160 g ch diet

Users need for support in this complex diet

Executive Summary – Resarch phases
This research took place in two phases. Since the product is at a very early stage,
first I was interested in exploring opportunities in digital diet support products for
this special diet. I interviewed 7 adults with different backgrounds (new to diet, 10
years experience and in-between) on their needs, pain points, and how they use
digital products to support their diet. In the second phase, I narrowed the scope of
the research to one key finding: users needs for restaurant finder. In this phase, I
interviewed 5 more adults with different background. Surveys to reinforce findings
of the second phase are on-going.
Executive Summary – Key Findings
Key findings: Users want an all-in-one app, tailor-made for their special needs, including diet
related info, recipes, diet diary option, carb amount and Glycemic Index (GI) tables, carb
calculator and restaurant finder.

Second phase examined Restaurant Finder to narrow scope. It discovered that users want to
search for restaurant name, according to food type, and for nearby restaurants.

Recommendations: Build complex app for people on 160 g ch diet, with the folowing features:
diet related information, recipes, diet diary, carb amount and GI databases, carb calculator and
restaurant finder.

Restaurant finder further elaborated in second phase: It should have following search options:
location (map), restaurant name, restaurant type. It should enable easily searchable user reviews.
What did we want to learn?
I wanted to explore the users’ experiences with existing digital tools aiming to
support diet (diabetes specific, general diet apps and general digital tools). The
goal was to determine what opportunities may exist for creating a new 160 g ch
diet specific digital diet support product.

Key Research Questions

● [Needs] What is essential for people on 160 g ch diet?

● [Behaviors] How do do affected people currently use digital products?

Participants
I recruited participants from my friends and 160 g ch diet specific Facebook
groups (IR, GDM)
Diet lenght Current product used Most needed
Participant 1 Few monthes FB group, online search for info, Diet friendly restaurant finder and product recommendations,
Kalóriabázis, Everything in one app (all-in-one app), correct info and
database, which also calculates
Participant 2 7 years Online search ch value, google docs for Everything in one app (all-in-one app)
diary, QR search
Participant 3 Restart 6 y, 2 FB group, DiabTrend, Kalóriabázis Correct database, also with GI, ch calculator, restaurant
months finder, all-in-one app

Participant 4 10 years FB app, Excel, recipes Meal plans with shopping list, recipes regularly arriving, data
visualization from diary to motivate (also to write diary)

Participant 5 1,5 year FB group, Kalóriaguru, blog (for recipes) Simple to use online calculator (not calculates what it
shouldn’t), restaurant finder
Participant 6 3-4months FB group, Kalóriabázis, QR scanner Good database with correct info (editable but moderatd), to
have diary, visualise data, all-in-one app
Participant 7 6 weeks FB group, Kalóriabázis, Kalóriaguru GI (colour code) restaurant finder, reminder blood sugar
measurement,
Main goals of users in online diet support:
1. Correct information (mainly online search, Facebook group, professional help –
none is comprehensive, often contradictory)
2. Correct data base with Glicemic Index
3. Diet diary for this specific diet, possible to note before-after sugar levels,
enable to visualise and export data, and calculate ch automatically
4. Restaurant finder (diet friendly restaurants, shops (with highlighted diet friendly
food), cafeterias, ice cream/sugar shops
Recommendation #1
● User problem #1 and #2 (info and data base) require special medical/dietetician
training, and quite correct (although not perfect) sources exist (FB group).

● Data base with ch values and GI – might trigger regulated profession/copyright

issues

● Diet diary (comprehensive as expected, which calculates, editable but

moderated – regulated profession issue) but more simple diet diary with
costumizable meal number, blood sugar noting option, data visualization (sugar
level during the day) is possible – competition exist, although not perfect

● Restaurant finder – doesn’t exist, there is a great demand!

Key finding #1
● Our new product should focus on a restaurant finder – potentially map and data
base - where users can search restaurants and share info and experiences
about diet friendly restaurants/meals they found

● Additional information about diet, recipes, data bases only in case of

professional accepted by regulation (dietetician, diabetologist) involved

● „An application with really trustworthy information, which also makes everything
available for this special diet would save a lot of work for me”

● „Recipes are really useful in giving me ideas what to cook, especially if they
come with a shopping list”
Key finding #2
● Really good online diary option with data visualization motivates people to write
the diary (which tendency decreases with time) and to keep diet

● Data visualization could help to highlight potential problems in diet

● „Visualisation would highlight if there is a problem with my diet.”

● „Visualisation motivates me, especially if it congratulates me if I do well, like in

Kalóriabázis”
Next Steps
● Run new interview round about restaurant finder to narrow scope

● Validate results with survey

● Run a design sprint for brainstorming

Restaurant finder
Research Questions
Keeping in mind the whole application would involve a too broad focus, in my
research, I will focus on the restaurant finder, since it is quite separate from the
others, no alternative exists and there is a high demand.

Key Research Questions

● How can digital products best support people to find diet friendly restaurants?
● Which features/functions are useful?
Participants
Age and family status Job status Regularity of eating
out

Participant 1 34, married with one kid Lawyer, works from More than once a week
home

Participant 2 30, single Lawyer, full time job Every day

Participant 3 38 married with 2 kids Administration, full time Every day

job

Participant 4 28, in a relationship Does not work now More than once a week
(pregnant, before full
time job)
Participant 5 43, married with 2 kids Self-employed Rarely
Key finding #1
People on low carb diet try to check online in which restaurant theycan eat, and
they like to share experiences related
Recommendation #1
Key finding #2
Key finding #…
Add more slides for your additional findings.

You can have as many findings as you want. If some findings are smaller, you
don’t need to discuss them at length or add quotes; you can combine small
findings into a single slide.
Next Steps
● ● Validate results with survey

● Run a design sprint for brainstorming

Appendix (affinity diagram of original
study)
Appendix (affinity diagram of restaurant
finder)