Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
Liz Rafferty
July 9, 2013
Mobile Health Design
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Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
Executive Summary
Travel, in small doses, is exhilarating and refreshing. On the other hand, when it is done
often enough, and for business and not pleasure, it can take a toll on a variety of physical aspects.
It disrupts sleeping patterns, involves long sedentary periods, and can be accompanied with
stress. Statistically, heavy business travelers are less healthy in a multitude of ways as compared
to those who travel for work less frequently or not at all. In a study done by Columbia University
School of Public Health, results showed that those who were on the go more than 21 days a
month had higher blood pressure and BMI than those who did not travel for business as
frequently (blogs.wsj.com).
Making healthy choices is difficult while traveling, but over the years airports have
improved their menus and have added healthier options to their food courts and dining menus.
This seems to be a well-kept secret, with many frequent business travelers stating that if they
knew the locations of healthy airport options, they would choose to eat there, but they are not
well advertised. So while the weary flyer is easily tempted by convenience and carbohydrates,
there are healthier options offered to them, but usually in more remote locations of the airport.
What, on the other hand, happens to the conference attendee who is confined to a conference
center or hotel ballroom for a week among catering carts filled with pastries and sugary treats,
and usually no direct knowledge of the city they’re in? With the upswing in obesity and poor
health in this conference cohort, it’s obvious that they are indulging in the sugary snacks and
dense catered meals that are offered to them.
This paper focuses on the development of an mobile app that focuses on giving the
convention-goer all the tools necessary to find healthy food options around them. With the
development of my app, TravelLite, conference attendees will be able to locate the nearest fresh
produce locations, such as farms and farmers markets, but also restaurants with healthier menus
than some of their national chain counterparts.
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Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
Evidence Based Medicine
With some preliminary research, it was easy to see that those who frequently travel for
business are experiencing a myriad of poor health issues. They are a group who is consistently
facing meals and snacks that are high in fat and sugar, but low in nutrients and protein for longlasting energy. Instead, they are faced to pick through sugary pastries and desserts that will leave
them coming back for more after the inevitable sugar crash. Healthy options are nearly
impossible to find while traveling through airports or on the road. Fast food is king of the busy
traveler; it is inexpensive, fast, and filling. This is a meal of convenience, and those traveling
most often are easily lured in. Now with the use of mobile technology it’s becoming even easier.
In an article by QSR Magazine, they report an influx in fast food chains using apps that allow the
user to place their order beforehand. “The industry’s use of mobile marketing has grown
exponentially over the last two years, and marketers are projected to spend $1.2 billion on
mobile display advertising (not including smartphone apps, mobile coupons, and other mobile
ads) by 2014, according to an eMarketer” (www.qsrmagazine.com). This technology will be an
even bigger convenience for the busy conference-goer, but far more detrimental to their
waistline. I hope to harness the popularity of the mobile food app and use it to make TravelLite a
healthy alternative to the fast food app, but with the same level of convenience still at the
fingertips of busy business travelers.
In a journal article from the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health that
looked at business travel and related health risks, the authors confirm that frequent travel for
business reasons can result in some serious health risks associated with poor diet and exercise
habits. “Business travel is also associated with jet lag, sleep disorders, increased alcohol
consumption, exposure to high–energy density “fast” foods, and long periods of sedentary
behavior. These factors have been found to be associated with obesity, which is known to cause
numerous poor health conditions (Richards et al., 2011)”. On the plus side, the travel industry is
well-established in the mobile realm. These business travels are well-connected to the world and
have a variety of options on the go at their fingertips. There are already dozens of travel-related
apps available, ranging from ones that let the user book hotels on the go and confirm flight
arraignments. In an article by Business Insider, the author explains the power of this mobile
industry, explaining that travel apps are used by millions, and it is estimated at the US mobile
market as used for travel has a market that could exceed $8 billion this year, and is estimated to
be work more than $10 billion globally (www.businessinsider.com). What is needed is a way for
these mobile-savvy users to be able to do something good for themselves and use this technology
to improve their lives, not simply use it as an excuse to be lazy or hands-off in their health and
nutritional needs.
With the lack of nutritional options, the negative health effects are mounting. Those who
are traveling frequently and attending carb-heavy conferences are more likely to be overweight
than their coworkers who travel less frequently or not at all (www.blogs.wsj.com). According to
a 2012 survey on the “bad behavior” culture associated with frequent attendance at conferences
and trade shows, 53% of respondents say they eat fatty foods in excess, and 43% said they
abandon their exercise routine, and a whopping 63% said that increased time away from home
traveling for business results in a variety of health problems (successfulmeetings.com).
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Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
The abundance of unhealthy options most likely stem from a culture of moneymanagement. Each year 1.8 million corporate business meetings, conventions, and other events
take place across the United States, and 13% of the $145 billion spent at these conferences are
spent on food and beverages (conventionindustry.com). These costs would double if fresh fruits,
vegetables, and healthy meals were served instead, because it is known that fresh produce and
organic, natural ingredients are much more costly than processed foods.
Target Audience
The target audience for the TravelLite app is those who are frequently traveling to
conferences for business or scholarly means. This app can also benefit the “road warriors” and
those traveling for business that spends a lot of time shuffling through airports and eating at
continental hotel breakfasts. The idea is to target those who are often traveling, are crunched for
time, and are visiting unfamiliar cities where they would not be apt to enjoy three healthy meals
a day. When developing personas I tried to focus on the weary conference-goer more so than the
frequent flier.
