Role
- Product Designer
Duration
- Jan 2018 - May 2018
Project Type
- Mobile App Design
My Responsibility
- Lead Design Strategy
- Conduct Comprehensive User Research
- Responsible for IA, UI/UX Design and IxD.
Background
“What should waiting experience be in the digital and mobile era?”
Waiting outside of a popular restaurant is not unfamiliar to people who love tasty food. However, it not only is a bad business for restaurants but also makes customers with higher expectations harder to satisfy. While mobile devices changing our experience of finding a new restaurant, the check-in and waiting in front of the restaurant haven’t changed from pen and paper decades ago. What should waiting experience be in the digital and mobile era?
The average American household spend $3,008 on restaurant meals and takeout. Grosery spending, by contrast, is $4,015.
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Restaurants have a wait lists an average of 6.6 hours per week. The average waiting time for a table for parties is near 30 mins.
Source: Long Range Systems, LLC
Nearly 93 percent of restaurants have some wait-time periods, and a third of restaurants report that waits are getting longer.
Source: Long Range Systems, LLC
Business Objectives
What were we trying to achieve?
- Use mobile technology to introduce new way of waiting in line
- Improve customers satisfaction
- Increase efficiency of waiting in line
User Goals
What are the users’ needs?
- Reduce unnecessary waiting time
- Flexible location while waiting in line
- Easy to use interface
- Real time updates on the waiting process
Responsibilities
What was I responsible for?
- Researching the wait list market and existing user experience
- Creating design strategy and IA
- Implementing visual design and IxD
The Problem
When you walk into a popular restaurant during rush hours, it is almost guaranteed that you will have to wait in lines for hours. The current experience of getting on the checklist, waiting for your name being called, and getting seated are outdated. Most restaurants are facing less patience, higher expectation, and harder to satisfy customers. Waiting experience needs changes with mobile technology.
Discovery
Figuring out the problem with empathy
To have a better understanding of the behaviors, motivations and struggles in dining experience, I conducted immersive ethnographic research, including shadowing, observational research, contextual interviews, and surveys. I interviewed 6 restaurant target audience and 4 restaurant managers, visited and experienced waiting in 4 restaurants, and over 500 surveys.
Conducting contextual interview and surveys help me understand the process of restaurant bussing management, experience the frustration, touch points, needs and pain points of dining experience for customers, and gain insights of their motivation and behaviors.
Blackboard Waitlist at Brenda’s French Soul Food
Group of 4
Time: Sat 8:13 am
Wait Time: 45mins
The blackboard waitlist is an easier approach to the traditional waitlist. It is easier to put down names and visualize the current standing. There are only 4 seats in the waiting area. The majority of people wait outside of the restaurants on the street.
Gen Korean BBQ Wating Area
Group of 2
Time: Fri 7:30pm
Wait Time: 1hr 45mins
Check-in with the front desk and we waited for nearly two hours. They don’t have notification other than actually calling your name. If the party is not there when the name is called, it will be crossed out. I visited the supermarket next door for time killing. Most people in the waiting area are playing their own cellphones.
Quantitative Analysis
Recognizing the dining patterns
Based on the 547 surveys conducted on regular diners, I noticed the dining behaviors are largely differentiate based on the age group. The age group of 19-28 is most likely dining outside while they are the least patient group.
Insights
What frustrate people about waiting in line
With a close examination of the user behaviors, I noticed the mental cause of frustration of waiting: conflicting perception of time and the actual time of waiting. Even with the same amount of time waiting, under different circumstances, users can have totally different feelings. An accurate expectation of waiting time and accommodation while waiting can help with reducing the customers’ level of anxiety and boredom.
Cognitive mapping is also used to help to visualize how people think and make decisions while waiting for seating. It reveals the key nodes of decision making during waiting. It also helped to form concepts and improvements that can be worked on waiting experience.
Target Group
Identifying the motivation and obstacles in the user experience
I focused on the design for the burgeoning age group of 18-35, who are most likely dining in the restaurants and least patient about waiting. They are also the major customers for casual restaurants, which have the longest waiting line without a reservation system.
By mapping the user journey in the waiting experience, I was able to identify the key pain points and obstacles and prioritize my design strategy accordingly.
I also created three different personas based on different user patterns: the social enthusiast, the explorer, and the time-saver.
Ideation
I wish waiting experience could be like…
The goal of the design is not only to improve the efficiency of waiting-line management but also to bring restaurants and users socially engaged with each other. Therefore, I invited the restaurant owner, foodies, and waitress to the co-creation brainstorming workshop.
- Remotely joining waiting line
Allowing users to join the waiting line to join lines remotely. - Table Share
Users can share tables to save waiting time. - Real time updates
The users get estimated waiting time updates while in the line - Self check-in
The users can check-in if their seat is ready. The phone will check the location to make sure the customer are nearby and improve bussing efficiency for restaurants. - Exploring nearby
Offer information and discounts about nearby attractions and shops for customers to explore while waiting.
My Vision
Based on contextual research, cognitive analysis, and user collaboration, the design solution could be approached in three directions: communication, social engagement, and delight design.
Content Mapping
Building the structure for the app
I built an information architecture for the app based on current user behaviors, proposed features and information user requested. I scoped the information based on the user actions and content blocks.
Prototyping
Implementing the idea and testing with users
Starting with low-fidelity wireframe, functions and features are explored. I used the prototypes to conduct usability testing and iterated based on the feedback.
Paper Prototype
Mid-fidelity Prototype
High-fidelity Protoype
Final Design
Integrating the visual design
After 4 iterations, the final design is implemented with visual design and modified based on the feedback gathered from user testing. The final design streamlined the user experience and organized the information hierarchy. Emphasizing on the joyful experience, I introduced the delight design into the voice of tone and visual design.
Accessibility
Join the waiting line no matter where you are
Penguinline is allowing users to browse restaurants they preferred and join the waiting line no matter where they are. By using the deck interaction, users can stay at the same page of the restaurant information while deciding to join the waiting line. The popular dishes give users a clear idea about the restaurant. When users get in line, they can easily fill in the number of parties and choose between sharing the table or not.
Visibility
Real-time updates on waiting
Allowing users to see real-time updates lets them have a clearer expectation and perception of the waiting time, which helps improving satisfaction. Meanwhile, the check-in process can be done by customers alone, which allows the restaurant to automatically aware of which group to be seated.
Navigation
Information layout and hierarchy
To maximize screen usage and simplify the hierarchy, a customizable vertical category system helps the users to browse through the restaurants without distracted by the featured category. In user testing, the layout improves the user experience browsing experience and help them make a decision.
Delight Design
Joyful experience
Waiting is usually frustrated and annoying. By adopting delight design, I designed the visual elements to present the joyful interaction.
Logo Design
The fun waiting experience with Penguinline
I named the Penguinline by using the penguin shape with delight design and lines. I also designed the color and chose the font to get with the logo.
Next Step
Reflecting on my process, the outcome and next step
While working on this project, I used empathy on users and user-testing feedback as guidance for design strategy and decisions. This opportunity helped me learn how to get involved with users, lead the research process, and use the contextual inquiry to shape the solution for the problem. By completing all the design and screens, the product is ready to be launched.
Penguinline Screens
