Iduncare is a restaurant browsing app. Unlike Urbanspoon, the app’s intent is to tackle the common, everyday problem of choosing a restaurant in a group. Not to sound like a standup comic, but it’s the worst, isn’t it?
Iduncare, which is named after what most people respond when asked where they’d like to eat: “I don’t care”, allows a group of diners, be they coworkers, friends, lovers, or mortal enemies peckish before their final showdown, to choose a restaurant that creates the optimal compromise. As can be seen here, the app’s tone is casual. While also being a stylistic choice, this tone invites a non-judgmental response from users, who are asked not what their favorite restaurants are (though these opinions can be stored) but rather their hunger mood; this carefree atmosphere doesn’t threaten individual restaurants, as their places of business aren’t being “downvoted” in any way.
The app process begins by having a single user create a session, which includes a four-digit group code that allows other users to join the session. These codes are recycled as often as necessary. Should the popularity of the app increase, the codes will become alphanumeric and remain as short as possible so that groups can join quick and easily. The hunger leader is in charge of deciding a few options, notably location (easily defaulted from the GPS), search area, price range, and dietary options. The last option is necessary in the early stages, so that restaurants that at least offer such options as vegan or gluten-free meals can be filtered in.
After that stage, all users are invited to decide which types of cuisines suit their palette at the moment. User are expected to give themselves multiple options, deciding that, for example, they “could go for” Barbecie, or that they’re “not feeling” Asian food right now. Behind the scenes, the server sorts restaurants in the search area, those that meet multiple users’ tummies get push up, and those that the group is vetoing get pushed down, until a set of 20-30 restaurants with strong eligibility is narrowed down, at which point the app will automatically move on to invite users to rate.
At this point, all users will be offered a list of restaurants in icon form. They might tap the icon to read more about the restaurant, perhaps with profiles borrowed from Urbanspoon or Google Maps. They can say “Oh Yeah!” or “Not Now” for restaurants that don’t suit their fancy. Clear eliminations will quietly fade away. Clear winners will rise to the top of the page. At this stage, it is reasonably expected that users will quickly whittle down their options to a mutually agreeable selection.
If full consensus is met, the app will offer up the winning restaurant’s profile, allowing for phone or online reservations via a popular third-party reservation service, such as OpenTable. This endpoint is no doubt the exception over the rule, so if the users end up picking a restaurant via verbal communication, the app will not hold it against them, and quietly allow the session to expire after an hour.
The app is designed as a standalone application, but would also make a useful function to a currently existing restaurant mobile app.
Prototype