2024

POS Ordering App

Project Overview

A complete redesign of a restaurant POS app focused on streamlining the ordering experience and reducing staff errors in high-pressure environments.

Role

UX/UI Designer

Project Duration

8 weeks

Read Time

4 minutes

The Problem

The existing POS system caused frequent mistakes and confusion among restaurant staff. Users struggled to find menu items, customize orders, and differentiate dine-in from to-go workflows especially during peak hours. Interviews with real restaurant employees revealed that poor navigation and layout were the main contributors to inefficiency and order errors.

The Process

1. Define

User Flow
Redesigning the user journey to reduce decision fatigue. The new flow clearly separates dine-in and to-go options at the start, followed by simplified category browsing and a more direct confirmation process:
‍Table Selection → Menu → Customize → Confirm → Send

2. Research

Methods
- 6 interviews with real restaurant staff
- In-service observations during peak hours
- Survey for workflow bottlenecks

Insights
- “Scrolling too much slows me down.”
- “I mix up dine-in and to-go orders when it’s busy.”
- “Customizing orders feels like a hassle.”

3. Analyze

Research Synthesis
Using affinity mapping and flow audits, I narrowed findings into three priority UX goals:
1. Simplify order flow to reduce taps and errors
2. Make the menu layout intuitive and category-driven
3. Highlight order customization options without overwhelming users

4. Design

Branding
- Color: Based on branding of the restaurant: #139B48 (green), #FF0000 (red), neutral grays, and white.
- Typography: Clean sans-serif for fast scanning.
- Logo: Cultural anchor for the restaurant’s identity.

Wireframe
Wireframes explored modular layouts and menu card designs. Focus was on:
- Introduced sticky actions and minimized scrolling.
- Explored layouts that prioritized menu hierarchy and fast table selection.

5. User Testing

Interview Questions
- “How do you currently navigate the POS system under time pressure?”
- “What’s most frustrating when customizing or editing orders?”
- “Can you walk me through how you select a table and submit an order?”

Testing Results
- Task Success Rate: 92% of users completed ordering tasks without assistance
- Time on Task: Average time to complete an order was 2 minutes and 12 seconds
‍- Error Rate: Below 3% across test participants (mainly mis-taps early on)

6. Iterate

Feedbacks
- "The categories bar is hidden and takes time to scroll to the side"
- “Hard to locate the tables on the app, cause they are inconsistent with the actual table map of the restaurant.”

Adjustments
- Shorten Navigation: Save users more time on selecting the category they want.
- Reorganized table view: The dining table map is well-organized and consistent with the layout, letting users locate the table easily.

7. Final Design

Outcomes
The final design introduces a modular layout with clearer menu grouping, simplified table selection, and intuitive UI patterns. The system was tested positively among stakeholders and received strong feedback from restaurant staff for ease of use.

Reflection
This project highlights the value of real user feedback - many of the original assumptions about what “looked clean” didn’t align with usability in a fast-paced environment.