Personas
For the development of this app I was looking the target the weary conference attendee,
who, for 3 – 5 days is confined to a hotel or convention center in a usually unfamiliar city. Most
conferences, even those that are focused on healthcare, are serving unhealthy buffet options. This
is most likely because, due to the size of most major conferences, offering healthy options at that
magnitude can cost thousands of dollars or more (www.medcitynews.com).
The first persona I had in mind was someone who was seasoned in the art of traveling for
business and attending conferences. In a survey done on conference goers, 70% said a failed
marriage or relationship was the result of too much time away from home. This emotional stress
doesn’t help someone who is already weary from traveling and being overworked, so it’s easier
to make poor food and exercise choices. Michael is a 55 year old businessman who has spent the
last two decades traveling for his job and has noticed that as he is getting older, eating on the run
doesn’t agree with him.
The second persona is Shannon, who, like Michael, is well seasoned in conference
attending. I have seen first-hand that the number of women who attending conferences is
dwarfed by the number of men. I could not find any complete demographic information, but
several conference websites had a larger number of male participants than women. In one study,
it was shown that conferences organized by men had over half the number of female speakers as
opposed to conferences organized by women (www.upi.com). This does not reflect attendee
numbers, but it certainly does demonstrate a gender discrepancy. Shannon is a 43 year old
woman who has been attending conferences for over a decade. She is someone who tries to take
care of herself all the time, and is often dismayed by the poor quality of the food served at
conferences.
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Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
For the third persona, I thought it was important to include a youthful perspective of
conference food choices. While finding complete demographic data for conference attendees was
hard, many conferences report that the average attendee is 45 years or older (blog.cvent.com).
This means that a youthful perspective is hardly represented at these meetings. While the average
age is a bit older, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t young people present. Many conferences are
attended by graduate students and young professionals as learning opportunities. Chaavi is a 30
year old post-doc who attends yearly conferences with the laboratory he is working in.
Finally, I wanted to include a persona who represented the population of those who are
attending conferences, but are dieting or restricting their intake, and find the buffet tables
difficult to avoid in the span of a busy day. Donna is in her 50’s and well-seasoned in the art of
business travel. Over the last few years she modified her lifestyle and lost over 50 pounds with
old fashioned diet and exercise. Lately, she is finding it hard to travel and keep up with the
healthy regiment, and is looking for a little guidance. She is an example of an ideal user for the
TravelLite app because she is looking for support for an action she is already engaged in. With a
little help from TravelLite, I think Donna will find out that she is much more successful in
finding healthier options and easily avoiding the sugar and fat-laced pitfalls.
Personas
#1 MICHAEL
Michael is a 55 year old male who has spent the last 30+ years working in the insurance
industry. He is currently divorced from Sarah, his wife of 25 years. They have two children,
Anthony, age 20 and Grace, age 17. Michael is 40 pounds overweight and is pre-diabetic. He
knows that he should be taking care to eat better, but between airports and hotel rooms, he
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Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
doesn’t have the time to make good choices. He travels upwards of 20 days per month, either on
the road or by plane. He is often attending business meetings, and a variety of conferences
around the world. Besides his current health status, he was relatively healthy up until about 10
years ago when he got divorced. He attributes his good health to his ex-wife who cooked him
healthy meals and urged him to keep on his exercise routine even when he was traveling. Since
being thrown back into the single life he does not maintain any healthy habits while traveling,
though on his days home he will attend the gym if he feels like it (3 – 4 times a month), or cook
himself a healthy meal (8 – 9 times a month), but this is not consistent. One month ago, while at
home and preparing for another week of travel, Michael had a mild cardiac episode and was
rushed to the ER with what he thought was a heart attack. His test results concluded that it
wasn’t, but his doctor stressed that it easily could have been. They urged Michael to get on a diet
and exercise regimen to lose the weight and prevent a possibly devastating event.
Michael was concerned about keeping track with a diet plan that did not mesh well with
his busy traveling lifestyle. During a follow-up exam he asked his physician, Dr. Kwon, if there
were any tools he could recommend to assist Michael with starting, but most importantly,
maintaining this change in his routine. Doctor Kwon suggested that Michael download
TravelLite to his iPhone and start first with using it around his own town and the major city that
he works in. Dr. Kwon had mentioned that he has suggested this app to other patients in
Michael’s situation, and they have had great success. Michael was thrilled about this idea,
because he was always interested in new and different apps. He downloaded it when he got home
from his doctor’s appointment and used it as Dr. Kwon suggested, first around his own town and
then when he travels, so he can grow accustomed to using it. At first he was hesitant, especially
since he is so familiar with the local pizza and sub shops in his area, he found them hard to resist.
With support from a few of his coworkers, Michael found himself using it at work and
suggesting his work team to accompany him to some of the new restaurants he was finding.
When it came time to use the app while traveling from the east coast to San Diego, Michael was
excited at all the new locations he found. Now, Michael loves suggesting great, fresh eateries to
his travel companions, and is often inviting colleagues to join him using the “invite me” feature,
that allows him to invite coworkers using his existing contacts. Michael is excited about an app
that will help him start and maintain a healthy lifestyle that fits his busy and inconsistent
lifestyle.
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Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
#2 SHANNON
Shannon is a 43 year old woman who has been traveling for work for the last 10 years.
