Overview and My Responsibilities

Eats & Sweets is a restaurant located in Maryland. They reached out originally because they needed a website re-design with the goal of increasing their revenue. And although it was part of the solution, we were also able to implement other ways to further serve their customers. For example, online ordering with ShopKeep initially and then Square after the point of sale migration.

See the Website Live!

‍

Some constraints to consider:

I was in charge of research, design, and development.
They had lost their original domain.
They used ShopKeep as their Point of Sales which had a lot of limitations so we needed to switch to Square.
There was no online ordering in place.
COVID19 was about to happen.

Discovering Our Users' Challenges

In the Discover phase, I immerse myself in understanding the problem space. This is where I gather comprehensive information about the users, their behaviors, and the context in which they interact with the product or service. The focus here is on exploration and discovery, laying the groundwork for informed design decisions.

Common Activities:

User Research: Conducting interviews, surveys, and observations to understand user needs and pain points.
Competitive Analysis: Analyzing competitor products to uncover strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
Contextual Inquiry: Observing users in their natural environment to gather contextual insights.
Stakeholder Interviews: Engaging with stakeholders to align on goals and constraints.
Journey Mapping: Mapping out user journeys to identify touchpoints and opportunities.

No items found.

Defining the Problems to Solve

The Define phase is where I take the insights gathered during Discover and distill them into a clear problem statement. This is about focusing the design effort on the most critical issues, ensuring that the solution will address real user needs.

Common Activities:

Affinity Mapping: Organizing research findings into themes to identify patterns and insights.
Persona Creation: Developing user personas that represent key user segments.
Problem Statement Definition: Crafting a concise problem statement that captures the core challenge.
User Scenarios: Creating scenarios that illustrate how users might interact with the solution.
Experience Mapping: Mapping out the entire user experience to identify gaps and opportunities.

No items found.

Generating Experiments

In the Develop phase, creativity is at the forefront as I explore various solutions. This involves ideation, prototyping, and iterative testing, allowing me to experiment with different approaches and refine them based on user feedback.

Common Activities:

Ideation Workshops: Facilitating brainstorming sessions to generate a wide range of ideas.
Wireframing: Creating low-fidelity sketches to outline the structure and layout of potential solutions.
Prototyping: Building interactive models to test ideas and gather user feedback.
Design Critiques: Collaborating with peers to review and refine design concepts.
Usability Testing: Conducting tests with real users to identify usability issues and areas for improvement.

No items found.

Testing and Iterating on our Best Bets

The Deliver phase is where the best solutions are finalized and prepared for implementation. This step is about refining the design, conducting final tests, and ensuring that the solution is ready for deployment.

Common Activities:

High-Fidelity Design: Creating polished, detailed designs that are ready for development.
Usability Testing: Testing the final design with users to ensure it meets their needs and expectations.
Design Handoff: Preparing design specifications and assets for developers.
Iteration: Making last-minute refinements based on feedback from testing.
Launch Planning: Coordinating with stakeholders to ensure a smooth launch of the product or feature.