Tapio | Oct 2024
Product Design

Timeline
Oct - Dec (10 weeks)

Type
SaaS Platform 
Web app

Industry
Hospitality

Tool
Figma

My Role - Product Designer
Defining Problem
User Research
Feature scoping
User Flow
Wireframing
Design System
Prototyping

Bubble tea store managers’ traditional management workflow stagnates the store revenue performance.

In today’s bubble tea industry, managers are still overwhelmed by manual and time-consuming tasks, leaving them bogged down and inefficient, or even left behind their competitors but don’t know why. 

A centralised workflow with automation features

#2 Streamlined Processes

• Manage all your sales and costs with autofill
• Real-time tracking ingredient level stock

#3 Centerlized Information

• Stay informed about the key performance
• Automated reporting

Goals

1. Reduce the manual and repetitive work for bubble tea store managers
2. Centralise the workflow
3. Improve potential profit performance

Bubble tea store managers are too overwhelmed by trivial tasks to focus on revenue growth.

I conducted user interviews with 5 bubble tea store managers and learned about the daily challenges they are facing and they are using multiple tools like POS machines, Microsoft Excels, Google Sheets, notebooks and pen to manage the entire operation.

I asked key questions include:

1. Can you briefly describe your role and responsibilities as a bubble tea store manager?
2. Can you tell me what a typical day from starting work to off work looks like?
3. What tools do you currently use to manage daily operations?
4. What are the biggest challenges you face in management?
5. What aspects of your job cause you the most stress and frustration?
6. Tell me about a time you cope with a challenge in the work.

The management work of bubble tea stores is inefficient due to an uncentered workflow.

The bubble tea manager is occupied by manual and
time-consuming tasks.

The bubble tea store manager has the responsibility of both managing and serving.
They work agilely on different tasks from role to role.

There are little to no solutions for bubble tea store expenses and ingredient level management.

To understand the existing solutions and identify the gaps and opportunities in the market, I analysed 5 popular tools for restaurants, retail stores, service businesses.

Ideation

Problem Breakdown

How can the manual processes be simplified?

i. Setting up the tracking

ii. Linking with the menu item

3 Major Iterations

1. A Simpler Form

• Classifying expenses by month and category helps the user draw conclusions efficiently.
• A clear list with key info of expense items.

2. Tailored forms for ingredient item and menu item

• Clear and simple layout
• The hierarchical relationship is more logical allows easy understandability and usability

3. Provide useful information

• Remove redundant data that overwhelms the user
• Arrange reasonable hierarchy for readability

Final Result

A integrated tool with accessible UI centralise the key info

Manage expenses with autofill

Set up tracking ingredients

Design System

Reflection & Next Steps

Value vs Effort.
At the beginning, it seems there are a lot of trivial problems can be solved in the workflow of a bubble tea shop manager. I prioritised key problems by considering the value vs effort matrix.

Ask Feedback ProactivelyIt's especially important to I showed it to others and received feedback from different perspectives and then to iterate after I finished this self-initiated project.

Implement further functions for bubble tea shop employees and customers.
If I have more time, I will design the experience of how would staffs and customers interact with this product.