She travels less often than most of her colleagues, opting to spend more time at home than on the
road. She travels maybe one week a month, sometimes not even that much. She attends about 5
conferences a year, and does not travel for business meetings. She is married and lives outside of
the city with her husband and three children, Thomas, age 13, Stephanie, aged 10, and Jonathan,
aged 7. Her husband also does a good deal of traveling, but they try to work their schedules so
that someone is always home with the kids. Unlike many of her colleagues, Shannon has a good
balance between her work and home life. She loves being able to be at home where she can cook
wholesome meals for her family. They all enjoy riding bikes and are often planning weekend
bicycling trips or just riding around the neighborhood. She likes to keep her family healthy, and
she and her husband share an interest in the gym, and plan morning workouts.
Shannon is often dismayed at the quality of the food she encounters at conferences. She
tries very hard to make healthy choices, but she is often left with nothing but sweets on a buffet
table or a lunch of fatty, filling foods. She is always left wondering why there are no fresh fruits
and vegetables offered in any of these meetings. Because she travels less often, she is less
familiar with the cities she is visiting. Even when she is in her hotel room, the neighborhoods are
often lined with fast food options and convenience stores loaded with pre-packed, processed
foods. She is a smartphone user and also travels with her iPad to use on the plane or while she is
in her hotel room.
One on particular trip to Dallas, Shannon was voicing these complaints to her coworker
Miriam who she occasionally travels with. Miriam and Shannon have a lot in common, they are
both busy working moms and try to eat well and keep in shape. Miriam showed the TravelLite
app to Shannon, demonstrated how it worked, and found them a fantastic vegetarian restaurant in
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Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
the middle of a neighbor that specializes in carb-heavy barbeque. Shannon was so excited that
Miriam found a healthy place of them to eat while traveling, that when she got back to her hotel
room she immediately downloaded the app to her iPhone and iPad. The next day, when their
school health conference was in its first day, Shannon was able to go out at lunch where she
found a farmer’s market full of fresh local produce. After that, Shannon was using the app while
traveling with her family, and even recommended it to her husband who himself downloaded it
shortly thereafter. With the location feature Shannon was then able to find healthy options where
she is in her room, at the convention center, or off-site at a business meeting.
#3 CHHAVI
Chhavi is a 30 year old post-doctoral research fellow who has been working at a research
laboratory for the last 5 years. During his time there he has been asked to travel to conferences
and present his research. He has traveled before, but just for leisure and trips back home to India
to see his family. Never before has he been asked to travel nationally to speak about his research.
At first he was very excited to travel and attend conferences across the country, but after about a
year Chhavi became very tired of it. He was not a thrilled flier, and often found it hard to relax.
With the stress of airports, hotels, and big speaking presentations, his eating and exercising
schedule was off balance. Because he is a vegetarian, Chavvi found himself eating more than his
fair share of cheese pizza slices in airport terminals and at meeting locations. He was attending
business lunches with his PIs at steakhouse after steakhouse, and was turning to salads with rich
dressings, baskets of bread, and heavy beers more often than he liked. He has put on some
weight and is often left feeling lethargic during and after travel. On his returns home he was
having difficulty returning to his normal routine.
During a workday Chhavi was voicing his frustration to his boss, an experienced scientist
who lives by diet and exercise. His boss is a staunch vegan who spends every hour outside of
work and home at the gym, running around the Charles River, or swimming with his four kids.
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Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
Chavvi was hesitant when his boss suggested that he try the TravelLite app. His boss explained
how convenient it was for him to find fresh fruits and vegetables and vegan-friendly locations
when he travels to conferences, which at some times is more than 3 or 4 times a month. With
some time to think it over, Chhavi eventually downloaded the app and used it around his
Cambridge neighborhood here and there. He liked it, but eating well at home wasn’t his major
problem. It wasn’t until a few months later, when attending a materials science conference in
Chicago that Chhavi really delved into the app. He went off on his own one evening and found a
Thai restaurant that had a lengthy vegetarian menu that uses only fresh ingredients, many of
them locally grown. Chavvi was hooked, and invited his colleagues out with him the next night
to an Asian-fusion restaurant with a similarly vegetarian menu. Not only was the restaurant a hit,
but he went on to recommend the app to some of his lab mates who now swear by it. Later,
Chhavi was discovering local produce stands in nearly every city that he traveled to, helping him
drop the weight and feel better whether at home or on the road.
TravelLite is ideal for a user like Chhavi who has dietary restrictions and is often in a
rush. With the app he would be able to locate healthy options near his airport, hotel, and
convention location. He will be able to use a search function and pick out the healthiest options
at the restaurants he knows he will be at for his business meetings and be well prepared
beforehand. Because Chhavi is so young in a field of well-aged experts, he is often the youngest
person in the group, and is left wishing he had colleagues his own age at these conventions. With
the “Invite me” function, he will be able to locate users at the same convention who are maybe
looking for lunch or dinner plans. This way, he will be able to mix business and leisure and
expand his contacts while eating at a healthy establishment.
#4 DONNA
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Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
Donna is a 48 year old professional who travels frequently for work. She has been
attending conferences for the last 15+ years, and in her youth she loved to travel wherever the
corporate office sent her. She is married with three grown children, ages 26, 24, and 21. As she
gets older, she finds herself enjoying the travel less and less. Now that her husband is retired
from his position as a fire fighter, she wants to spend more time at home with him. Donna spent
years struggling with her weight, with many of the extra pounds she attributes to her poor eating
habits while traveling for over a decade.
