Problem​

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is a lesser-known eating disorder not tied to body image or weight concerns but driven by sensory sensitivities such as smell, texture, or taste. Individuals with ARFID often restrict their diet to a narrow range of foods, excluding entire food groups. This can lead to challenges with social eating, nutritional deficiencies, and broader health impacts.

Context​

I was single-handedly responsible for the concept, research, design, development, and marketing.

During the ideation phase I participated in University of Warsaw Incubator workshops and won 1st place in a grant competition.

Desk Research​

Studies suggest that low intensity psychological interventions, such as mobile apps, can successfully help with eating disorder symptoms (Davey et al., 2023), and while there are many apps offering help for eating disorders, very few apps cater to subtypes of eating disorders. (O’Leary & Torous, 2022).

Two apps tried to specifically support individuals with ARFID:

• Fudo allowed users to rate food categories on a 5 star scale. The app is no longer available to download and there is not much information available about it online.
• Happy Foods allows the user to take pictures of the food they tried this day and rate it using a smiley face scale.

One study tested a app prototype meant to support children with food neophobia by setting food trying goals (Slater et al., 2024). The prototype did not meet the expectations and but the outcome was that that it sparked discussion about food. In the study parents said that they would like to see a page for each food item with descriptions, as well as the ability to set multiple goals at the same time.

Survey​

I decided to create a survey, which reached 37 people with ARFID. I learned that 78% created a food preference list at some point, 97% are interested in using a food list app, 66% are willing to pay for an ARFID related app and 55% are iOS users. I also learned about the features they would like to see in such app, as well as their concerns.

Persona​

Emily

Emily is a high school junior who enjoys art, reading fantasy novels, and listening to indie music. She struggles with anxiety around food, as certain textures, smells, and appearances trigger strong aversions. Eating in social situations is especially challenging because peers sometimes make fun of her pickiness, which adds to her anxiety. Her family is supportive but worries about her nutrition.

Goals

• Expand her safe foods list
• Build a healthier, more confident relationship with food

Pain Points

• Anxiety and fear of judgment around her food preferences
• Concerns about privacy

Needs

• Ability to journal her relationship with different foods
• Reliable way to learn about food she has not tried
• Suggestions of food she might like

Solution​

Pitaya provides a structured way to create and manage personalized food lists, helping to reduce food-related stress. While this approach is commonly used in ARFID therapy, there are currently no dedicated digital tools to support it.

Early Mockups​

Usability testing​

I conducted 5 Individual In-Depth Interviews (IDI), and tested the prototype with 20 users. This led to several changes, including:

• Adding a goal-setting feature to encourage trying food multiple times, using a stamp card approach.
• Enabling instant database updates via GPT-4 to prevent user disinterest caused by delays.
• Allowing users to create variants of products to further specify their preferences.
• Adding a share feature to easily share preferences with friends.

Implementation​

I developed the app using Swift and SwiftUI for iOS, and transcoded it using Skip.tools framework into Kotlin and Jetpack Compose for Android. For the backend I used Node.js, Google App Scripts, GPT-4 API, and Unsplash API.

Results​

Testimonials​

u/samante81

Thank you so much! My son and I had a great time going through the food list and I even discovered there were foods that he liked that I didn’t know about! Big thumbs up from my 12 year old!

u/laurenj2210

Love this app, especially how it describes food it means I know what to expect when I try it.

u/weirdsituati0n

This is rad. I’ve been trying to figure out what to focus on next with my dietician and this is a perfect tool to help me explore more foods in between our sessions! Thank youuuu 🙂

u/kush_faerie

oh i’m gonna cry. thank you for making this ❤️😭

u/SuperNarwhal36-5

Can attest, this app is amazing!

Lessons Learned​

• Momentum is Key: Delays can reduce engagement significantly.
• Set Clear Deadlines: Accountability is essential for solo projects.
• Prefer Direct Calls: They provide better feedback than written communication.
• Plan Outreach Early: Define channels and core values from the beginning.
• Keep Moving Forward: Progress is crucial, even when facing setbacks.

Download​

Problem​

Riichi Mahjong, a popular variation of Mahjong, involves complex rules and intricate point counting, making the game challenging to keep scores and learn rules, especially for new players.

