Product Information

• Product: PINTEREST
• Type of Product: Webite & App
• Stage of Development: Live 
• Product Description: Pinterest is a social network that allows users to visually share, and discover new interests by posting (known as 'pinning' on Pinterest) images or videos to their own or others' boards (i.e. a collection of 'pins,' usually with a common theme) and browsing what other users have pinned. Pinterest helps you discover and do what you love. Find recipes, style inspiration, projects for your home and other ideas to try. 

Research Questions & Goals

1. We want to improve on the existing Pinterest experience
2. Find a way for users to seamlessly incorporate Pinterest into regular daily activities & tasks. Examples: Cooking, Shopping, Social Networking.
3. Are there certain tasks related to Cooking, Shopping, or Social Networking in Pinterest that users find difficult to use? Are there a simple ways to make improvements in those areas?

Research Method 1: SURVEY

• Survey Questions: (Cooking with Pinterest) > open & closed questions
  
  1. How many times a week do you cook? a: (0-3) / (4-7)
  2. When you cook, how often do you use a recipe? a: (never) / (50%) / (100%)
  3. Where do you find your recipes? a: (internet) / (books) / (both) / (non of the above)
  4. How often do you use Pinterest to find recipes? a: (less than 25%) / (50%) / (100%)
  5. When using Pinterest recipes, how easy are the directions to follow? a: (never have any problems) / (sometimes run into problems) / (feel like it takes you longer to follow the recipe than cook the meal)
  6. On a scale from 1 to 5, how would you rate the recipe ideas you typically find and/or make on Pinterest? a: (1: some of the worst recipes I've ever seen or made & 5: some of the best recipes I've ever seen or made)
  7. If you do not have a favorite website, what makes you select a certain recipe from an internet search?
  8. What is your favorite part about using Pinterest for recipes?
  9. While using Pinterest for receipe ideas, are there times that you are confused about how to navigate the website? If so, please explain. 
  10. What is the most difficult part of using Pinterest for recipes?

Research Method 2: USABILITY TESTING (Moderated)

• Research Questions: (Cooking with Pinterest)

1. How easy is Pinterest to use for cooking? (ex. finding, following, posting recipes)
2. Are there simple changes that would make Pinterest easier to use for cooking/recipes?
3. Are there features from competitors that the users find helpful?How easy is Pinterest to use for cooking? 

 Behaviors to observe durning testing

1. How easy is Pinterest to use for cooking? (ex. finding, following, posting recipes)
2. How long it took users to perform each given task
3. Were there certain tasks that frustrated the users?

• User Tasks 

*ask them to perform tasks just as they would at home

*try to have users perform tasks without engaging with other users or asking too many questions from moderator

1. Open and log into personal Pinterest page
2. Search for 'Homemade Pizza' recipes
3. Select a recipe you would choose to make at home
4. Save recipe to a new Board
5. Write down on a piece of paper, the ingredients needed for the recipe (trying to recall what you might already have at home)
6. Switch to another unrelated saved board and open any pin
7. Reopen recipe and find instructions
8. Close out of Pinterest, reopen, and go back to recipe instructions 
9. Open 'AllRecipes' Website and do each of the following: 1. Search for homemade pizza, 2. choose a recipe, 3. try and save the recipe to a new folder, 4. try and add ingredient list to a new shopping list within AllRecipe website

User Questions

1. Based on each activity, was there anything they had difficulty with and why was it difficult?
2. Is there anything that would make Pinterest easier to use when finding or following recipes?
3. Are there any features they wish Pinterest had? (ex. something from another app/website they use or something that they haven't seen on other sites)
4. AllRecipes Website: What did they like about the site? Was it their 1st time using it? 

Data Insights & Findings 

Results from Survey questions 1-6

Information gathered from Survey questions 7-10

• Users had difficulty communicating within Pinterest. Ex, sending Pins to friends, sharing boards, etc. This is not specifically related to Recipes, but will play a larger role in the research regarding Social Networking.
• Most users get frustrated having to scroll through the blog pages to get to the ingredient list and recipe at the bottom. Would prefer it to always be at the top or on the main page before the pin is opened. 
• Users mentioned features found in other apps (ex. Easy List) that were not available in Pinterest. Features related to creating grocery list based on recipe ingredients. 
• Pinterest does not link to certain apps (ex. Easy List). If a recipe is found in Pinterest, it cannot be sent to app automatically. Instead it has to be copied and pasted (time consuming).