She recently lost 50 pounds with hard work, dieting, and great motivation from her
husband. Donna says she looks and feels great, and hopes to lose another 20 pounds, but admits
she finds it hard to stay on track. While dieting, she was motivated to bring healthy snacks from
home with her during long full-day conferences. Lately, she is struggling to maintain that good
behavior, and has noticed herself slipping. She is a self-described “app junkie”, using a variety of
calorie counting and exercise logging apps on her iPhone. Her favorite was “My Fitness Pal”
which allowed her to track her calorie intake, daily exercise, and even the glasses of water she
was drinking a day. She still uses the app, but has been known not to disclose some of her more
indulgent choices.
Noticing her mother’s slight re-gaining of the weight, Donna’s daughter Chantal told her
mother to download TravelLite and that she would find herself loving its features. Chantal is a
young graduate student in a physiology program at a university near her home who practices
what she preaches and sticks to a strict regimen of diet and exercise. She was influential in
supporting her mother during her weight loss and worked hard to keep her motivated and
optimize her workouts. Chantal herself uses the app while at school to help her avoid the
cafeteria or the abundance of fast food options nearby. She walked her mother through the app
and insisted that she tried it for a week to see how she liked it. Donna was hesitant, but she had
always trusted Chantal’s advice and was reminded about the great help she had been in her
momentous weight loss. At first Donna wasn’t thrilled about the app, and used it only a few
times on her first trip. After going out on the town and using it hands-on with Chantal, learning
all the features of the app, she couldn’t get enough. On a subsequent conference trip, Donna was
eating healthy breakfasts and lunches at a local diner that specializes in nutritious options. She
was able to find a near-by farm and stock up her hotel fridge with healthy snacks like fresh fruits
and vegetables, local cheeses, and granola and yogurt breakfasts. From then, Donna was sure to
map out optimal locations on her arrival to a new city so she would be well prepared in the
mornings and evenings to easily find the healthiest choices nearby.
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Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
Competitive Analysis
While searching for comparable apps I started with a Google search of “apps for eating
healthy while traveling” and that led me to several apps, many of which were restaurant locators
that focus on locations that offer meals that cater to dietary restrictions such as gluten free,
vegan, and low-pesticide. One app that struck me was named HealthyOut, which, like
TravelLite, is an app that allows the user to use their location to find fresh, healthy food near
them. HealthyOut follows evidence based guidelines because it offers options for intricate and
specialized diets ranging from the Paleo diet, to lactose free, to vegan, and to popular diets like
South Beach. This has a good range of functionality for its use, but is limited to restaurants and
does not include locations for farmers markets, or produce markets.
The second app I found was through a Google search of “eat well while traveling” which
brought me to a Wall Street Journal article titled “Eat Well Between Meetings”, which focuses
on apps that help a busy business person make good food choices while on the road, in the air, or
stuck in a mid-week conference. The opening line, “The stereotype of business trip dining
consisted of an artery-clogging succession of meeting-room pastries, oversize restaurant portions
and fast food snagged at the airport” (blogs.wsj.com ), mimics the exact problem I am targeting.
In the article, the author gives examples of apps that can help the weary businessperson make
good choices, and one of them is Eat Well Business Travel. Eat Well Business Travel (EWBT) is
an app that is designed for the international (or national) traveler to avoid the pitfalls of airport
food, hospitality buffets, and business meeting carbo-loads, and to find healthy options near
them. This is truly targeting international travel and provides “nutritionist approved” listings.
Though this app looks well-designed by a professional, it has no ratings since its inclusion into
the app store on October 2012, which seems like ample time to generate some feedback.
The third app I located through a Google search of “good food choices app”, which was a
shot in the dark, but returned a site that provided a lengthy list of “24 awesome apps for healthy
foodies” from www.eatingrules.com. Here I found an app with many features that I would like to
incorporate into my app, named Locavore. Locavore locates the nearest farms, farmers markets,
and community-supposed agriculture (CSAs) based on your GPS location. It also offers insight
into what’s in-season in your area and provides information on the produce and who’s growing
it. This is an ideal app for someone who is often traveling and has the time to search out quality
produce. This also links with social media outlets like Facebook and allows the user to share
with friends. Unfortunately, Locavore only had three reviews, each one star with poor
commentary such as “too complicated” and “worthless and deleted” which seems to be from an
update glitch.
From this competitive analysis I learned that while an abundance of features may make
an app seem appealing, having a quality platform is most important. These apps all sound great
in theory, but the execution is poor and users respond to that. Ideally, these apps should be
simple and user-friendly, but are the opposite. Simplicity will be a cornerstone of the TravelLite
app, because with a busy and stressed target audience, there is little room for a complex learning
curve.
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Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
From this analysis I also learned from other’s mistakes and have targeted specifically
what will be avoided in development. First, I think it’s important to offer this nationally, not only
regionally like “Healthy Out” does. I understand that smaller budgets will only hinder expansion,
but with our investment we will strive to focus the search on a national scale. This will mean
working with our developer to find and include all major cities. It will also be important to keep
these locations up to date, so that restaurant closings and openings will be available to the user.