Mahjong Game, source: Wikimedia

Compact Mahjong Riichi Scoring Table, source: Reddit

Research​

As part of a separate project, focusing on mahjong rules, my team conducted 15 interviews (30 minutes each) to explore:

• Preferences in tabletop games
• Gameplay contexts and rule-learning habits
• Familiarity with Mahjong and Poker

We then compared various rule learning methods we found online and through interviews. We analyzed 15 different tabletop game manuals (including 7 Mahjong manuals) and created a draft of a Mahjong manual.

We then tested this draft with 8 participants in sessions lasting between 1 and 1.5 hours, gathering 110 actionable feedback tickets, iterating between interviews. This research guided the creation of a full-featured Riichi manual in Polish and was the basis for this project.

Competition​

As part of the design process for Riichi Tracker, I analyzed existing solutions. One popular tool among Mahjong players outside of Japan is an Android application named Mahjong Tracker (Google Play). It's an Android-only app used for game tracking and is noted for its use in many European Mahjong Association tournaments.

Studying this application's user flow helped identify potential areas where Riichi Tracker could aim to offer a distinct user experience.

The Mahjong Tracker app, source: Google Play

To understand common usability patterns and potential user pain points, I conducted a Heuristic Evaluation of the Mahjong Tracker app, applying Jakob Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics. This analysis provided insights that informed the design goals for Riichi Tracker. Key observations from this evaluation included opportunities to enhance user experience in areas such as:

• Visibility of system status: Some buttons are not clearly marked, making interactions less obvious.
• User control and freedom: The absence of undo options forces players to restart the round input after an error.
• Error prevention: A multi-step input process increases the likelihood of mistakes.
• Efficiency: Lack of shortcuts makes the round input cumbersome for experienced users.

To confirm these observations, I spoke with players from one of the local Warsaw Mahjong Leagues and participated in a live gameplay session with them using the Mahjong Tracker application. I also spoke with experienced players from around the world in VRChat.

Riichi Mahjong in VRChat

Personas​

Basia

Basia is an advanced Riichi Mahjong player and a busy student at Jagiellonian University. She competes in local tournaments and is keen to streamline scorekeeping to focus on strategy.

Goals

• Refine advanced tile efficiency and discard strategies
• Quickly track scores during tournaments

Pain Points

• Limited time between rounds
• Cumbersome input processes that interrupt gameplay

Needs

• A competitive tool optimized for speed
• Integrated analysis tools with minimal input steps

Adam

Adam is new to Riichi Mahjong. He is learning the basics and seeks an intuitive tool that helps him reliably track scores while learning game nuances.

Goals

• Master basic scoring rules
• Be able to easily intuitively input hand scores

Pain Points

• Difficulty remembering the rules
• Frustration with complex input methods that require additional learning

Needs

• Simple, user-friendly interface for easy score input
• Step-by-step guidance

User Flow​

After thinking about the user flow, I decided to focus on providing uniqlue value in the Round Input, as I found it to be the most complicated part of the Mahjong Tracker application, and a process with a lot of room for improvement.

Round Input Flow in the Mahjong Tracker app, source: Google Play

Solution​

Riichi Tracker is an iOS app designed to simplify and enhance scorekeeping for Riichi Mahjong. The app focuses on a clean, intuitive experience while addressing user pain points. It utilizes Swift, SwiftUI, SwiftData, and Swift Charts to build the app, taking advantage of native iOS components to enhance usability and performance.

• Native iOS Design: Adhering to Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines, the app utilizes native iOS components, offering a look and feel familiar to iOS users.
• Simplified Hand Input: The hand input method consolidates all necessary information into a single sheet, making it easier for users to log rounds without navigating through multiple screens. The hand input clearly shows what is a button and features a wheel input for scores, requiring fewer taps.
• Integrated Score Chart: Including the score chart directly in the app, rather than relegating it to a website, provides a more seamless and informative experience.
• Offline Capability: Unlike the Android app previously discussed, Riichi Tracker works offline, ensuring uninterrupted gameplay.
• Time Tracking: Ability to track game time in the app, without the need to rely on an external timer
• Digital Riichi: Ability to play without any point counters, which are not included in cheapest mahjong sets

Download​