Interactive Coffee Machine Tool
Agency
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MediaMonks
Client
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JDE
Project
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Bean of Possibility
Introduction
Jacobs Douwe Egberts(JDE), the worldwide famous coffee brand, wants to have a new highly interactive website. One of the functions of this website is to help coffee drinkers to find the best settings for their FACM(Fast Automated Coffee Machines) based on their taste preferences.
My role in this project was to generate some ideas and create an initial shape for this FACM tool.
Skillset
Process Overview
We want this tool to feel natural, so we imagined how the process would happen in real life. Afterwards, we detailed each step and defined necessary elements for each screen.
- You need coffee.
- You need FACM.
- Decide what to drink.
- Set your FACM.
- Enjoy your coffee!
Step 2 and 4 were the most challenging ones, so let's check them together before we see the final outcome.
Choose your FACM
How do I find my FACM between +30 models ?
Since it is not practical to show 30 models in one page, we decided to use progressive disclosure technique. At first, we let users choose their FACM brand. Afterward, FACM models for that specific brand is displayed on the second screen. For other brands that have less than a specified number of models, there will be an extra brand category called 'other brands.'
What if I don't have an FACM ?
We solved this problem simply by adding an option in this step to continue with a random FACM model.
View & Change Recommended Settings
On the final screen, users should see recommended settings based on their previous choices. They should be able to change these settings and see their effects on coffee taste. This part was the most challenging of all others.
To start with, I checked all FACMs and determined 4 effective settings in total. To understand their affect on coffee taste, I made some research on the web. There are 3 main compounds that we can build a correlation with the settings we have on FACMs.
- Caffeine (strength)
- Volatile Oils (flavour, aroma)
- Organic Acids (bitterness)
Let's give an example to understand the correlation. We will find the best FACM settings for Turkish coffee; strong, intense flavour and a bitter taste.
Grind Level
Finer ground > more extraction
Temperature
High temperature > high extraction
Coffee Strength (Amount)
More coffee > intense compounds
Water Dosage
less water > more intense compounds
Challenge: FACM settings are not standardized. How can we represent them all ?
In terms of UX, the best practice will be to develop unique interfaces for each FACM, but this solution will take too much time and may be costly to apply. Otherwise, users have to translate the outcome for their own machines, which is not practical and does not meet the user expectations. This is a decision that I cannot take by myself. I presented both options with their advantages and disadvantages to the project manager.
Now let's check the final screen of our tool.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, not everything goes as it is planned in life. This project never came into life, so our FACM tool didn’t meet with the users. You can check all wireframes I designed for this tool.