Since updates can be glitchy, and because app users are so easy to dismiss an app that is difficult
after an update, I would like to stress to our technical team the importance of keeping these to a
minimum. To help this we will have a support team that will monitor the reviews and be in
charge of the e-mails to ensure than any error reports are quickly taken care of. To distinguish
TravelLite from the variety of other food finder applications available, I would like to partner
with the American Public Health Association (APHA), with the idea that they will promote the
app and make it widely available at health conferences. Also, with collaboration from individual
conferences in a variety of fields, we will be able to use their programs and agendas to make the
app more conference-focused. With this, users can sync with their calendars and set up meal
meetings at newly discovered locations with other users, or through their contacts.
Competitive Analysis Results: Healthy food on the go apps
HealthyOut
Eat Well for Business
Locavore
1. App name, logo, url
2. Objective at a glance
What is the objective,
problem, or challenge the
app seems to be addressing?
https://itunes.apple.com
/us/app/healthyoutfreerestaurant/id566409966
?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com https://itunes.apple.com/
/ua/app/eat-well-forus/app/locavore/id30614
0158?mt=8
businesstravel/id530293921?mt
=8
To find dishes at local
restaurants that meets
the user’s dietary
preferences.
Insight on how to eat
well around the globe
and find healthy
choices near you
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Locates closest fresh
produce outlets (farms,
farmers markets, CSAs)
Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
3. Purpose and Goals
How clear are the purpose
and goals of the app at a
glance from name, tagline,
and imagery? Does it match
the objective at a glance?
4. Users
Is there any information
about users through
descriptions, images,
stories, testimonials, or
usage data?
5. Ratings and reviews
What are the ratings,
reviews, and feedback?
6. Downloads and use
How many users/downloads
are there? Is there data
about retention?
7. Research
Was there any research,
evidence-based guidelines,
or experts involved?
8. Design
How professional is the
design? Characterize it
(modern, simple, crisp…)
and if the design works
given the app purpose.
Imagery, screenshots,
app layout and
descriptions all match
the objective. App logo
is a little unimaginative
and not as eye-catching
as some related apps.
Name, imagery, and
Goals and purpose very
screenshots appear very clear, imagery goes along
clear. Definitely has a
with this well.
targeted audience. App
layout matches
objective with global
capabilities.
Some positive user
reviews – but they were
in the description, so
they could be generated
by the app developers.
No user reviews, no
testimonials, no usage
data, clear developergenerated description
Customer reviews
3 positive reviews, 422
ratings on current
version
No reviews, no
feedback, no ratings
Three 1-star ratings. All
negative because of an
update glitch. One
particularly telling
review reads “Worthless
and
deleted...unfortunate.”
No download numbers
available
No download numbers
available
No download numbers
available
No – but claims to be
recommended by
nutritionists and
doctors
Has correspondents in
global business centers
provide “nutritionistapproved” restaurant
listings for “business or
leisure dining”
No – but claims to be
operated by a website
where users can “buy,
sell, feature and find
local food”
Simple, effective,
modern, colorful
Unimpressive for a
“global” app, boring
green hues throughout
Beautiful, colorful
design, simple, user
friendly
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Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
9. Layout and navigation
What sections does the app
have and are they delineated
by content type, roles, or
user needs? How usable
and organized are the layout
and navigation (including
labels and menus)? Do they
make options apparent?
Great design, colorful
and interactive, great
pictures of completed
recipes. Has organized
layout that it very userfriendly
Easy to navigate
sections like “eating”,
“guides”, and
“recipes”
All sections are clearly
marked and easy to use –
sections like “local”, “in
season” “recipes in
season”
10. Branding and external
affiliations
Who created the app and
why? Is there organizational
branding, accreditation,
sponsorship, or advertising?
None
None
Created from website
www.localdirt.com out
of Madison, WI where
users can buy, sell,
feature, and find local
food.
11. Expert content
What are the expertgenerated components
(including text, graphics,
audio, video, blogs,
directions, ask the expert,
glossary, quiz, chat with an
expert)?
12. Authors and oversight
Does expert content identify
the author and date written
and reviewed? Is there an
advisory board or clinician
involvement?
Written by registered
dietician and website
Calorie counts for meals founder Julie Meyer
generated from
establishments, no
mention of expert input
None
Written by expert and
has a team of “global
experts” on hand for
questions or concerns
None
13. Literacy and readability
Is the content clear and easy
to understand? What
reading level is it?
High reading level
considering the
specialized diet
terminology
For a “worldly” user,
so some language could
be complex to an
average user
All language used is very
simple. Colorful maps
and pictures also help
guide the user
14. User-generated content
and sharing
What are the user-generated
components (including
discussion forums, blogs,
videos, “likes”, comments,
ratings, and reviews)?
Which, if any, social media
is used? Can content be
shared?
Can “like” on
Facebook, but no
sharing capabilities.
Some reviews, little
user-generated content
No sharing capabilities,
no reviews
Can post (or brag) on
Twitter and Facebook
about great locations
you’ve found. Users can
follow others and share
geo tags and pictures.
14
No mention of any expert
generated content in the
app. Possible that
“experts” are those
maintaining the
localdirt.com website
Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
None
Long disclaimer. Starts None
with: “All information
provided within this
app is for informational
purposes only, and are
not endorsements or
guarantees by Eat Well
Global or any listed
restaurants, markets or
the products or services
available from the
app.“
None
None
None
Free
$1.99
Free
iPhone, iPad, any iOS
device
iPhone, iPad, any iOS
device
iPhone, iPad, any iOS
device
Description includes email for suggestions
No contact information
on description page
Website provided to
submit feedback,
corrections, or bugs.
There is also a Twitter
handler for users to find
app news
Best: Nice display,
colorful and interactive
interface.
