Food information network: informed shopping for healthier living

ABSTRACT

The Food Information Network is a system designed to help people make better choices about the food products they purchase. The system will have access to a large amount of data and will allow such activities as finding alternative food products and the products available at different grocery stores. The system has also been designed to try to encourage people to prepare their own meals by helping them spend less time shopping for healthier food and showing them that it is neither so difficult nor time-consuming to cook at home. The system also encourages users to share nutritional recipes with friends.The design process followed a scenario-based design methodology, which included field studies, writing activity scenarios, and early user testing with a paper-based prototype. A portion of the system was then implemented and additional user testing was done with the system running on a cell phone and a Palm™ simulator.

REFERENCES

• 1: Mary Beth Rosson , John M. Carroll, Usability engineering: scenario-based development of human-computer interaction, Morgan Kaufmann Publishers Inc., San Francisco, CA, 2001
• 2: http://developer.apple.com/documentation/mac/HIGuidelines/HIGuidelines-73.html.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.m Miscellaneous

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.4 INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS
      H.4.3 Communications Applications

Keywords:
health, nutrition, scenario-based design, shopping