User Requirements and Usability Testing on a Mobile Application for Food Ordering Canteens

Abstract

Introduction: In today’s competitive world, people are rushing for meals between work. A long-time queuing to wait for orders is not a good option. Furthermore, the pandemic situation has forced people to avoid crowds or close physical contact, resulting in the demand for food ordering applications. Existing applications, however, lack customization to specific consumer demands, such as the unique requirements for school students during a pandemic. Furthermore, there is currently little to no evidence-based information accessible about their quality. Thus, this study was conducted to identify requirements to cater for the supply and demand for food and beverages during school hours. Methods: In order to assess quality, a usability assessment was conducted using 15 usability test questions with school students and canteen operators (n=50). The testing protocol comprised pre/post-test surveys, a structured interview and task-performance (n=9) observation. Results: The Efficiency test shows most tasks were more than 90% of the time completed successfully with minimal errors. With a threshold of 78%, eight out of nine tasks were considered effective. Also, a score of more than 85% dominates the satisfaction tests, with an average mean of 4.54. An average score of 91% on the usability scale demonstrated excellent perception of the application’s usability. The result also provides several recommendations for improvement. Conclusion: The ultimate design of the application is targeted to receive good acceptance and meet the users’ demand. This will promote an efficient supply and demand system and improve the quality of life for consumers and canteen operators.