Creating a commerce ordering platform to increase revenue and expand lunch service options for existing clients.
M Y R O L E
Leading end-to-end e-commerce design
I was the lead designer for an end-to-end e-commerce, family-style catering ordering platform for EAT Club’s Los Angeles market that would increase revenue and expand lunch service options for existing clients.
T H E C H A L L E N G E
Our product needed to fit unique requirements
Although EAT Club mostly focuses on individual style meals, family style catering came up as a priority feature in a lot of our user testing as well as an initial human-powered trial. While the focus would still stay on individual meals, the goal was to provide a way for admins using the program to utilize a hybrid model of both family style and individual lunch options.
E X I S T I N G F L O W
The current program was full of pain points
The previous family style catering process was very manual and required a lot of steps for potential new customers.
S T A K E H O L D E R I N T E R V I E W S
Manual mistakes were a major pain point
We talked extensively with the catering manager and the delivery reps on site. It became apparent that manual mistakes were a huge pain point in the current process. By streamlining the ordering process we hoped to reduce the likelihood of mistakes and solve this issue.
U S E R R E S E A R C H
We conducted interviews with current users
The next step in the design process was to identify and empathize potential pain points within the market and from our potential customers. To do this, we conducted interviews with existing and potential catering clients and stakeholders and created personas based on their attributes and personal journeys. We took stock of the highest priority needs.
Good communication
Admins wanted outstanding communication. They communicated most commonly through email.
Efficiency and organization
This was just one part of an office manager’s job, so they wanted to be able to quickly and easily order and keep everything organized. Organized invoices were a major priority.
Order adjustments
Users wanted to be able to make adjustments for headcount and dietary needs.
Dietary Needs
A priority for most users was to have easy access to dietary labels and nutrition information to make sure that they were including everyone in their office.
N E W U S E R F L O W
Our new user flow would allow for better communication
With this new understanding of the user we started brainstorming the flow of the catering dashboard. We mapped out a new user flow that allowed users more customization, better communication and a more organized system. In the initial process there was a single point where information was transferred which made it easy for mistakes to be made. We brainstormed a new flow that would put in place three touch points that would confirm details and reduce miscommunications.
D E S I G N : P R E - O R D E R D E T A I L S
Prioritizing order details at the beginning
Before the user even looked at menus they would be prompted to enter details about their order including the highest priority of information which would reflect in the menus they were shown and on the checkout screen.
D E S I G N : F I L T E R
Users need to choose a menu
From our interviews we knew that users prioritized price and cuisine when choosing menus so we added filters to the menu search page. Users would be able to quickly find what they need. Our testing showed that, on average, users spent 4 minutes less time on the same screen with filters.
D E S I G N : O R D E R C O N F I R M A T I O N
Final confirmation just when they need it
Our research found that common changes like changing the headcount or substituting a dish happened, on average, two weeks out from the order. To account for this, we added a final review after the order had been placed and confirmation email and push notification alert so that the admin would be prompted to confirm the details of their order.
F I N A L D E S I G N
The design promoted easy communication
The final flow went through user testing with an interactive prototype to test user tasks and overall usability. Users were able to more quickly and confidently place a catering order.
N E X T S T E P S
Further iterations were planned
Unlike individual meals, catering focuses on meal customization. Further iterations of the family style catering product were planned to allow clients further space for customization.