems, under-stimulation, even worse. Re-conceptualizing kitchen spaces could allow people with ADHD to design their kitchens to cater to their own needs, or for other people who create or share them to ensure they are providing accommodations.
Challenges in maintaining a kitchen can result in food waste, social shame and embarrassment, and over time some resultant comorbid mental issues. A study from the Depression And Anxiety medical journal in 2010 found a strong association with adhd and hoarding behaviors, with 41.9% of participants with adhd exhibiting hoarding behaviors. (Sheppard, 2010). Even without going to the extreme of a hoarding problem, ADHD symptoms can result in extreme difficulties with maintaining a comfortable or even safe space to be in. These symptoms mean having a living space set up the typical way may not account for limitations to executive function, and new systems need to be put in place. Accounting for these will allow people with ADHD and others to manage a kitchen space with more ease.
How can kitchen spaces be redesigned to effectively accommodate the unique, sensory, and organizational focus needs of individuals with ADHD?
To begin this project, we identified our stakeholders so we could cater the app to people affected.
Stakeholders
Research
Ideation
Prototype
Evaluation
My Design Process:
To design “Cooking Buddy”, we conducted extensive research on the symptoms of ADHD and how those interfere when using the kitchen. To find objective facts about symptoms we researched through the use of articles and to get unique experiences and hone in on the kitchen, we conducted interviews with students, researchers, and professors. Our questions revolved around points of intervention, patterns in behavior and how “Cooking Buddy” can fill a gap in current kitchen design practices.
Key Takeaways:
ADHD makes it difficult to maintain an organized environment due to a tendency to forget tasks
Many people struggle with the concept of "Object permanence" because they tend to forget about an item or task if it is not visually in front of them
Disorganized kitchen spaces can result in food waste, social shame, and embarrassment which can lead to other mental health issues
Many ADHD users tend to avoid the kitchen all together when tasks begin to accumulate
There is a common fear that once an individual starts a task in the kitchen, it can lead to a spiral of hyper focus in the kitchen, that they attempt to avoid
Some individuals with ADHD feel more productive when they are multi-taking, so they rely on some sort of external stimulus, like television.
Persona
Creating this user persona was a key step in our design process. By doing this, we were able to identify pain points and obstacles that users face when trying to cook and clean in the kitchen. From here, it became much easier to brainstorm features for the app.
Toby
Age: 21
Work: Student
Location: Seattle, CA
Studying: Disability studies
ADHD-affected
About:
Toby is a college student with ADHD and mentioned that it is difficult for him to find time to cook in the kitchen. He usually falls into “spirals” when cleaning dishes which leads him to deep clean frequently. He mentioned that it is easier for him to listen to music/ watch TV while cleaning because he is better at multi-tasking.
Frustrations:
Personality:
Strong
Impulsive
Organized
Proactive
Goals:
Toby’s main concern is how his lack of object permanence affects his ability to cook and clean. He usually forgets when he buys food and then it tends to spoil. As of now he started writing it down in his phone, but even that gets lost with his other files. He wants to be able to cook in the kitchen in a way where he can still support his ADHD tendencies while being productive.
Preferred Applications:
He does not use the dishwasher and instead manually cleans his dishes because if they sit in the dishwasher they will never get sorted. He says he has poor object permanence which is why that happens. He finds a hard time setting aside time to use the kitchen.
Key Takeaways:
The kitchen becomes a space to avoid because there many tasks and it becomes difficult to begin them
There is a fear that beginning a task in the kitchen will lead to a spiral or period of hyper focus in the kitchen, that they attempt to avoid.
Visual reminders are helpful
Having external stimulus while doing tasks is important
Points of Intervention
I found points of intervention based on common ADHD struggles to see where we can implement features and avoid these problems.
