Coocomba
case study
In collaboration with
Non-governmental organisation E-Publika
My role
UX designer leading the process. Responsible for design from conception to delivery.
Conducted interviews, worked on paper and digital wireframes, low and high-fidelity prototypes. Conducted usability studies, did iterations on designs, and worked on responsive design.
The product
Coocomba is online software that helps small businesses and individuals from farmers' markets sell fruits and vegetables during the pandemic lockdown.
The problem
With COVID-19 hitting the world, more and more businesses are going down. Small businesses and individuals selling their products on farmers' markets in Pirot (Serbia) didn't have a way to sell them online during the lockdown. They threw out the food very often because it went bad fast.
They created a group on Facebook and started selling fruits, vegetables, and dairy products online.
People from E-publika wanted to create software for that purpose and help small businesses keep their jobs.
The goal
Design software that will help small business owners and individuals on farmers' markets sell their food during the pandemic.
User research
I interviewed both sellers and buyers. I wanted to determine sellers’ difficulties during the pandemic and whether people would buy fruits and vegetables online.
Most sellers reported that their business was rapidly going down and their products were going bad.
Buyers reported that they prefer food from farmers' markets, but farmers' markets are closed because of the pandemic.
Buyers are forced to buy vegetables in supermarkets.
Insight
The feedback received through research showed that people were willing to sell and buy fruits and vegetables online if they had a way to do it.
Competitive audit
Our only competitors are small, local shops that sell organic food.
Local shops sell better quality fruits and vegetables than can be found in supermarkets. Coocomba and local shops have the same customers, and they offer similar products, so they are our direct competitors.
Pirot still doesn't have a delivery service, and local shops don't offer delivery service.
User persona
Problem statement:
Alex is a small business owner who needs a way to sell fruits and vegetables online because they go bad as farmers' markets are closed during the lockdown.
Problem statement:
Jane is a divorced lawyer who needs a way to buy fruits and vegetables from farmers' markets during the pandemic lockdown because she wants to keep her healthy habits.
Ideation
I did a quick ideation exercise to develop ideas for how to address gaps identified in the competitive audit, and layout the app.
Wireframes and prototypes
After creating paper and digital wireframes, I created prototypes to prepare for usability testing.
The prototype was focused on posting an offer feature on the mobile app.
You can try the prototype here.
Usability study
I conducted moderated usability study with 5 participants.
These were the main findings uncovered by the usability study:
- Repeated offers: Sellers wanted an option to save repeated offers and be able to reuse them.
- People reported that it would be good to have a way to add offers to categories (e.g., Fruits, Vegetables, Dairy, etc.)
- People wanted an insight into analytics (how many orders they had and how much are their total earnings)
Refining the design
Based on the insights from the usability studies, I applied design changes like providing an option for repeated orders.
I started working on implementing analytics.
Branding
Finals
The designs for screen size variation included mobile, tablet, and desktop. I optimized the designs to fit specific user needs of each device and screen size.
Final thoughts
It was really inspiring working on this project because it was focused on dealing with the pandemic's difficulties and helping people keep their jobs.
We conducted many interviews, which was useful for my experience to improve my skills. I kept a user-centric design until the end and created the product regarding users' needs.
Next steps
- Work on accessibility
- Improve the design and work on the dashboard
- Conduct more research and think about other features that can be useful
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