Best: Good for good
food suggestions in a
new country (although
it doesn’t look like
every country).
Best: Beautiful, colorful,
crisp interactive interface
that will keep the user
coming back.
15. Policies
Are there explicit privacy
policies or ones for how
information is used?
16. Registration
Do users register and, if so,
what can they do before and
after registering? What
information is tracked or
displayed? How is personal
information used?
17. Cost
Is there a cost for the app or
for premier features?
18. Devices and websites
Does the app tie into any
others apps, devices, or
websites?
19. Support and feedback
Is there a website or support
forum for users? Is there a
way to provide feedback? Is
there a feedback survey?
20. Overall assessment
What are the overall best
and worst features of the
app?
Worst: Only locates
chain restaurants
nationwide and Bay
Area local restaurants.
15
Worst: No quality
feedback which is
Worst: Latest update was
clearly glitchy and
detrimental to the
validity of the app.
Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
concerning.
Description of App Design
TravelLite will be developed around the idea that the user is a weary conference attendee
who is away from home, stressed from travel and work, and hungry. It will absolutely comply
with evidence-based guidelines, because the data shows that those who travel heavily for work
are plagued with poor physical health, but would opt for better food choices if they knew where
to locate them. As I mentioned previously in the evidence-based medicine section of this paper,
the studies show that those who spend time traveling and attending business conferences and
meetings are prone to high blood pressure, obesity, cardiac conditions, and stress which can
manifest itself all over the body. Much of this is due to the lack of healthy food options available
on planes, at airports and on road sides, and especially at hotels, conferences, and business
meetings. These places are notorious for offering sugary, fatty foods that aim to be inexpensive,
satisfying, and appealing to the weary who are looking for a burst of energy.
The persons that I have offered up here are an ideal audience for the TravelLite app. All
four personas are conference attendees and spend their time between hotel rooms, conference
areas, and business rooms. Each is tired from being left unsatisfied by the myriad of unhealthy
options that are provided by all of the afore mentioned places. Michael is turning over a new leaf
after a heath care, Shannon is struggling to maintain her healthy lifestyle, Chhavi is the
newcomer trying to fit in but still eat well, and Donna is trying to stick to diet regiment that she
is already struggling with. Each of these users is tech savvy and is always using a smartphone or
tablet while they are traveling for conventions. The personas are all adults who are struggling to
find a way to make better food choices. They will do well with this app because it will be
something they seek out for themselves. In the case of Shannon and Donna, they are already
doing the good behavior (eating well), and are trying to maintain. They will do well because the
good behavior is already instilled. In the case of Michael and Chhavi, they only now want to
make good choices because it has negatively affected their health, and this app is a way for them
to try and find a good regiment. They may have a harder time, because this is still their
contemplation stage, but if the app is user-friendly and it is well received, they will have no
trouble maintaining their good food choices even when they are not traveling.
TravelLite will improve on existing apps because there are no apps out there that are
focused solely on the conference attendee. TravelLite will sync with conference programs and
allow users to organize an eating schedule based around the breakfast, lunch, and dinner portions
of the conference. There will be also be a “find me” feature, so that other users attending the
same conference can organize meals with other attendees who may be there alone and are
uncomfortable dining by themselves. Based on the competitive analysis I did, I envision
TravelLite to be solidly built as to avoid glitches and other design flaws. There should be a wide
search function that is available in all locations and run from GPS, unlike some of the other apps
16
Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
I found which either only searches for major cities that are pre-programmed, or have incomplete
listings. TravelLite will use many functions of a smart phone, such as GPS, calendar reminders,
sync with conference programs, and find a friend feature.
Below I have applied the competitive analysis template to the TravelLite app to see how
it fairs in all of the categories.
Conference Mate: TravelLite
TravelLite
1. App name, logo, url
2. Objective at a glance
What is the objective, problem, or challenge the app seems
to be addressing?
3. Purpose and Goals
How clear are the purpose and goals of the app at a glance
from name, tagline, and imagery? Does it match the
objective at a glance?
To locate fresh, healthy local food for business
travelers and conference attendees
To help the user find fresh local food while
attending conferences and meetings in any US
city.
The imagery is modern and colorful, so it does
match the objective
No user data
4. Users
Is there any information about users through descriptions,
images, stories, testimonials, or usage data?
Positive reviews from preliminary beta test
5. Ratings and reviews
What are the ratings, reviews, and feedback?
No download numbers available
6. Downloads and use
How many users/downloads are there? Is there data about
retention?
17
Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
7. Research
Was there any research, evidence-based guidelines, or
experts involved?
8. Design
How professional is the design? Characterize it (modern,
simple, crisp…) and if the design works given the app
purpose.
Yes – developed through careful research of
the audience.
Colorful, modern, user friendly
Colorful and interactive layout
9. Layout and navigation
What sections does the app have and are they delineated by
content type, roles, or user needs? How usable and
organized are the layout and navigation (including labels
and menus)? Do they make options apparent?
Partial collaboration with the Convention
10. Branding and external affiliations
Industry Council
Who created the app and why? Is there organizational
branding, accreditation, sponsorship, or advertising?
11. Expert content
What are the expert-generated components (including text,
graphics, audio, video, blogs, directions, ask the expert,
glossary, quiz, chat with an expert)?
12. Authors and oversight
Does expert content identify the author and date written
and reviewed? Is there an advisory board or clinician
involvement?