Object Impermanence
Consistent visual cues to remind the user so that they do not forget
Hyperactivity
Control the environment so there are no external distractions
Impulsivity
Make sure the environment is clean and organized
Sensory Issues
Have an option for users to play music through the app for external stimulus
Solutions Approach
Cooking buddy is an interactive app designed for neurodivergent individuals (such as those with ADHD). After research and in-depth interviews, we designed an app that intends to alleviate the stress ADHD individuals encounter when using the kitchen. It does this by guiding the user through a meal plan, providing recipes for meals with the ingredients in the user's household, offering a compost option, and more.
Competitive Analysis:
We conducted four literary analyses of existing cleaning, cooking, organizational, and ADHD applications. By analyzing these applications, we were able to identify gaps and areas where our project can improve upon existing solutions. I also gained insight into successful strategies and tactics that I could incorporate into our solution to better serve our target audience.
We categorized different applications into “Engaging”, “Effective”, “Simple”, and “Intuitive” because that is what we want our UI to encompass.
Research
Ideation
Key Takeaways:
Used big fonts and bright colors
Appealed to the user
Cluttered UI is hard for ADHD-users to follow along
Prototyping
Wire framing and Prototyping
“Today’s Fresh Recipe”
Suggests recipes based on the what ingredients the user currently has.
“Cook or Compost”
Gives recipes based on the ingredients the user has. Tells user how many times the user has composted the ingredient in the last month. The goal is to remind the user of all the ingredients they currently have.
“Shopping History”
Tells the user every grocery purchase they have made.
Evaluation
Test Subjects
Our testing pool consists of 5 individuals, 3 with ADHD and 2 without. This allowed us to see how helpful the app is for people with ADHD, as well if it is helpful for those without. We prioritized gender and racial inclusion in an attempt to find a broader representative group, and our current potential subjects have a near-even male female split and include racial diversity. These individuals came from our own social circles, creating a personal incentive for the subjects to complete the tests and provide in-depth evaluations.
Cognitive Evaluation
To start off, we asked the individual to run through the figma wireframe prototype app and interact with all the features. We asked them to voice their thoughts on the app as they were going through it. By doing this, we ensure reliability because they are saying it real-time and have freedom to express what they do and do not understand. There is no time to forget their thoughts which also makes this an adhd-friendly form of testing. This was their first encounter with the app so they can experience it as a new user. We recorded everything so that we can rewind when we are analyzing our data, taking notes on what the user says, and also paying close attention to any changes in facial expressions that may further reveal the user’s opinions.
Semi-structured Interviews
After this cognitive testing, we followed up with a semi structured interview. This followed prepared questions, but the interviewee has discretion to propose new questions if something arises in the interview. An interview was conducted regarding the usability, functionality and overall experience of the app. Interviews helped us to get a subjective understanding of each persons’ experience including negatives and positives. With enough data from enough people, we can categorize feedback to see what the most prominent feedback is and fix it. In this interview we asked broader questions on their experience with the app and if the general functions seem helpful, whereas in the observation stage we looked for specific impressions on specific features.
Interview Questions
1)How likely would you be to use this app in your daily life?
2)Would this product make your kitchen experience easier?
3)Which function did you find most useful, and which least useful?
4)Are any designs too distracting?
5)What design features would you customize, if you had the chance?
6)Were there any points where you desired to abandon the app?
7)For subjects with ADHD: Do you believe this app addresses adhd symptoms or challenges you struggle with in the kitchen space?
Data
Task Completion Metrics: We tracked the number of unsuccessful task completions of tasks like searching for a recipe, customizing their diet preferences, and looking through the compost or cook page, within the app. This data can highlight usability issues or areas where users may encounter difficulties using the app.
Video or Audio Recordings: We recorded testing sessions to capture user interactions and their verbal comments or feedback.
Usability Testing Analysis: Analyze qualitative feedback from users during usability testing sessions to identify pain points, areas of confusion, and suggestions for improvement. This analysis helped us uncover usability issues and inform design iterations to enhance the app's user experience.
Interview Responses: We took note of repetitive notes or opinions we receive for each interview question to see if there are any overwhelmingly agreed upon opinions or changes to be made.
