Analysis
User Analysis
This system will be created specifically for the students of Wellesley
College to be used on the go between classes and meetings throughout the
day. This user group is comprised of predominantly female college students
generally between the ages of 18-22, with experience using mobile applications. Wellesley students often have busy schedules, with meetings, class, and work
consuming most of their day. They receive numerous emails and messages throughout the day to keep up with. The distances between buildings afford Wellesley students
a long commute between their obligations and make it more difficult for
them to make plans or check messages unless they are able to do so easily
while on the go.
Interview Summaries.
Student One | This student prioritizes socializing and convenience
when choosing dining hall locations. While she expressed interest in eating
at dining halls with more appealing food options, this was less important to
her than the convenience of a nearby location and friends locations during
mealtimes. This student chooses not to eat breakfasts in the dining halls due
to prioritizing sleep, but will go to the nearest dining location on the weekends
to eat breakfast with friends. Their friends determine the dining hall at which
they all eat lunch as a group each day, usually the same location. This location
(Stone-Davis) is the most central to everyone’s classes at this time of day and
has generally appealing food options to all members of this group of friends.
Some days, this student leaves campus for an internship and is not able to eat
in any of the dining halls for lunch. When asked about bagged lunch offerings
she determined that these locations were too far out of the way. This student
chooses to eat dinner every night in Lulu, also with the same group of friends.
She says that Lulu is the closest and most palatable option to her dorm, and
has the largest consensus among her friends as a dinner location. Her top
priorities when choosing a dining hall are (in order): location/convenience,
opportunities for socialization, and food options that include protein (not
solely vegetarian offerings). The only times she selects a dining hall only
based on food offerings is when meeting a friend for a special “lunch date”,
but not on the average day. She does not eat in any dining halls based on events,
unless it is convenient. This student looks for information on dining halls via
Wellesley Fresh’s website and twitter. While she likes being able to see the
menus and hours, she dislikes the mobile app and its lack of the daily menu for
each dining hall. She contacts her friends daily on GroupMe to determine where
they are going to eat for each meal.
Student Two | This student is a hybrid of both the “Hungry Hippo” type
and the “Sullen Senior.” (“Sullen Hippo”). Socialization does not come into
play at all when choosing a dining hall. During the interview, the subject said
that making arrangements to eat with friends is a special event where eating is
not the primary goal. (E.g. willing to go to a dining hall for something other
than food/proximity to eat a meal with someone whom the subject has not seen in
a long time but not willing to do the same for someone the subject sees with
any regularity.) The subject lives in Bates, and typically stays close to either
Bates dining hall or Stone-D because of convenience and proximity. (The subject
has also lived in Bates for several years.) The subject is not willing to eat in
Pomeroy and rarely eats in Tower. The subject is largely motivated by food. She
is willing to leave her dorm’s dining hall to go to another for breakfast--if
that breakfast serves good pancakes. She always attends dining hall events
whenever possible. Checking the Wellesley Fresh menu is an important part of her
morning routine. Food is a very important part of her dining hall selection. The
only meal that proved to be an exception to the “Sullen Hippo” mentality was
lunch. Lunch was all about proximity and crowdedness and under no circumstances
was the subject willing to eat lunch in the Lulu.
Student Three | This student is a mix of the Sullen Senior and the Busy
Bee. When they get food (a non-breakfast meal during the weekday) they often go
because of convenience of location (they live in Tower, and when there are no
other options they are the Busy Bee (Lulu is the only dining hall open late at
night near the KSC). They aren’t quite the Hungry Hippo because they don’t check
the menu very often to go out of their way to find their favourite food on the
daily menu, but has some Hungry Hippo tendencies in that they avoid Pom because
it doesn’t have meat. The subject is a Social Butterfly “3 times a week” for
lunch, since this is the meal where they can choose a dining hall (they don’t eat
breakfast and dinners there are no other option), but the dining hall selection
for lunch is normally limited to Tower or Lulu - normally based off of convenience
for friends. (West Side.)
Student Four | The subject is predominantly a Sullen Senior. They already
have preferences (or just one preference) to Lulu to the point that they go from
East Side/Science Centre back to Lulu, a significant stretch of Wellesley’s campus.
The subject is not only a Sullen Senior based off of food; they also prefer the
space (where it’s not “suffocating like Pom”) and allows them to eat by themselves
in peace. The subject has Hungry Hippo tendencies: they check the menu once a day
to see if Pom has pesto and will go out of their way to not eat at Lulu to do so.
The subject is also a Social Butterfly for lunch, but even then still prefers Lulu.
Student Five | This subject is predominantly the Busy Bee and the One with the Dietary Restrictions. She prioritizes convenience for both her current location and her dorm (she lives in Stone-D), which is especially evident since she doesn’t check the menu for every meal and instead goes to a dining hall, and then goes to check for any peanut products in the vicinity. In the case that she sees peanuts on the menu, she avoids the dining hall, and if she doesn’t check beforehand she relocates herself to a different dining hall to avoid peanut products. She also has tendencies of the Sullen Student, in that she has preferences to certain dining hall’s meal offerings.
User Personas.
The Social Butterfly | The social butterfly is a student that never chooses
to dine alone. In constant contact with their group of friends, they make daily plans
to meet in various dining halls and socialize during meal times. The social butterfly
views mealtimes as a gathering place, to destress from the rest of their day and
spend time with their many friends.
The Explorer | The explorer loves attending all of the food events hosted in
the dining halls throughout the semester. They look forward to bread and cheese night
and never miss a "peanut butter Wednesday" in Lulu. One of the explorer's goals of the
100 things to do before you graduate is to eat in every dining hall in one day.
The Busy Bee | The busy bee has class from 8:30-12:20 every morning and from
1:30-4:00 every afternoon. Lab meetings and lectures often take the place of regular
lunch and dinner hours, forcing the busy bee to grab food quickly and efficiently
throughout the day. They will often stop by the closest dining hall for a quick bite
while running to their next engagement, if they have time at all.
The Sullen Student | The sullen student has an established preference of
dining halls. They eat in the same location for each meal every day, regardless of
the changing menus. Set in their ways, the sullen student doesn't worry about
their friends plans for each meal. They may occasionally check the Wellesley Fresh
menus, but this does not change their routine dining location.
The Hungry Hippo | The hungry hippo is a foodie, who will travel anywhere on
campus to find the macaroni and cheese they have been craving all week. The variety
of having 5 different dining halls is a huge advantage to them, and they will check
the Wellesley Fresh menus daily to plan where they will eat for breakfast, lunch,
and dinner.
The One with Dietary Restrictions | This student is limited in their choice
of dining hall by their dietary restrictions. They tend to have a favorite dining hall
which caters to their allergy or restriction exclusively, and will occasionally
eat in other dining halls if they are offering a menu that is either free of any allergy
concerns or has options suited to their tastes, depending on the severity of these
restrictions.
