NCR Concierge App
Platform that facilitates a streamlined information-informed dining experience for merchants and businesses
My role | User Research, UX/UI Design, Project Management
Tasked by NCR with creating "the next big digital disruption" in the hospitality industry, my Denning T&M Senior Capstone created NCR Concierge. On this platform, users control their end-to-end dining experience by creating diner profiles, researching restaurants, connecting with friends, and ordering and paying restaurants.
I worked with a team of three business students and one other design student to create Concierge. As the most senior designer on the team, I collaborated with my other design team member to research users, design prototypes, and deliver an end-to-end solution.
The team | Three business students and two design students
Timeline | January 2021 - April 2021
Software/programs used | Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Premiere Pro, MURAL, JIRA
PROMOTIONAL VIDEO
Below you'll find a promotional video we made to showcase our final product. Watch below for a sneak peak, and continue to read more about the process!
DOUBLE DIAMOND DESIGN PROCESS
We followed the double diamond design process. We started by discovering what exactly was the problem we were to solve. Then, we defined an area to focus on and started developing potential solutions to this problem. Lastly, we delivered a solution.
IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM
My team spent the first few weeks conducting research across multiple disciplines - the market, people, and current technology. After conducting this research, we narrowed our scope and identified our mission.
Mission: To improve and centralize the digital operations of restaurants, provide meaningful social interactions to connect customers and provide tools for restaurants to collect, analyze and understand customer preferences. The solution is an interconnected platform that allows for robust data collection, artificial intelligence opportunities, and rapid scalability.
RESEARCH
We conducted user research to understand the current dining experience. We analyzed 100+ responses to a survey and interviewed 11 participants, including a range of individuals from restaurant goers to restaurant owners. Through this research, we identified the main pain points:
We then identified a target user: the millennial. Our target user, referred to as Carly, is a casual restaurant goer who loves to hit all the hot spots in town. Juggling a range of priorities, Carly wants to do it all - work hard, play hard, and rest. She has a limited attention span and enjoys seamless experiences that fit into her busy lifestyle.
Based on findings from research, my team and I built out a journey map of the current dining experience. Here, we highlight the pain points during the journey, thoughts running through users' minds, and how the overall experience can go from a positive one to a negative one.
DESIGNING THE USER EXPERIENCE
Our team conducted brainstorming exercises what this platform would include.
How would it differ from existing platforms? How could we push the boundaries of what was possible? How could we alleviate existing pain points?
Once we identified key features, we once again surveyed users. This time, we shared our compiled list of key features and asked users for their input - which features would have the greatest impact on their experience? Which features targeted pain points? Which ones were rather less memorable?
After narrowing down these features further, we then incorporated these features into the same journey map from earlier, outlining what the next digital disruption would look like.
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
We built an application map to determine how the features we'd identified earlier would be incorporated into the overall user experience and how they would be interconnected. The next two images serve as the foundation for the application.
LOW FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
We created low fidelity paper wireframes to placement and sizing of elements on interfaces.
We designed the final prototype in Adobe XD. In order to stay true to NCR's brand, we borrowed the brand's signature typefaces and drew from NCR brand guidelines' secondary color scheme. The design system is below, followed by the final prototype.
REFLECTIONS
Working with a client helped me to understand user problems in a real world setting and how to solve them in a creative manner. Also, for the first time, I worked with a client's design guidelines and not my own. While there was plenty of opportunity to add personal touches to the work, I learned the importance of creating and implementing a design system.
All in all, I absolutely loved working on NCR Concierge. I enjoyed collaborating with students with different backgrounds and perspectives - they opened my eyes to new possibilities.