During my high school years, I frequently ate at the school canteen. The experience was a mixed bag. Some days delivered fantastic meals, while others were borderline inedible. This inconsistency sparked an idea: what if students could collectively provide feedback to help improve the canteen experience? That's how Menja i Opina was born.
Menja i Opina was designed as a simple yet effective solution that allowed students to rate their daily meals. The goal was to collect meaningful feedback that could be used to refine the menu for upcoming months, creating a direct channel between student preferences and management.
The first version launched in 2020 and was piloted at my high school, Institut La Valira.
Solving the Engagement Problem
After the initial launch, we quickly discovered a common challenge in user engagement. Students were enthusiastic during the first few days, but their review frequency dropped significantly as the novelty wore off.
To tackle this problem, we explored various gamification strategies and landed on implementing a streak system. This simple addition to the second version proved remarkably effective, as the streak counter motivated users to maintain their daily rating habits. We complemented this with push notifications that gently reminded users to rate their meals.
The second iteration also introduced several community-focused features:
- A live public display showing real-time daily ratings
- A global ranking system highlighting the most popular and least favorite dishes
These social elements created a sense of community participation and transparency around the feedback process.
“Social elements created a sense of community participation and transparency around the feedback process.”
Administrative Challenges and Solutions
One significant operational challenge was menu management. Since the school's menu wasn't digitized, updating the app required manual intervention. To streamline this process, we developed a web-based dashboard that allowed for easy menu uploads and data export.
We were fortunate to partner with a dedicated volunteer from the school's AFA (Associació de Famílies d'Alumnes, the parent-student association) who took responsibility for monthly menu updates. This collaboration was essential for keeping the app current and functional.
An unexpected end
Menja i Opina run successfully for several months until the COVID-19 pandemic forced widespread lockdowns. With students learning remotely and the school canteen closed indefinitely, we made the decision to discontinue the project.
Despite its premature end, the project was both a valuable learning experience and an engaging development challenge. It taught me important lessons about user engagement, collaboration, and building solutions that serve real needs.
Interested in learning more about Menja i Opina? Feel free to reach out to me at markus@timefactories.com for additional details about the project.
