Impact
Operational Efficiency
Increased By 17%
Error rates
Reduced by 25%
Staff productivity
Increased by 19%
Increasing order efficiency
Before Orderiom's OrderManager, handling orders at different stages was chaotic, and mistakes were frequent. With the app, everything is organized, which has not only reduced errors but also helped us focus better on preparing and delivering quality service.
Sasan Monsef
Restaurant Manager at Subway
Imagine a bustling restaurant during the lunch rush—orders coming in rapidly from dine-in guests, takeaway requests, and delivery services. The kitchen is working at full speed, and the reception is handling incoming orders, all while ensuring that every dish is prepared correctly and delivered on time. In this busy environment, efficiency is crucial, and clear communication can make the difference between a smooth service and a chaotic one.
The OrderManager app is designed specifically for these moments, providing restaurant staff—both in the kitchen and at reception—with a clear and organized way to manage orders. Using an Android mobile interface attached to a hand-held POS device, staff can easily view, track, and update the status of every order, whether it's dine-in, takeaway, or delivery. The app ensures that orders flow smoothly through their stages—New, Preparing, and Delivered—helping the team stay in sync and deliver a seamless customer experience.
Problem01: Diverse Staff Roles
OrderManager had to accommodate varying structures across different restaurants, typically involving three user types: reception, kitchen, and delivery staff. Each of these roles had unique requirements, which meant that the system needed to adapt effectively to the workflows specific to each environment.
Problem02: Missing Orders
The primary challenge faced by kitchen staff was missing orders due to inefficient navigation. The order stages (New, Kitchen, Ready, Delivered) were spread across four separate tabs, and staff had to manually move between them to track and advance each order. This created confusion and frustration, especially when they needed to move back and forth multiple times. The issue was worse for smaller restaurants where staff handled both reception and kitchen duties, adding to the workload and increasing the risk of errors.
There were four tabs, which the user had to navigate manually. There was also no clue regarding the number of orders in each tab.
Problem03: Slow Order Processing
Managing orders through different preparation stages, especially during high-traffic periods, required intense focus. When orders were coming in from both online and in-store, the system became overwhelming. The entirely text-based interface forced users to double-check every order, making the process slow and mentally exhausting, which often led to inefficiencies and reduced service quality.
The old UI was on Android mobile screen size, and mostly text based. the kitchen staff had to bend to see the details of the order.
Problem04: Incoming orders from multiple providers
The restaurants I visited, had up to 4 service providers such as Wolt, Über Eats, and Lieferando. Managing orders from different ends was a headache for the staff kitchen.
Approach
To create a solution that addressed the challenges faced by OrderManager users, I took a mixture of direct observation, empathy-building, and collaborative ideation.
Understanding the ordering process
I spent time in restaurant kitchens to observe how staff interacted with the app in real-time. This hands-on research provided valuable insights into the pain points that users experienced, such as missing orders due to inefficient navigation, and helped identify critical areas for improvement.
Solution
To address the challenges identified, I restructured the app to make it more intuitive, added role-specific features, and improved the visual experience to help restaurant staff manage orders with greater ease and accuracy.
UX audit and QA with the engineers
App Structure Improvements: Merging redundant tabs
In my research, I figured out that the kitchen staff consider New and Kitchen categories, as well as Ready and Completed as the same. Therefore, instead of four tabs, which slowed down the process, I set only two tabs.
The kitchen tab is for New and In Kitchen, and Delivery is for Ready and Delivered. A number is also shown next to each title to show the quantity of orders in each tab.
User-Specific Primary Tabs: User types were introduced to automatically set the primary tab based on the staff's role. For example, kitchen staff would automatically see the kitchen tab, ensuring each user was presented with the most relevant information first, minimizing navigation effort.
Left side: Kitchen items; Right side: Delivery items.
Visual Clues and Streamlined Navigation
I added color-coded illustrations to differentiate order states (New, Preparation, Ready for Pickup) and order types (Dine-in, Takeaway, Delivery). This made it easier for staff to quickly recognize the status and type of each order.
I also added visual indicators for when there were no orders in a particular tab, providing reassurance to staff and preventing unnecessary checking.
Impact
Operational Efficiency
Increased By 17%
Monitored metrics: Order processing time, orders handled per hour, number of orders processed per staff member per shift, order distribution rate.
Error rates
Reduced by 25%
Monitored metrics: Percentage of incorrect or missed orders, the rate for refund or remake.
Staff productivity
Increased by 19%
Monitored metrics: Staff satisfaction (CSAT), training time for new staff.
