Digital transformation of restaurant through reimagined menu & food ordering experience
Digital transformation of restaurant through reimagined menu & food ordering experience
The Prompt
Design a menu & ordering app for your nearest restaurant.
My Role: I designed the complete head to toe experience with a participatory design process, where I included sponsored users to empathically design a solution.
Duration: 1 Week Methods: User Interviews, Contextual inquiry, Empathy maps, Affinity diagram, Competitive analysis, Wireframing, Prototyping, Cognitive walkthrough, Usability testing.
Project Timeline: Exploration and User Research (Day 1, 2) Synthesis of Research (Day 3,) Ideation and Prototyping (Day 4,5,6)
User testing and Refinement through feedbacks (Day 7)
Continuous & Collaborative Approach
User centred collaborative and iteractive loop of learn, build and measure
Continuous & Collaborative Approach
User centered collaborative and iterative loop of learn, build and measure
Alright, I started with building empathy with users
and learning about them
Alright, I started with building empathy with users
and learning about them
Research I did:
Research I did:
To begin with I used the 5W+H and 5Whys framework to explore the problem area and pose questions for user research.
Then I conducted user interviews with 10 people and I inquired about these peoples’ general restaurant going experience, focused on going through menu and food ordering aspect.
To begin with I used the 5W+H and 5Whys framework to explore the problem area and pose questions for user research.
Then I conducted user interviews with 10 people and I inquired about these peoples’ general restaurant going experience, focused on going through menu and food ordering aspect.
Then I talked to some people
Then I talked to some people
“I am a very foodie person and I like to explore different kind of cuisines”
“I hate long and unpredictable waiting time at restaurants especially during rush hours and festivals”
– Yashu
“I go out to eat very occasionally and I go “
“I usually go to same restaurant”
“Sometimes it is very confusing to find and choose from menu due to limited information about food and on top of it fancy coined names makes it even more confusing”
“I am lil shy and calling waiters is kind of big task for me lol”
– Avinash
“I go out to a nearby restaurant on weekends”
“I am very specific when it comes to what I eat”
“At some places i see very lengthy menu and It takes time to find the item i m looking for”
“I am very impatient and I constantly asks about status of my food being prepared”
– Shivani
“I am a very foodie person and I like to explore different kind of cuisines”
“I hate long and unpredictable waiting time at restaurants especially during rush hours and festivals”
– Yashu
“I go out to eat very occasionally “
“I usually go to same restaurant”
“Sometimes it is very confusing to find and choose from menu due to limited information about food and on top of it fancy coined names makes it even more confusing”
“I am lil shy and calling waiters is kind of big task for me lol”
– Avinash
“I go out to a nearby restaurant on weekends”
“I am very specific when it comes to what I eat”
“At some places i see very lengthy menu and It takes time to find the item i m looking for”
“I am very impatient and I constantly asks about status of my food being prepared”
– Shivani
After that I went to some restaurants and did contextual inquiry (almost stalking) to get additional layer of details
After that I went to some restaurants and did contextual inquiry (almost stalking) to get additional layer of details
Meanwhile I did a competitive analysis to see what has been done to identify other problems or user needs I can cater to with the new solution I am designing
Meanwhile I did a competitive analysis to see what has been done to identify other problems or user needs I can cater to with the new solution I am designing
Mapping of typical step by step experience of a person going to restaurant
Mapping of typical step by step experience of a person going to restaurant
Here is an experience map visualizing end to end experience along with the identified users needs and pain-points at various steps as opportunities.
Here is an experience map visualizing end to end experience along with the identified users needs and pain-points at various steps as opportunities.
These are the common problems and needs I identified through research
These are the common problems and needs I identified through research
The main user needs, problems and pain-point observed through research:
The main user needs, problems and pain-point observed through research:
- People have to wait for waiters for menu, for additional information about food item, to place subsequent orders, and To pay bill. Hence in the whole experience there is a huge dependency on restaurant staff’s availability.
