Menu & ordering app for a cafe

Designed as a part of Google's UX Design certificate

Project overview

The product

  • easy to use
  • visually appealing
  • saves customer’s time
  • inspires to try new drinks and snacks

Project duration

August 2021 – January 2022

The problem

Customers in cafes often face the problem of having to wait a long time for a waiter to come.

The goal

To design an app for a fictional cafe, which would be very easy to use and be visually appealing.

My role

UX designer for Menu & ordering app from the beginning to delivery.

Responsibilities

Conducting interviews, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, and iterating on designs.

 

Understanding the user

Summary

  • Interviews: 4
  • Primary user group: adults who go to cafes to enjoy their time and meet with friends.
  • Outcome: Benefits of such app would for the user to
    1. be able to study the menu before it is brought to the table
    2. be able to order if  the waiters are busy
    3. offer more attractive and diverse images of foods and drinks

Pain points

1

No menu on the table before the waitress comes and then ordering under stress.

2

Personnel not noticing me or my friends.

3

Making mistakes in my order

Meet our personas

Understanding the competition

Competitive audit

Competitive audit revealed that  such apps are not use in our geographical region. Therefore it might be useful to introduce them. Especially with respect to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Starting the design

User Flow

UX design User Flow Menu order app Cafe

Paper wireframes

Simple. Many suggestions. Plenty of images.
2nd level menu: Versions 1-3
2nd level menu: Versions 4-5 & FINAL

Digital wireframes (Figma)

DigitalWireframes1
DigitalWireframes2

Usability studies

  • unmoderated usability studies
  • 5 participants each
  • Slovkia (remote)
  • 10 mins duration

Round one usability study (on LoFi prototype)

  1. Users need a visual structure which supports orientation in the app
  2. Users want the possibility for the app to remember their choice of drinks and snacks
  3. Users need to explain some concepts

 

Round two usability study (on HiFi prototype)

  1. The ordering process could be simpler
  2. Users need an indication for scrolling possibility
  3. The “Call the waiter button” is still confusing for some users despite the explanatory text

Refining the design

Implemantaion of usability studies

1. In order to help the user navigate through the app, we changed the layout of the Navigation menu.

2. We simplified the ordering process by removing one confirmation step - instead we updated the basket icon.

Before usability study 2
From two screens →
→ to one screen

Sticker Sheet

Sticker sheet Menu&ordering app

Accessibility considerations

1

I made sure the colors of the text and buttons meet the WCAG 2 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)

2

The animations in the app meet accessibility standards.

3

The fonts are large enough to be easily legible also for older users.

Going forward

Takeaways

Impact

Quotes from the second round of user testing:
  • “The environment is common and logical”
  • “I think it easy and clear”
  • “The navigation is more or less intuitive”

What I learned

I learned that no matter how much I try, I am blind to problems in my own prototypes. The user has to come first and center.

 

Next steps

1

Add the possibility
  • of login and
  • of remembering My choices or My preferences for the users.

2

Add language options.