Introducing waitlist for dining out through Caviar.
Expanding Caviar’s platform from delivery to dining out. Targeted for users on the go, this feature not only allows customers to join waitlists for nearby restaurants, but also browse a restaurant profile, find suggestions on nearby things to do while waiting, and chat directly with the restaurant hostess for updates.
My Role: Product Designer
Timeline: March 2020; 4 weeks
Challenge: Seamlessly integrate a new robust feature into Caviar’s existing Mobile App
Solution: Thoughtfully blend brand guidelines with new functions and introduce new feature in main navigation.
Market Research & User Interviews
Most people in urban neighborhoods use delivery apps such as Caviar at least once per month, if not every week. It was interesting to see what people look for when seeking new restaurants and how they weigh their decision on whether or not to join a waitlist. Some tend to go out with larger groups and want to know ahead of time if a restaurant can accommodate the party, others like to sit outside and have a hard time searching for specific criteria like this. Most agree the maximum time they would wait is about 30 min unless there was something else to do nearby or an option to have a drink at the bar (and of course if they are not too hangry!).
Open ended user suggestions:
Incorporate time it takes to get to X location. Real time suggestions on best method of transportation (sim to Waze)
- ”this feature sounds like a great travel buddy” expand market to tourists
-Would like to know what the environment/ambiance is like. Good for date night? Families? (disregarded, too subjective)
-Ability to track position in line
Target Audience: Urban single tech workers ages 25-38
Goal: Eliminate the need for using multiple apps at once. i.e. google maps/yelp/restaurant website.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Restaurants once seemed immune to eCommerce competition, but the pickup in online food delivery suggests that the industry could get “Amazoned.” -Morgan Stanley
In researching several food delivery and reservation services, I found the options have become endless. There are millions of people ordering food daily whether it’s dining in or taking out, and this side of the service industry is ever growing.
Of all the companies on this list, Yelp and Google maps have the widest range of offerings. Google maps is something I feel as users, we under appreciate because it has become second nature in our daily lives (A sign of a well designed product). Caviar has a lot of room to expand its knowledge base and taking tips from these various platforms was very informative. I see opportunity for Caviar to go beyond delivery and become a one stop shop for the entire dining experience.
Map it out.
Scenario: Time between happy hour and sitting down at a restaurant. Analyze user considerations
User Persona
Combined user interview feedback into single persona to use as my guide throughout the design. this was especially useful for this project to avoid my personal bias and stay focused on the user needs
Lay it out.
I created a content map to figure out how to best integrate the waitlist feature within the existing layout. Moving order history into a new Account category allowed me to give waitlist a home in the main navigation. Then I began user flows to better understand the process. How will this feature make for a seamless and enjoyable evening?
Once that was all making sense, I creates lo fi wireframes and tested the flow. Main challenge was to stay within the bounds of Caviars existing design patterns despite the new use case.
Design & Test
Moving into the final designs, I used Caviar’s UI standards to create hi fi screens of the waitlist feature. All patterns are meant to marry with the existing delivery pages, only introducing new elements only when absolutely necessary. I tested a prototype users to get feedback on ease of use as well as any input on missing information or paths that would better the process.
Prototype
Users were tasked with browsing the waitlist feature and exploring nearby restaurants with lowest wait times. They then joined the waitlist for A Mano in Hayes Valley, and chatted with the host.
Key Learnings
This experience helped me learn how to design a feature with developers in mind. I had to meet the needs of the user without creating an entirely new design. This feature had even more room for expansion, and I feel would be a useful tool for urban diners across the nation.
