Page History

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• The server will perform more actions than just displaying the menu item, the metaphor won't completely follow.

Checkbox-based ingredient list (Patrick)

The server can type in the title and description of each individual item; ingredients are specified using a checkbox, as well as a 'custom ingredient' field that adds an ingredient to the database. A picture can also be provided, and is displayed on screen even before the item has been submitted to the database. The system recognizes words from the description and automatically checks them off in the ingredient list while highlighting them in blue. Image Added

Pros:

• We gain some safety by presenting all ingredients at once, as long as the list is not too long. That way, users are invited to look over the ingredient list, as opposed to trying various names for an ingredient ('milk' vs 'dairy' vs 'lactose') to see which one is in the database.
• The auto-highlight system increases efficiency, since the server is likely to include many ingredients such as 'chicken' in the description.
• It also fails safe, since it is not dangerous to add an ingredient not actually present in the dish.

Cons:

• Adding a new ingredient does nothing to make sure that all other meals are appropriately tagged with that ingredient, decreasing safety. The user must remember to manually go through all items and check off the ones that have that ingredient.
• The ingredient auto-add system can add spurious ingredients, and implementing a system that will not re-add them every time the description is edited would be difficult.

Individual UI Designs for Patron

These designs will address the safety concerns of the patron, and make the exploration of safe items accessible.

Wordless design (Patrick)

This design is intended for illiterate users. Since indicating an item without knowing its name might be problematic, and expecting patrons to memorize names at home and recite them at the restaurant might be difficult, this design is intended to be used at the restaurant along with a server who will be able to identify the items. Image Added

(note that text is for illustrative purposes only)

Pros:

• Simple and learnable; pressing ingredients 'disallows' them, causing forbidden items to disappear, and clicking them again causes them to reappear
  Cons:
• Item_ _pictures can be ambiguous: is a picture of a cow representative of beef or dairy (here, dairy is represented with a bottle of milk)? How do you indicate gluten (in this sketch, we use wheat)?
• Non-searchable; efficiency is sacrificed in the name of compatibility with illiterate users. In order to find an item, users need to scroll through the entire list.

Text-heavy design (Patrick)

Here we have a list of ingredients on the left, with accompanying text in ambiguous cases. Clicked items are toggled between allowed and forbidden, and a tab up top lets the user switch between what kind of item they are looking at. Each individual item has a name, a description, and an ingredients list. The safe ingredients list is automatically saved in a cookie and restored on reload. Image Added

Pros:

• The green checkmark and red X are fairly universal symbols for 'OK' and 'bad', making it clear whether each ingredient is allowed or not, enhancing learnability and safety. Text descriptions allow users to ensure that pictures mean what they think they mean.
• Cookie-saved preferences enhance efficiency, since dietary restrictions are unlikely to change over time.
  Cons:
• Somewhat unsafe; by default all ingredients are allowed, meaning the user might forget to exclude one of their allergies/restrictions.

Design for searching restuarants (Damian)

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