Recipe Manager
Paprika 3 App Heuristic Evaluation
Paprika 3
Paprika is a recipe management app available on Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows. The app helps users store and organize recipes, create grocery lists, and develop meal plans.
Key Features
Ability to pull recipes from external websites
Built in recipe scaling
Ability to mark off completed ingredients as you cook
Ability to add all or specific recipe ingredients to your shopping list
Synchronized access to your recipe collection across devices
Heuristic Evaluation
Using Jakob Nielsen's 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design, a usability evaluation of Paprika 3 on Android was completed. To prioritize resources and efforts, the top 4 most severe usability issues are presented. A complete list of the usability errors can be found in this table.
Usability Errors 1 & 2
A critical function of the app is managing a user's recipe collection, including occasionally deleting a recipe listing. If done unintentionally, however, this can lead to deleting a beloved recipe that may not be recoverable.
The absence of an ability to cancel the "Delete" action, along with a difficult to find "Trash" folder to recover deleted recipes leads users to believe there is no way to recover from their mistakes.
The circumstances surrounding the unintentional deletion of a recipe breaks a whole list of usability heuristics:
#5: Error prevention
#9: Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors
#3: User control and freedom
# 1: Visibility of system status
#10: Help and documentation
Severity: 3
"Major usability problem: Important to fix, so it should be given high priority"
The application does not have the user confirm the delete action or warn the user that the recipe will be deleted.
No confirmation of that the recipe has been deleted is shown.
Following an accidental deletion of a recipe, a non-intuitive location for the "Trash" folder can lead users to believe that their action is irreversible.
In addition, when utilizing the help information available for Paprika 3, the documentation does not specify to which platforms the instructions apply, and as a result of differences between the various platforms, the instructions can be difficult to understand.
Recommended Action
First, help users avoid unintentionally deleting a recipe entry by having the user confirm the action prior to deleting the entry.
Second, allow users to recover from possible mistakes by relocating the "Trash" folder to make it easier for users to access and find.
Usability Error #3
Paprika has sharing capabilities and the ability to prepare the complete written recipe both in text format and in a special Paprika file for sending. Recipes can be shared via email, text, or a variety of communication methods.
Unfortunately, the current sharing button is labeled, "Email" and makes the user question if they are able to share it through any other sending methods.
If the user explores utilizing this option they will find a variety of applications they would be able to share through, however the current wording is quite limiting and confusing to users.
This error breaks 3 usability heuristics:
#4: Consistency and standards
#2: Match between system and the real world
#6: Recognition rather than recall
Severity: 3
"Major usability problem: Important to fix, so it should be given high priority"
Recommended Action
Modify the existing wording to say, "Share" in order to align with industry standards and help the user better understand their sharing options. This will also reduce the cognitive burden of remembering they need to look for "Email" every time they want to share a recipe.
Usability Error #4
In relation to the other usability errors found, this one is of lower impact. Conventionally, to assist users to navigate an application or web page, a type of "back" or "cancel" button is provided to escape pop-up options that the user no longer wants to engage with.
Paprika inconsistently provides such an escape button, which is neither consistent with external or internal conventions. This inconsistency increases the user's cognitive load and slows the user down in performing routine functions within the app.
This error breaks the following heuristics:
#3: User control and freedom
#4: Consistency and standards
#1: Visibility of system status
#7: Flexibility and efficiency of use
Severity: 2
"Minor usability problem: Fixing this should be given low priority"
Recommended Action
Add "Cancel" or "Back" buttons throughout the app in dialogue boxes in order to help the app meet both internal and external consistency standards and to improve the user's in-app navigation experience.