Location information based on positive reviews
and description of offered healthy options
None
Content is very clear – reading level is low
13. Literacy and readability
Is the content clear and easy to understand? What reading
level is it?
14. User-generated content and sharing
What are the user-generated components (including
discussion forums, blogs, videos, “likes”, comments,
ratings, and reviews)? Which, if any, social media is used?
Can content be shared?
Can share locations on Facebook, users can
contact each other through location finder
GPS will access your location but no
information will be shared
15. Policies
Are there explicit privacy policies or ones for how
information is used?
18
Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
16. Registration
Do users register and, if so, what can they do before and
after registering? What information is tracked or
displayed? How is personal information used?
No registration requires
Free
17. Cost
Is there a cost for the app or for premier features?
Available for all Apple and Android products
18. Devices and websites
Does the app tie into any others apps, devices, or websites?
19. Support and feedback
Is there a website or support forum for users? Is there a
way to provide feedback? Is there a feedback survey?
There is a “help” feature that will connect the
user to FAQ or lead them to a support contact
Best: Colorful display, easy to use
20. Overall assessment
What are the overall best and worst features of the app?
Worst: Not directly conference related / not all
locations available immediately
Development Justification
The basis of this app is that is should be easy to use with no learning curve. From the
time the user first opens the app, I want it to be welcoming, simple and upfront to use, and work
well so that the user will come back. I imagine the look of the app to be sleek and modern as to
attract an audience that is professional and well-versed in their field.
For the main screen, I wanted to have everything out in the open so the user does not
have to dig for the option they’re looking for. The search function will take some time to locate
and the user will have to sift through suggestions to find the exact location they’re looking for, I
did not want to make any other aspects of the app time consuming.
The user will be able to find the conference they’re attending by searching for it, and if
the meeting has offered its program, the user will be able to upload that and use it to find friends
in the same meeting and send out a lunch invite to a healthy location, or add lunch and dinner
times to their schedule that will prompt them to find a healther option in the area and offer
suggestions to a nearest location.
Because some conference attendees travel to the same location frequently, I thought it
was important to include a saved searches feature, so this way they can keep track of places they
really enjoyed, which will be organized by city.
19
Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
There will be ample support provided from the developer such as an FAQ section, and
contact information so that the user can easily contact someone if they’re having an issue with
any of the app functions.
Below are the wireframes for a small selection of the app layouts, including the home
screen, “send invite”, “search” and “my saved faves”.
Wireframes
Home Screen
The home screen of the app should be clean and inviting. This simply features the name
of the app and all of the home screen buttons including “search” where users can find the healthy
food they’re looking for using their GPS. From there, the user will see the “find friends” feature,
which will allow the user to share their conference location and find other attendees who have
done the same and suggest meal locations for those who are looking to network.
20
Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
The Search Screen
From past experience I know that fussing with a GPS feature can be frustrating. If you
are not on a Wi-Fi connection it’s easy to get disconnected. Searching for a location can be
difficult and painstaking to fiddle with. With the search feature of this app I wanted to stress
simplicity and make this function as user friendly as possible. I want to eliminate any
miscommunication between the user and the app, especially if the user doesn’t exactly know
what they’re looking for. There will be two ways to search: one will be a user-generated request
for their desired location, say “farmers market”. The other will be a “find around me” feature
which will pinpoint the locations of the closest farms, farmers markets, health food stores, and
21
Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
healthy restaurants in a 5 mile radius. This way, a user who is in an unfamiliar city will easily
have several choices at his or her fingertips.
Send Invite
Because many of these lunch and dinner meetings that happen at conferences are focused
on business, I think that having an invitation function will benefit a user who is trying to set
plans for a group of people. With this feaure the user will be able to find a restaurant using the
search feature, and from there they will be able to access their e-mail and send out an invitation
from their e-mail to their colleagues. Those invitied will be able to see the exact location of the
restaurant, get directions from Google maps, RSVP to the sender, and add the invite to their
calendar.
22
Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
My Saved Faves
Because frequent conference goers are likely to revisit the same cities over the years, I
thought it was imporant to have a feature that allows the user to save their favorite locations and
search them by city. When the user searches a location, it will be saved in their search history. If
they go to the restaurant or farmers market and really enjoy it, they can go back to that saved
search and hit the star located next to the location name. With the screen tap the star will turn
gold and will immediately be saved in the “saved faves” which will be easily accessed from the
home screen.
23
Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
Marketing Plan
Because this is an app that relies so heavily on the GPS feature, the TravelLite app will
be marked by the developer. We will work together with the Convention Industry Council, which
will serve as a way for us to advertise to our target audience. This will improve our visibility, and
most importantly, our credibility. We will also be teaming up with the APHA to help narrow our
focus on the convention audience. With their help, we will be better marketed at major
healthcare related conferences and meetings both nationally and internationally. Again, this will
greatly improve the TravelLite app’s credibility in the field. With this collaboration we hope to
get support from a variety of targeted healthcare conferences. For example, there is a conference
for the Food and Nutrition section of the APHA that is held annually. If we were to gain support
from the organizers of this meeting, we would be able to spread interested to other facets of the
organization.
Users will be able to locate this app in both the Android and iPhone stores under the
categories “business”, “food and drink”, “health and fitness”, “lifestyle” and “travel”. TravelLite
will include some minimal advertising to help cover our costs. This will mean one small
advertisement banner at the bottom of the home screen. The app will be provided to the public
for no cost, but we are aware of the cost to perfect and maintain such an application, so we are
prepared to offer the app for between $.99 and $1.99 if absolutely necessary. We realize that our
target audience has money and are prepared to pay for an app if it is something they’re interested
in, which, in our case, they will be.
