KFC UX Feature Enhancements

Simplifying the path from craving to order

KFC Digital Ordering Redesign

Client: KFC
Role: UI/UX Designer & Researcher
Industry: Food & Beverage, B2C
Device: Responsive Web, App
Year: 2023

A Fresh Take on Customization

KFC's digital ordering platform was falling short of its potential. With a confusing interface and frustrating checkout flow, users were abandoning their carts before completing their orders. We set out to redesign the Product Description Page (PDP) to give users the same simplicity and control they experienced in-store.

The Challenge

The initial design of the PDP, although functional, was full with user navigation issues, particularly in customizing meal sides. Users were inadvertently placing incorrect orders, not realizing they needed to first remove default selections. This issue highlighted a gap between the design's intentions and user interactions, necessitating a thoughtful redesign to bridge this divide.

Turning frustration into engagement

Our aim was to streamline the digital ordering process, making it faster and easier for customers to customize their meals and complete their orders with minimal effort.

Understanding the Users

Through user research and interviews, we uncovered key pain points that had been driving customers away. From customization headaches to unclear navigation, the PDP was not delivering the experience customers needed.

Supporting Research

7

SME Interviews

120+

App store reviews

10

Month summary of digital complaints
resulting in refund

30

Day chatbot usage

Developing Effective Solutions

High Level Insights:

  • Customization Needs: Customers wanted more flexibility in customizing their orders, similar to what they experience in-store.
  • Navigation Issues: Users found the navigation complex and unintuitive, often leading to frustration and abandoned orders.
  • Fulfillment Inconsistencies: Inconsistencies in order fulfillment were a major pain point, with frequent reports of missing or incorrect items.
  • Support Difficulties: The process for resolving issues and requesting refunds was cumbersome and time-consuming.

Insights to Ideas

Having identified the key pain points through user research, we moved to the conceptualize phase to brainstorm solutions that directly address these issues.

Taking the insights we gathered, using affinity mapping, we grouped the insights into themes that provided us a better understanding of what users were saying.

Journey Maps

We created current-state and future-state journey maps to visualize the user experience and identify areas for improvement. This helped us set clear goals and chart a path for enhancing the digital ordering process.

Key Takeaways:

  • Understanding the User Experience: The current state journey map helped us identify significant drop-off points and pain points in the user journey.
  • Identifying Opportunities: The journey maps allowed us to find areas where we could provide design recommendations to improve the user experience.
  • Charting Goals: The future state journey map was used to chart goals and map areas of focus and improvement, incorporating technical insights to ensure feasibility and effectiveness.

Creating a User-Centric Design

With well-defined ideas and insights, we progressed to the design phase to create detailed, user-centered solutions that address the identified issues.

Building on the ideas and concepts developed during the conceptualize phase, we moved into the design phase to create detailed, user-centered solutions. This phase focused on translating our concepts into tangible designs, with a particular emphasis on addressing the key finding of the lack of customization options.

Overall Design Highlights:

  • Ingredient Selection: Users can choose specific ingredients and customize their meals according to their preferences.
  • Portion Adjustments: Options to adjust portion sizes and quantities, providing flexibility similar to the in-store experience.
  • Nutritional Information: Real-time updates on nutritional information as items are customized, promoting transparency and informed decision-making.

User Testing Plan

We conducted  user testing to evaluate the usability and effectiveness of our PDP (Product Description Page) customizations. The study included unmoderated tests with participants on desktop, mobile web, and mobile app.

Selection and Setup: Conducting tests with diverse participants to gather a wide range of data on user interaction with the PDP. Each participant was tasked with navigating through different meal customization scenarios to highlight any potential issues or areas for improvement.

Execution: Participants used high-fidelity interactive prototypes on both desktop and mobile platforms, ensuring comprehensive coverage of user experiences. Feedback was meticulously recorded, with particular attention to user ease, customization preferences, and overall satisfaction.

Iterative design and prototyping

After finalizing the high-fidelity mockups for the enhanced Product Detail Page (PDP) design, the next critical step was to create interactive prototypes that would facilitate usability testing with actual users. The transition from mockup to prototype involved a well-defined process to ensure accuracy, functionality, and an optimal user experience.

Validating our Design Solutions

We conducted  user testing to evaluate the usability and effectiveness of our PDP (Product Description Page) customizations. The study included unmoderated tests with participants on desktop, mobile web, and mobile app.

  • Testing Scenarios:
    • Family Meal: Changing and selecting multiple sides.
    • Combo Meal: Choosing items with a side and a drink.Individual
    • Meal with Sauces: Changing and selecting sauces.
  • Participants:
    • 5 desktop, 5 mobile web, 5 mobile app.
    • Age groups: 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-65.
  • What We Analyzed:
    • Decision-making when ordering food.
    • Previous experience ordering from KFC online.
    • Ease of navigation and task completion rates.
    • User preferences for default selections.

User Testing Findings

Ket Takeaways:

  • User Preferences: Users preferred selecting their own sides and sauces rather than dealing with pre-selected options.
    • Success Rates: 84% on desktop, 84% on mobile web, 76% on mobile app for Family Meal.
  • Ease of Navigation: Most participants found the new design easy to navigate and appreciated the customization flexibility.
    • Success Rates: 80% on desktop, 100% on mobile web, 84% on mobile app for Combo Meal.
  • No Default Selections: Majority of users preferred having no default items pre-selected, allowing them full control over their orders.
    • Success Rates: 96% on desktop, 96% on mobile web, 84% on mobile app for Individual Meal with Sauces.

Final Thoughts

Turning frustration into actionEnhancing the Digital Ordering Experience

The redesign of KFC's PDP stands as a testament to the power of user-centered design, illustrating how deep user insights and a methodical, iterative approach can transform a complex challenge into an intuitive and effective digital solution. This project not only improved the user experience but also set a new standard for KFC's digital offerings, underscoring the importance of aligning design with user needs and business goals.