User analysis
Our goal is to improve the user experience when ordering food at a restaurant by creating a mobile application that displays the menu for several restaurants. There are three main types of users: the customer, the waiter, and the manager.
Customer
The customer will use our app to order food at a restaurant. Some customers may be extremely hungry and will want an efficient application. Another group of customers will be more interested in exploring the menu slowly. This group would also be more likely to review their dishes after finishing their meals.
- Any age or gender
- Hungry
- Can have dietary restrictions or other specific requests
- May or may not speak English
- May want to review food afterwards
We interviewed several people ages 20-45 about their frustrations with ordering via paper menu, and what they would look for in a mobile menu.
One interviewee said he is often frustrated when he doesn’t understand the terms on the menu. He also dislikes not having control over when the waiter comes over to take his order. He complained about the lack of an ingredients list. He wanted to know what the food looks like ahead of time and what other users rated the food. He would also like to be able to filter for gluten free items on the menu.
Another interviewee was less concerned with how the food looks and more focused on the user reviews. He wanted to know what are the most popular dishes and what dishes go well with each other. He said he would write a review after he ordered his food.
A third interviewee mentioned that she has a problem with her accent when ordering food at restaurants (she said the maitré d can be condescending towards her). She gets frustrated when her food is slow, and she would prefer to know exactly what the vegetarian fare is at a particular restaurant. She said pictures would be very helpful, especially at an expensive restaurant where she wants to be sure she’s spending her money wisely. Even though this interviewee acknowledged that she is 45, she said she would feel comfortable using a mobile application (she considers herself tech savvy).
Waiter
The waiter will submit the user’s order to the chef. He or she will help the user with ordering when needed.
- Any age or gender
- Speaks English, may speak other languages
- Familiar with the interface, uses it every day
We interviewed a former waiter at a bar and grill. He said his biggest problem with taking orders was that the customer wouldn’t be specific enough about their order, and then would be unhappy with their food when it came. He also said that orders take much longer than expected when the restaurant was busy, which made customers unhappy. He said his menu was specific and described all of the ingredients and food preparation, but that that’s not typical for most restaurants.
Manager
The manager will use our app to upload the menu and pictures of dishes.
- Can be any age or gender
- Speaks English, may speak other languages
- May not be tech savvy
- Needs to upload the menu and pictures
We interviewed one former manager of a cafe. He listed a couple of problems he faced with customer ordering: for example, customers not understanding the details of a menu and being out of something the customer wants. He said the main problem was communication back and forth (maybe he misunderstood what they wanted or they misunderstood him). He said most of his customers understood the menu but got confused about certain ambiguities (for example, default bread) and about things that changed every day (soup/bread/dessert of the day).
Task analysis
Our website is meant to be accessed in two different settings. On one hand, the Manager needs to update his/her restaurant’s menu information from a web interface, where he/she can easily update the restaurant’s profile. From a different side, users will interact with the mobile-optimized site from their phones and mobile devices.
1. Update Restaurant Profile (Manager)
Why is the task being done?
The site needs to be updated with menu information about the restaurant, so that content can be displayed to users.
What does the user need to know or have before doing the task?
The manager must have information about what items the restaurant will be serving, and knowledge about how he/she wants this information to be displayed. He/she must also have pictures of the food items to display on the menu.
Where is the task being performed?
The task is performed on a desktop or laptop computer, either in the restaurant or at home.
How often is the task performed?
The task only needs to be performed as many times as the menu information changes or whenever there are new pictures to be uploaded.
What are its time or resource constraints?
There are no time or resource constraints on the user here, especially if he/she is working from home. However, we hope that the user will be able to quickly upload a picture of an item on a menu, and the description of its ingredients quickly.
How is the task learned?
The task will be structured like a basic webform, which is quite learnable if the user is used to working with websites, but will also be made obvious by the nature of the form.
What can go wrong? (Exceptions, errors, emergencies)
The user can insert improper and/or incorrect information, but the interface will make for easy editing of such errors.
Who else is involved in the task?
No one else needs to be involved in the task, but the manager may ask a chef or photographer to help update the restaurant profile.
2. View/Filter a Menu (Client/Waiter)
Why is the task being done?
The task is being done to see what items are offered at the restaurant that the client is currently eating at, and to see pictures of said items.
What does the user need to know or have before doing the task?
The user doesn’t need to know anything beforehand, but his/her experience might be shaped by a desire to filter the menu by criteria such as dietary constraints or food cravings.
Where is the task being performed?
The task can be performed inside of the restaurant before the client orders or while on the go as a precursor to deciding to visit the restaurant. Anywhere the user can access the internet from his/her mobile phone is a valid location for the task.
How often is the task performed?
This task is performed whenever the user wants to eat or search a menu.
What are its time or resource constraints?
There are resource constraints for data downloading/uploading and time might be constrained by the client’s hunger or desire to order food.
How is the task learned?
The task is meant to be intuitive and learnable. On occasion, waiters might be trained in this task in order to help the client learn the task or search the menu themselves.
What can go wrong? (Exceptions, errors, emergencies)
The task is meant to inform clients of the options available to them in an innovative way, and the client will not be able to provide any feedback to the managers or waiters through the site.
Who else is involved in the task?
The waiter can potentially aide the client in using the app, but it should mainly be used by the client.
3. Search for Restaurant (Client)
Why is the task being done?
The client may want to search for a particular restaurant to see its menu, or to find restaurants in the area.
What does the user need to know or have before doing the task?
The user can either search by name, in which case he/she should have the name of the restaurant. Otherwise, the mobile app will use location to search for restaurants.
Where is the task being performed?
The task can be performed anywhere, although it has special behavior if performed at the same location as the restaurant.
How often is the task performed?
This task is performed whenever the user wants to eat or search a menu.
What are its time or resource constraints?
There are no resource constraints but time might be constrained by the client’s hunger or desire to order food.
How is the task learned?
The task is meant to be intuitive and learnable, mirroring other interfaces that users will have seen if they are already mobile phone users.
What can go wrong? (Exceptions, errors, emergencies)
The task is meant to inform clients of the restaurants available to them in an innovative way, and the client will not be able to provide any feedback through the site.
Who else is involved in the task?
No one.