haliyana khalid

Gembirafood relies on a paper-based monitoring system, leading to potential inefficiencies, errors, andchallenges for users. This research employs a design thinking approach to identify pain points, understand userneeds, and propose user-centric solutions to improve the monitoring system’s effectiveness and user experience. Thisresearch employed the initial three stages of the design thinking process: empathize, define, and ideate. Empathizeinvolved understanding user needs through interviews and observations. The define stage focused on problemidentification and prioritization based on gathered insights. Finally, the ideate stage generated potential solutions toaddress the identified challenges. Key challenges identified include complex and cumbersome forms, language barriers,lack of standardization, and limited data accessibility. Users desire a simplified, user-friendly system with improved dataaccuracy, faster processing, and enhanced traceability. The research proposes implementing digital forms, languagelocalization, automated data entry, and centralized data repositories. User training materials and clear communicationare also emphasized. The proposed solutions could improve data accuracy, efficiency, user satisfaction, and food safetycompliance at Gembirafood. Future recommendations include pilot testing, considering technology feasibility, andadapting to evolving regulations. This design thinking project offers a framework for transforming Gembirafood’smonitoring system into a user-friendly, efficient, and impactful tool for ensuring food safety and operational excellence.

Food safety is a significant health concern in developing countries like Malaysia, where night markets, also knownas “pasar malam”, are often linked to food-borne diseases. The practices and environment of these markets areoften associated with unhygienic practices by hawkers, contributing to these illnesses. This study aims to identify theexperiences, perspectives, and problem statements of six hawkers from two-night market sites in Hulu Langat, Selangor,Malaysia. Using the “Design Thinking” approach covering the initial stages namely “empathy”, “define” and“ideation”, the study identifies the goals and pains of each hawker, aiming to address holistically to increase theirlivelihoods and consumer’s quality of life. The development of a food warmer was chosen as the best solution, apreliminary outcome of this study, not just it addresses their goals and pains, it also ensures food safety which wouldreduce enforcement actions, lower the burden of authorities, and indirectly save resources. Consumers also would benefitfrom increased quality of life and safe, quality products from night markets. To strengthen the study’s outcome, moreresearch is needed, considering wider night market sites, increased respondents/subject matters, and a wider variety ofdishes. The next chapter of the research would emphasize the final stages incorporating the “prototype” and “testing”stages to develop physically the food warmer, including ensuring its functionality and obtaining feedbacks from theexisting users (hawkers) for further commercialization. A “user-centered design” (UCD) approach would be applied inthis final stage of the DT process.