the scheduling app for restaurants is called
ROOT.
THE PROBLEM
Scheduling application design rarely considers the unique needs of the restaurant workflow.
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Often, managers are left to develop their own systems for managing their workflow, even when such features are “included” in their HR Information Systems.​
the SOLUTION
Pretty Simple:
Building a custom scheduling app for the restaurant industry with the people who would use it everyday.​​​
The ProcesS
There are numerous paths a designer can take to effective and enjoyable UX. In my own, I use Hasso-Plattner's Design Thinking Framework, which breaks down the design process into five steps:
01
02
03
04
05
Empathize
Define
IDEATE
PROTOTYPE
TEST
01. empathize
The empathize phase of Design Thinking framework is the place to learn all about the user: their needs, wants, pain points, and the context in which they'll experience a digital product or app.
I began this phase with an intimate understanding of hourly scheduling applications as someone relying on one every day, but they were routinely failing: we changed HR Information System and scheduling application three separate times.
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While my personal user experience inspired the first "how might we..." that eventually led to ROOT, I left it at the door as a practice in avoiding confirmation bias. From there, my understanding of a target user group was built to include a diverse array of individuals who rely on scheduling applications in the hospitality space.
02. Define
The define phase is an opportunity to analyze and prioritize what I collected from the empathy phase.
With the data I gathered, I was able to prioritize two key issues:
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Comprehensive schedule overview before hitting "publish"
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Scheduling employees who are able to work under multiple job codes
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I was also able to create two user personas for the two predominant user groups of scheduling apps. The first is the scheduling manager user group; those in charge of assembling and publishing the schedule. The second user group represents the FOH (front-of-house) employees who rely on scheduling software to tell them where they need to be and when. See below for a more in-depth look at the personas I created for my two key user groups.
User Persona: Sarah matthews
Name: Sarah Matthews
Age: 34
Occupation: Scheduling Manager at a mid-sized restaurant
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Family Status: Partnered, two children (3 year old twins)
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management
Languages Spoken: English, some conversational Spanish
"I try to stay ahead of the game by being flexible, proactive, and communicative—ensuring everyone is in the right place at the right time so they can perform at their best." - Sarah Matthews
GOALS
Improve Scheduling Efficiency
Sarah wants to streamline the scheduling process so she can spend less time on administrative tasks and more time focusing on team management and guest experience.
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Increase Employee Satisfaction
One of her primary goals is to improve team morale by ensuring fair scheduling. She wants to accommodate employees’ availability, preferences, and requests, while maintaining operational efficiency.
Frustrations
Lack of Flexibility
The current software is too rigid and doesn't allow Sarah to make quick adjustments on the fly. When she needs to make a sudden change, it’s often cumbersome and time-consuming.
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Difficulty with Staff Communication
Sarah feels the communication features in the current software are inadequate. There’s no easy way to notify staff of last-minute changes, and updates don’t always sync across devices.
Sarah is very methodical in her approach to scheduling. She values structure and likes to plan ahead, but she also needs to be adaptable to handle unexpected changes that come with the restaurant industry.
User Persona: Marc Alvarado
Name: Marcus "Marc" Alvarado
Age: 30
Occupation: Bartender
Hometown: Houston, TX
Education Level: High School Diploma, Some College
Family Status: Single, no children
Languages Spoken: English (fluent), conversational Spanish
"I love making drinks and talking to people, but the app they’ve got me using for the schedule? It’s a nightmare. It’s clunky, confusing, and I never feel like my changes actually go through. I just want to see my hours clearly and have it work without all the glitches."
GOALS
Streamlined Shift Management
Marc wants a scheduling app that’s simple and intuitive, allowing him to quickly check his shifts, request time off, and swap hours without any back-and-forth.
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Greater Schedule Transparency Marc wants an app that enables better communication with his managers and co-workers. He hopes to create a more predictable and flexible work-life balance, so he can plan his personal life around his shifts without the stress of constant changes.
Frustrations
Difficult Navigation
Marc finds the app’s interface frustratingly difficult to navigate. The layout is disorganized, and it takes longer than necessary to figure out when his next shift is or to swap shifts with a co-worker.
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Slow or Inaccurate Updates
The app’s delay in reflecting schedule changes is a major problem for Marc. If someone calls out sick or swaps shifts, it doesn’t update in real-time, and he’s left wondering if his hours have changed.
Marc is outgoing, easygoing, and highly personable. He enjoys connecting with people—whether it’s regulars or new faces at the bar. Bartending allows him to channel his creativity and express himself, whether it’s through crafting a unique cocktail or engaging in lively conversations with customers. He’s the type of person who thrives in a busy, social environment.
03. Ideate
The ideate phase is an opportunity to brainstorm as many solutions as possible without judgement; it's all about volume.
As one of my first projects in UX design, this stage was especially informative for me as I chipped away at what could be possible, what is possible, and what needs to be possible for my user.
The creative nature of design sprints offered many new solutions I was able to incorporate as features into my design, including:
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​An easy way to view a list of employees who are cross trained at other locations and able to work at your store in an emergency
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An efficient way to contact the scheduling manager of that employee​
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A progress bar indicating how often someone is being scheduled, making it easy to equitably assign sought-out and more higher-grossing shifts.
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A comprehensive closer look as to why someone is unavailable on a certain day and what action items you can take to contact them or find a replacement for that shift
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A publishing preview that allows you to see your FOH employee's perspective and flag anything unusual: is anyone working overtime? Is anyone working beyond their availability?
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Action items for this feature include setting a calendar reminder to schedule someone more or less next time based on the schedule you're about to post.
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04. Prototype
In prototyping, I drew from the ideation stage with my two main user groups in mind to plot out a few user flows for my mockups.
After establishing the basic trail from one screen to the next, I developed a cohesive design system (pictured below) giving my reusable components and aesthetic a home base. This is especially helpful when handing off designs to development teams because it includes the support code necessary to maintain design consistency across platforms.
Bringing the lo-fi wireframes to life with this design system, I created these mockups:
05. TEST
The most common insight from usability testing was logistic.
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One critical insight was the questionable adaptability to other HRIS platforms and scheduling software. One of the most important benefits of an app like this is its ability to be comprehensive and time saving, which is particularly difficult if the data from ROOT isn't easily exported onto other publishing platforms, requiring users to download the app separately.
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The design thinking framework isn't linear – so, with a solid foundation built at each step I will be able to go back and integrate insights from usability testing to define new and important obstacles into the development of a future, better ROOT.
What would you do differently?
I'm constantly trying to be a better UX Designer than I was yesterday.
Whether or not you're a professional UX Designer, I want this case study to make sense to you. Any insights or feedback you have to help get me there are always welcome at elizabeth@kupchelladesign.com.