I like to start with a mood board to get my visual direction going. I also sketch a lot. I designed the app screens to look like the menus at elevated restaurants with the paper slipped into the corners of a leather book, hence the cropped corner backgrounds.
After exploring various logo designs I chose the version that I felt best represents the values behind my app; Bytesized is something being served to the guest as a step of service, carried by the server who is wearing an ambiguous uniform. It has a sophisticated look to suggest that using Bytesized with your team elevates your quality of service.
The simple colors support my business scalability goals of tailoring the app to multiple restaurants or existing point of sale systems.
Visual Design
Competitive Analysis
While TalentLMS is too broad, Connecteam is too operational, and Yelli lacks depth. My app has the potential to combine the best aspects of all three while filling key gaps in restaurant-specific training.
RESEARCH: Competitive Analysis
I discovered three widely used training tools used by restaurant operators. I explored these competitors' strengths and weaknesses to explore opportunities where I could build something more suited to restaurant needs.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Make it effortless for managers to input menu items and instantly generate learning materials.
Unlike competitors, personalize quizzes based on each employee’s progress.
Give managers in-depth performance tracking & knowledge retention reports.
View Full Analysis
I like to start my designs with sketching. I find this to be the quickest way to start exploring the way features can look on screens. I referenced my problem statements and feature set to start sketching and organizing the possible layouts. These little sheets are the order taking pads we use at the restaurant. How appropriate. (Note pads acquired with permission of course!)
Paper before Pixels
Now that I had a strong idea of who would be using my product and their needs, it was time to assess the needs and goals of the business as well as areas where they may overlap.
This is personally my favorite part of data synthesis as it always feels like an "Aha!" moment for informing the necessary features of a design.
Project Goals Data Synthesis
User
Personas
Project
Goals
Challenge: The research phase of this project was especially difficult because industry folk are some of the busiest working people— asking them to make time for interviews about work during coveted time off was going to be time consuming. I realized that rushing to designing before conducting research would compromise the integrity of my product. I had to pause my bootcamp course to schedule interviews around participants' busy schedules. I was disappointed to delay my graduation… but I learned a lot about pace and prioritizing the research for well informed design.
It was difficult not to cast my own personal assumptions into Bytesized being that I, too, had worked in this industry for over two decades. Fortunately my deep diving into the UX/UI design world articles, forums, discussions kept me well aware of a common design world pain point: That rookie designers often rush to a conclusion or feature factory that creates solutions that users don't actually need. I had to be conscientous that I was informing my design decisions based on my research and personas.
I learned a lot about building with scalability in mind. I have plans to try and sell Bytesized to Existing Point of Sale & Learning Management Systems and having those goals informed my process pretty heavily. Assessing the theoretical the "business goals" and was a great exercise in that regard. Bytesized is officially trademarked and pending further development!
It was sometimes difficult to be a team of one person, so I learned how consulting with my mentor and peers to get that valuable feedback. It got me "unstuck" and back into the swing of things. This project really helped me tune in to the subtle details that support good design.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR MYSELF AS A DESIGNER
Business Impact
Restaurant servers are expected to have deep menu knowledge, yet training methods are often inconsistent, outdated, or inefficient. Managers struggle to ensure their teams are well-versed in menu items, allergens, and beverage pairings, leading to lost sales, customer dissatisfaction, and operational inefficiencies.
Role: Sole UX|UI Designer
Industry: Ed Tech, Hospitality
Duration: 2 weeks
Project Type: End to End Mobile App, Bootcamp Capstone Project
TOOLS: Figma, Figjam, Miro, Adobe Suite, Google Meet, Fireflies
An end to end mobile application that breaks down menu training into bite sized pieces.
I conducted user research interviews with 15 industry contacts to better understand their perspectives, experience, goals, and frustrations.The participants held varying roles within the industry yet all had something in common…
User Interviews
"You usually have a different trainer every night and everyone has their own interpretation of things so it's pretty inconsistent."
— Server
"It's difficult because I can't be there for every training shift and there's a lot of inconsistency from one Trainer's approach to the next"
— Manager
"We could definitely be better at following up on menu retention— consistently reinforcing the basics - if you sell forty $30 burgers on a shift you should be able to tell me everything that's in it."
— Executive Chef
"We believe consistency to be the most effective method for training our teams"
— General Manager
"We believe consistency to be the most effective method for training our teams"
— Corporate Trainer
"We strive to provide the very best every time for our guests because consistency is the driving force behind repeat business."
— Restaurant Owner
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Training Consistency is a Major Issue
Training is Often Self-Directed
Hands-On & Visual Learning is Preferred
Current Digital Tools Have Limitations
Tracking & Reinforcement are Lacking
Gamification & Interactivity Have Strong Potential
I used insights from user interviews and infinity mapping to discover I had a whopping four user groups. I then created a persona for each group as a reference point for informing the design and keeping their needs in mind.
I married the feedback from user testing with my visual direction to create high fidelity screens for Byte Sized's hero features and used them for usability testing. I further refined my screens in two major ways….
Usabilty Testing with High Fidelity Screens
USER TESTING
Task: Initiate a study session
Participants were unaware that they could select multiple categories to study.
One participant pointed out that "Vegetarian" should be a common button.
USER TESTING
Task: Look up an allergy
Participants mentioned that they could not see themselves needing "common inquiry" and one was unsure of what it meant.
USER TESTING
Task: Add a new item to the menu
Participants expressed confusion at the verbiage "recipe archives" as it seemed to represent past items. This delayed the duration of testing.
I conducted user testing to assess whether or not participants could successfully use the key feature of my Byte Sized app. I conducted tests with prompt scripts and used the following metrics to gauge their success: Task duration, completion rates, errors made, and a post test qualitative feedback survey.
A "Byte sized" learning tool that gamifies a restaurant's training information into engaging, digestible lessons for menu knowledge.
The trivia curriculum adapts to employee progress to reinforce areas where staff struggle to maintain information
#1 Gamified Menu Training
Simplified menu management you can carry in your pocket. Update the menu, sync training materials, and notify staff of changes. All at the same time.
#2 Manager Portal
No more outdated paper materials. Simply snap a photo with your smartphone and add the latest version to the menu - automatically syncing training materials.
Customizable data entry to add what you need your staff to know. Simply delete what you don't.
A reference tool for the most challenging aspect of menu competency that can double as a study method.
#2 Allergy Lookup Tool
Final Results
"A tool is only as good as our ability to use it." - General Manager II, HNL Airport
