Case Study - Movie theater snack app

I wanted to understand how and when users order movie tickets. With a divers group of more than a dozen friends and family members I conducted interviews to learn about goals and pain-points, but also to see if there was appetite to order snacks through the app.

Based on the learnings from user interviews and with the help of empathy maps, I was able to identify two primary user groups.

• users who typically purchase items for their own;
• users who purchase items on someones behalf (e.g. parents, grand parents, nannies and others who accompany a minor)

While I was starting to think how to integrate snack purchases into an existing checkout process, an additional challenge arose. Findings from user interviews revelead not only the necessity of integrating snack purchases into movie ticket orders, but also a standalone solution for ordering snacks (without movie tickets). I wanted to outline a user flow and I needed an understanding of when and how moviegoers use the app.

With simplicity in mind I wanted to create a structured way for users to add snacks to their movie ticket orders. By adding a simple dropdown field with an integrated seearch function, I made sure that this task is as seamless as possible. Above all, I needed to make sure to not interrupt the existing checkout process.

A new user flow needed to be created for users who would perform a standalone snack order. A well structured menu cart split into categories provided an easy overview of all available products and prices.

After having a good understanding of the user flow and the skeleton of the app, I was able to confidently move into creating the first mockups & wireframes. I took the decision to opt for low-fidelity wireframes with only few details. What was important for my users, was that the product was clear and simple to use.

Taking the time to draft iterations of the landing page of the app on paper ensured that the elements that made it to digital wireframes would be well-suited to address user pain points. In the end I prioritized a quick and easy search function to help users save time.

With the use of variants in Figma and with learnings from usability study (see below), I was able to reduce the number of frames drastically.

Throughout a usability study, I've observed that participants were struggling with using the search and filter function, which meant that I needed to improve this area. Redesigning the search functionality allowed me to create a smarter way to display search results. Another observation was that participants were having difficulties to use the date and time selector to book a movie or to chedule pick-up time. Implementation of pre-defined pick-up times have helped users to complete the task.

Everyone has to start somewhere. For me it was all at once. While I started to dig into the UX Design program from Google, I learned all about the so called "Design Thinking" process. A great concept that has helped me understand the many steps and roles involved in UX Design. Though one thing I've learned is, that there is no right or wrong design process. It's all depending on the project, on the role and the team you're working with.