- Sometimes it is very difficult to discover and choose item from menu for eg: If menu is very comprehensive it becomes tedious to find item, on the other hand if menu is concise it is hard to decide as it has very limited information about food item in the list.
- Restaurants doesn’t always offer everything written in menu & I personally hates when it happens. Menu isn’t based on real time availability of items.
- lack of information about status of food being prepared. People donot know how long to wait and hence people have to call restaurant staff multiple times to know how long will take?
- People have to wait for waiters for menu, for additional information about food item, to place subsequent orders, and To pay bill. Hence in the whole experience there is a huge dependency on restaurant staff’s availability.
- Sometimes it is very difficult to discover and choose item from menu for eg: If menu is very comprehensive it becomes tedious to find item, on the other hand if menu is concise it is hard to decide as it has very limited information about food item in the list.
- Restaurants doesn’t always offer everything written in menu & I personally hates when it happens. Menu isn’t based on real time availability of items.
- lack of information about status of food being prepared. People donot know how long to wait and hence people have to call restaurant staff multiple times to know how long will take?
Now based on these identified user problems and needs, I narrowed down my focus on key problems and ..
Now based on these identified user problems and needs, I narrowed down my focus on key problems and ..
Action Plan: I formed user stories along with signals and metrics to measure success
I formed user stories along with signals and metrics to measure success
Okay! Now we got problems and action plan
It’s time to think and generate ideas
Okay! Now we got problems and action plan
It’s time to think and generate ideas
Ideation
Ideation
We know paper based menu is flawed so what are the alternatives…
Meanwhile for inspiration I looked for some available alternatives of paper based menu in market. Then I evaluated these solutions based on cost and benefit analysis.
We know paper based menu is flawed so what are the alternatives…
In order to get as many ideas as possible I took a participatory design approach, Where I included some users in brainstorming session. Not only I got lot of ideas It uncovered users’ mental modals.
Meanwhile for inspiration I looked for some available alternatives of paper based menu in market. Then I evaluated these solutions based on cost and benefit analysis.
In order to get as many ideas as possible I took a participatory design approach, Where I included some users in brainstorming session. Not only I got lot of ideas It uncovered users’ mental modals.
From here design phase kicked off..
From here design phase kicked off..
Design
Design
I started with low fidelity designs to observe and learn from the users’ first hand interaction and to validate the design concept early in the process.
I started with low fidelity designs to observe and learn from the users’ first hand interaction and to validate the design concept early in the process.
Introducing QR code based menu that will open a web app from there, customers will be able to see menu and place order.
Introducing QR code based menu that will open a web app from there customers will be able to see menu and place order.
How will it help?
How will it help?
QR based menu
- Customers wont have to wait for restaurant staff for menu, additional information about food item, to place order and to pay bill. Hence it saves huge time of customers and sets restaurant staff free to provide a great dining experience.
- Easy to discover items using filters, sorting and search. Detailed information related to food item including good amount of pictures that helps in decision making.
Traditional physical menu
- Customers have to wait for restaurant staff for menu, menu, for additional information about food item, to place subsequent orders, and To pay bill. Hence in the whole experience there is a huge dependency on restaurant staff’s availability.
- it is very difficult to discover and choose item from menu
- Restaurants doesn’t always offer everything written in menu
Early testing
Early testing with wireframes
I conducted a cognitive walkthrough with some users to test the low fid design concept. I got some good insights that I used to inform the high fidelity design.
I conducted a cognitive walkthrough with some users to test the low fid design concept. I got some good insights that I used to inform the high fidelity design decisions.
High Fid Designs
High Fid Design
Customer scans the unique QR code placed on each table and lands on this screen (Home)
Select an item to order
Select an item to order
Order placed, No need to pay upfront
Order placed, No need to pay upfront
Check Order status
List of Served orders and button to repeat
Pay Bill
Order in waiting with total time remaining time and time for each item
List of Served orders and button to repeat
Pay Bill
Currently I am working on high fidelity designs and will soon add more in this case study
Currently I am working on high fidelity designs and will soon add more in this case study
Thanks for Reading!
Thanks for Reading!
