According to the survey I conducted for the project, 65% of customers felt uncomfortable making reservations over the phone for a numerous amount of reasons and got frustrated when they called the restaurant only to learn that it's fully booked.
1. 75% of customers believed that, you don’t really need an app to book a table
2. Restaurant booking apps and apps in general are too overwhelming, especially for Gen. X
3. There's already a strong competitor on the market
I started thinking of the app as a reservation tool for a local restaurant. But after conducting interviews with real potential users I came to a conclusion that the app should allow users to search and book various restaurants, a kind of Google for foodies.
My initial vision was there would be quite a lot of table booking apps and I was ready to think really hard on how to make this product stand out. After conducting research on the subject and trying to find ways to book a table in a restaurant in the Black Forest area via app or at least online, I found out the following:
1. There were surprisingly only a few apps for booking a table in Germany
2. The existing apps mostly aim large cities, although there are thousands of restaurants in smaller towns which are always full
3. Almost no coverage of the Black Forest region which is totally loved by tourists
4. Only one competitor (indirect) has occupancy indication and takeout features
To understand users' behaviour and pain points I conducted a survey asking about their experiences with restaurant reservations, as well as their visions on how such a product might me useful and bring added value to them. Here's what the survey uncovered:
1. You don’t really need an app to book a table. But if users could get extras like bonuses, choosing a table, and occupancy indicator, they would be happy to install such an app
2. Restaurant booking apps are too overwhelming. Still they would make sense for a franchise or a very good popular restaurant
3. Users don’t really need just another app. Still, if kept focused and to the point, a good app can save a lot of time and be helpful on a daily basis
Drawing storyboards was not only fun, it helped me once again empathise with users, go through the user journey, better understand the user flow and build wireframes.
To test the first low fidelity prototype, a research study was conducted with participation of 5 users, who were asked to fill out a survey after completion of the usability test. I used their feedback to iterate on designs.
The main inspiration for the design theme was the Black Forest cake, a traditional dessert of the area. After some iterations, the original "Black Forest" has gone through inevitable changes, but I tried to stay true to my original idea, hence the choice of colors. Still, I wanted the design to be modern, light and at the same time accessible, which made it stand out even more compared to competitors.
As this was my first app project, the main thing I learned, is first, people love answering questions during the research phase, which was kind of surprising. It’s amazing how they feel engaged with your future project and have fun testing it later. This really inspired me to think of more other projects that my friends, but also everyone else can enjoy
Process Deck