Key Takeaways:
Reminders/ notifications would be helpful
Use less words/ be more concise to avoid distractions
Add more color contrasts/visuals to keep audience engaged
Add page to listen to music as external stimulus
Revisions
We revised our prototype to have less words and be more concise to prevent users from losing interest. We also made sure to incorporate contrasting colors to help with engagement. Lastly, we included a page to connect the app to Spotify/Apple Music for users that rely on external stimulus.
Throughout this project, we gained a deeper understanding of how user research and testing works. The more user research and interviewing we did, the more we were able to understand their pain points and needs which helped us come up with design features.
Throughout the project, we had to change our project plan a couple of times. The more interviews and user research we conducted, the more we realized how specific and catered our app has to be. Because people with ADHD require unique accommodations, it was important we found the perfect medium for our app. It is not too distracting however it is also not under-stimulating, resulting in users getting bored and exiting out of the app. This process taught me how important it is to be flexible during the design process.
For future iterations, I would conduct more user testing to gather more feedback and make sure our application has the highest potential it could reach. It was really rewarding working with a team because I gained a lot of perspective that helped me expand my thought process to achieve a more enhanced product.
Reflection
Copyright @ Sanika Gadam
gadamsan@uw.edu
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Today’s Fresh Recipe
Breakfast
Fruit Smoothie Bowl
0 New ingredients needed!
15 min
Dinner
Honey Garlic Chicken and Vegetables
2 New ingredients needed!
45 min
Lunch
Veggie bowl
0 New ingredients needed!
15 min
Dinner
Chicken Burger
4 New ingredients needed!
30 min
Lunch
Chicken Veggie Bowl
0 New ingredients needed!
30 min
Dinner
Greek Chicken Bowl
3 New ingredients needed!
1 hr
Breakfast
Toast with Berries
10:03
Dinner
Chicken Burger
20:03
02:30
Search Recipe
Cook or compost
Cucumber
You have composted this item 5x in the past 3 months
Recipes with cucumber
Onion
You have composted this item 2x in the past 3 months
Recipes with Onion
Zucchini
You have composted this item 2x in the past 3 months
Recipes with zucchini
Tomatoes
You have composted this item 5x in the past 3 months
Recipes with tomato
Mushroom
You have composted this item 4x in the past 3 months
Recipes with Mushrooms
Greek Yogurt
You have composted this item 5x in the past 3 months
Recipes with Greek Yogurt
Cucumber
You have composted this item 5x in the past 3 months
Recipes with cucumber
Cucumber
You have composted this item 5x in the past 3 months
Recipes with cucumber
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Directions
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut.
Veggie Bowl
120 Calories
25 mins
1 Serving
02:30
April
Past 7 months
July
10
9
May
June
4
5
March
6
0
7
Jan
Feb
Longest Streak
20 Days
30
Total Hours
41
Meals made
Henry Smith
Name
Water Saved
100 Gallons
Good work! Cooking the items that would normally go bad cuts down on water used to process food waste!
Food Saved
75 lbs
Keep it up! Cooking the items that would normally go bad cuts down on food waste! Saving food waste is good for your budget and the planet.
CO2 Saved
92 lbs
Good work! Cooking the items that would normally go bad cuts down on CO2 released from the food waste processing process
Welcome, Henry
What would you like
to cook today?
Breakfast
Fruit Smoothie Bowl
0 New ingredients needed!
10:03
Dinner
Honey Garlic Chicken and Vegetables
2 New ingredients needed!
20:03
Today’s Fresh Recipe
See All
Greek Chicken Bowl
Wash veggies
Soak grains
Cut and prep veggies
Mix marinade ingredients together and place in chicken
Let marinate for up to 8 hours
Tomorrow’s Dinner
0 New ingredients needed
1 Hour
Veggie Bowl
Wash veggies
Soak grains
Cut and prep veggies
Ready for cooking tomorrow
15 Minutes
Tomorrow’s Lunch
0 New ingredients needed
Today’s Meal Prep
Cucumber
Onion
Time to cook or compost!
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