Evaluation Plan
Sessions
For evaluation of our app, we will conduct a scripted session that allows the users to try
out our app in its beta form, meaning that the app will have all available functions but it will not
yet be rolled out to the public. This beta form will include a modern looking and colorful
interface with all modules being in a controlled but working order. We will have a fully-designed
logo and a functioning home screen with a welcoming and user-friendly look. The search feature
will be fully functioning and participants in this evaluation will be requested to search using their
location. The goal of these script sessions will be to get feedback on design, usability, and
relevancy.
Conducting the Sessions
At the beginning of the session we will collect basic demographic information from our
participants using basic paper surveys. This would include age, current position, career field,
times traveling per month, and where most travel is to (domestic or international). Each user will
be asked to search for a pre-determined healthy food location that will be provided to them.
From there we will ask that they send out a mock invitation using the “invite me” feature, find
friends, and utilize the help features. We will ensure that all GPS features are fully functioning
before beta testing.
24
Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
At each phase of the evaluation we will ask our participants a series of questions related
to the expectations, use of, and feelings about the app. So examples of these questions are:
Before: What do you expect the app to look like? What sort of results do you expect to get from
the search module? How comfortable are you with the GPS feature?
During: Do you like the look of the user screen? Does the flow of the screens make sense? Is
there anything you would expect to see on the home screen that isn’t there? Are there any
important functions missing?
After: When searching, did you find the locations you thought you would? Would you use this
app frequently? Would you use the invite and find a friend features? If not, why not?
Questions will be met with counter questions to gain more understanding for our report. For
example “I don’t like the search results” the moderator will ask “What didn’t you like about
them?” “What specific locations were you looking for?” All moderators will be encouraged to
prompt users for more detail.
Compiling results / Reporting
1 – 2 observers will be present in the group as well, and will provide feedback on the
performance of the moderators and the input of the users. They will also provide feedback on the
script and offer ways to tailor it. This will ensure that future sessions are performed to their
fullest potential without any gaps or instances where the participants could become confused or
frustrated. A summary with highlights and best user feedback will be compiled and will be later
discussed with the product team.
A complete report that includes positive and negative feedback will be compiled. This
report will include detailed participant reaction, criticism, praise, and difficulties. All feedback
will be as detailed as possible and will be compiled from the designated scribe’s notes and
observer comments. This report will be shared in individual meetings with our development,
design, and technical teams. Meetings with each team individually will ensure that all important
targets are being hit, and this way we can answer any questions each team has about the moving
forward with development any necessary changes that need to be made.
The most detailed direct quotes (both positive and negative) will be included in the report. Key
instances from participant’s time spent with the app will be included, along with
recommendations, needs, expectations, and predicted use.
Development Plan
We expect to roll out TravelLite on both iOS and Android platforms initially. With the
release of Blackberry’s new smartphone, we will consider offering the app to their Blackberry
World platform with good response from initial rollout. The goal is to have the app released by
25
Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
January 1, 2014, after beta testing with our scripted session group. If there are glaring issues that
are detected at beta testing, we will push back our rollout date to no later than June 1, 2014.
We will initially offer the app at no cost. Any costs we will expect to cover with
advertising and collaboration with the Convention Industry Council and the APHA. If we find
that our expenses will not be covered with advertising, we will offer the app at a price of either
$.99 or $1.99, but will expect to go no higher. Possible funding can be obtained through
partnership with any conventions or trade shows that are interested in having their programs used
in the app. This would involve great advertising on our end, because we will want to appeal to
them with a great product and make them want to be included in our app.
We expect the development of this app from conception to rollout to cost us about
$90,000, not including costs to team up with conferences for their program information. We
expect to hire a professional design team at about $10,000 to optimize the app’s look. We will
work closely with a development team to optimize the functionality, costing us about $50,000,
with a $10,000 budget set aside for big fixes or alterations needed after beta test. We will budget
another $10,000 for rollout on both Apple and Android platforms. There will be costs owed to
the Convention Industry Council for their initial partnership, and we expect those to cost about
$10,000.
Limitations
One of the major limitations of this app is finding a way to tailor it strictly to conference
attendees. Many of these features can apply to frequent travelers, not necessarily those who are
at conferences. I think it would be important to incorporate conference agendas into the app so
that the user can have that information to integrate into their schedule, such as lunch and dinner
times. Also, with the meeting programs users can find other meeting participants who are
looking to connect with other attendees for group meetings, networking, or lunch and dinner. We
will need to find a way to make this an app with a strictly conference focus, or else it will
become another food locator app like the ones I mentioned in my competitive analysis, and like
them, will go relatively unnoticed. Another limitation of the app is that it is user generated, so
without activating location services and taking the time to locate, the user will not have the
optimum experience.
About the Author
Liz Rafferty is an (almost) second year student in the Emerson College Health
Communication program. When she graduates, she hopes to be able to use her creative brain for
doing good in the world. She is currently working as an Editor in the Harris Orthopaedic
Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she writes and edits for materials scientists
and clinicians. She has an undergraduate degree in English and writing from Westfield State
College where she graduated in 2010. She loves to read, write, and collect lots of antique things.
References
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Healthy Food Locator for Conference Attendance App: TravelLite
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