Gathering Requirements - User Analysis

Propose Tasks 

1. Monitor and Display Real -Time Stall Availability

This feature aims to let users find out whether a food stall is open, closed, or in peak hours in real-time. Users of the SmartMeal function can prevent wasting time trying to order from non-available suppliers by including a real-time status system inside it. Based on predefined schedules, stall operators can manually or automatically update their status using indicators like "Open," "Closed," and "Busy" which will assist UTM staff, lecturers, and students in making quick decisions. By informing users before they ever view the menu, this guarantees a better ordering experience.

2. Browse and Interact with Digital Menus Within a Price Range

Giving every food vendor on campus an easy-to-use interactive digital menu is a fundamental part of the SmartMeal system. Users should be able to explore food categories, read item descriptions, check prices, and view meal pictures. Along with tools like "favourites," or "most ordered," the system should also support filters for dietary needs including halal, vegetarian, or spicy options as well as price ranges for each menus. This features ensures users can quickly find their meals that suit both tastes and budgets, by providing a flawless and fulfilling food discovery journey for everyone.

3. Place and Manage Food Orders with Delivery Options

The project requires development of an orderly and secure  food ordering system for the UTM Smart application. Users can select their meals, customize their meals and complete payment through the app that supports multiple payment methods to suit user preferences, including online payments via e-wallets such as Touch 'n Go (TNG), online banking, or cash on delivery (COD) . Users can also select their preferred delivery or self-pickup option. Users will receive real-time information about  their orders and delivery time estimates to stay updated during the entire process. The service provides the same benefits  as GrabFood but adapts them to the unique requirements and setting of UTM students.

Persona

Student 

Arissa is a 20 years old student of foundation in TESL.She lives in a student dorm near campus. She balances a busy academic schedule, group projects and extra committee work. She relieves heavily on GrabFood application to balance her hectic life. She frequently uses the GrabFood app, usually twice a month to order her meals due to her limited time and restricted cooking facilities. She often stacks promo codes for discounts to order foods like ‘Nasi lemak’, bubble teas and late-night McDonald’s runs. She prefers meals that are affordable, fast and satisfying. Her gain when using GrabFood is the convenience of accessing a wide range of food options without disrupting her routine. Her primary goal is to get a quick and efficient food delivery, especially between classes and during late-night study sessions.

Arissa’s main motivation is saving time on the road to reach the restaurants and avoiding waiting in long queues. However, she faces several challenges when using the GrabFood application like high delivery fees and delays. Also she is always frustrated to browse through closed stalls and dealing with too many options when she is in a hurry. So, she prefers to look only at currently open stalls to save time and make faster decisions.  

Lecturer

Dr. Sarah Lim is a 34 years old lecturer who was recently transferred to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) one month ago. Passionate about her work and often occupied with meetings and lecturers, she has little time to explore campus food stalls or wait in long queues. Being new to the area, it’s also challenging for her to find food that suits her taste. During her short breaks, especially when her schedule is tight, she prefers ordering food through delivery apps. She is already familiar with using such systems, making her quickly find her desired meals and save time.

Her main goal is to get fast and affordable food during limited breaks. She is motivated to save time during short breaks between meetings or classes, and find affordable meals through available offers and discounts. However, she faces challenges like high costs due to service tax, delivery fees, and small order charges. Dr. Sarah Lim gains from the app by receiving food without queuing or leaving the office, and appreciates the reliable service that support her busy routine. She hopes the app will continue improving by minimizing extra fees and offering timely, personalized food options.

Parents

Puan Hanna is a 52 years old café owner is, a lovely mother who constantly thinks about her youngest daughter’s well-being. With her daughter continuing her studies far away in Johor, she often worries whether her daughter is eating well each day. Despite her busy schedule as store owner, her goal is to try her best to stay connected with her by considering how she can send food as the main goal of using delivery application to ensure her child feels her presence as a caring mother even if they are far from each other.

Although Puan Hanna is not very familiar with the new technology, she takes an initiative to use the food delivery apps to send meals to her daughter. However, she finds the platform has too many buttons and unclear steps that bring confusion and lead to mistakes in ordering. She wishes the apps to become more simple, user-friendly features that allow her to choose and order food easily, especially for elderly. Being able to send food easily to her daughter brings her comfort and motivation knowing that her daughter is eating well, especially during exam periods. 

Scenario

Student

Name of task: Check the availability and current status of the user's favorite stall

Arissa is 20 years old students, stays at the university residential college and is known as someone who doesn’t frequently eat breakfast and lunch and often only eats dinner. She is quite busy during the day with packed classes and committee work. Arissa has been using food delivery services regularly starting second semester because it saves time, especially when juggling tight deadlines and assignments overload. One chilly night, feeling a bit hungry for a dinner between her commitments, Arissa opens the Grab app to order dinner and see which food stalls are still open and available. Using the real-time stall status updates, she quickly sees which stalls are open, busy, or closed nearby. This helps her avoid stalls that are closed or too crowded, saving her time and making it easier to decide where to order from.

After scanning several stalls, Arissa notices that most of her usual food stall choices are either closed or marked as busy. However, she spots a new stall near her residential college that’s still open and has a short wait time. The food delivery app enables her to order from the stall and have it delivered directly to her block without needing to go there physically. The real-time stall status feature allows her to make quick, informed decisions without interrupting her study schedule. The small convenience of ordering food online helps Arissa who frequently miss meals due to time constraints still get to eat proper dinner.

Lecturer

Name of task : Analyze the digital menu and identify the cheapest options

Dr. Sarah Lim is having a particularly busy day. After finishing her morning class, she only has a short window before her next meeting. Previously, she had a habit of skipping meals due to her tight schedule, there were even times when she went into meetings on an empty stomach and ended up with a stomach ache from not eating properly. Determined not to repeat that mistake, she looks for a faster solution this time. So, she opens the Grab app to order food, allows her to view the digital menus from nearby stalls along with clear pricing. This feature helps her to compare meals and quickly gives recommendation for the cheapest options without wasting time.

While Grab helps her get meals delivered without leaving the faculty, it still takes time to browse restaurants, check delivery fees, and wait for the rider who sometimes takes longer than expected, especially during peak hours or bad weather. With her tight schedule, any delay can be stressful. Although Grab is useful, Dr. Sarah Lim wishes for a more campus-focused solution that could provide quicker updates on nearby stalls and allow food delivery straight to faculty blocks with minimal waiting time and greater reliability.

Parents

Name of task: Order food through delivery option

It’s monsoon season, Puan Hanna is currently in the middle of lunch break with other workers, sharing a simple meal with each other. While happily eating her lunch, Puan Hanna suddenly thought of her youngest daughter, made her smile fade away, wondering if she had eaten. She recalls their recent call, she complained she didn't get to buy food because the weather prevented her from physically visiting the store to buy food. With a responsibility of becoming a parent, Puan Hanna decided to order food online to ensure her daughter eats properly through FoodPanda application.

She checked which food stalls were open around UTM campus despite the monsoon weather and isn't familiar with areas, luckily the app showed a clear list of available stalls that provide their service so she doesn't waste her busy time. Scrolling through the digital menu, she finds her youngest daughter’s favourite food at an affordable price. She carefully select the menu, typing the accurate hostel address, select the payment method or any existing vouchers and double checked every detail before placing the order as she has made mistakes in other online platforms before. She completes the process and her heart feels at ease, knowing she's still able to care for her child even far away from each other.