Concept Testing

Restaurant Booking System

UK | 17 Participants | 3 Personas | Concept Testing | Interviews

Research Goals

The client is performing a migration of their legacy codebase. To help prioritise which parts of the product they migrate, we spoke to existing customers and non-customers. To identify which aspects of the platform they use and value the most.

The client also wanted to validate previous research conducted to develop three personas.

Project Context

Another researcher and I ran the interviews, both virtually and in person.

11 x 75 minute remote interviews were conducted across the UK.

6 x 90 minute in person interviews were conducted in Greater London area.

17 restaurateurs across 3 personas (7 x Rob, 5 x Regina , 5 x Dee).

Research Objectives

Research Process

UK | 17 Participants| 3 personas | In person | Remote

We carried out semi-structured interviews. Whereby participants went through the following 6 workflows within a table management system (TMS):

Setting up a new rule
Setting up a new promotion
How they engage with the CRM
Using the Widget
How they use the In-service Layout
Taking deposits for bookings

Tasks per workflow:

Step 1: Live walkthrough of current TMS

Step 2: Prioritisation exercise

Step 3: Use prototype to complete a task

Personas

Small Restaurant Rob

A hands-on, old-school small restaurant owner with limited tech experience. Looking for a simple and intuitive table management solution.

Multi-Venue Regina

An owner-operator of multiple restaurants. Focused on streamlining operations, increasing customer loyalty, and expanding their business.

Manager Dee

A tech-savvy restaurant manager with medium to high technical skills. Seeking to optimise their venue's operations and boost profits.

Interviews

UK | 17 Participants | 75 - 90 Minutes

Introduction. 10 mins.

Getting to know the participant and their current booking system experience.

Workflows & Prototypes. 60 mins.

Semi-structured discussion about their experience and priorities with setting up workflows. Participants will walk through prototypes and compare it to their current experience and provide feedback.

Wrap Up. 5 mins.

Final thoughts and answer observer questions.

Analysis

The analysis process consisted of thematic analysis. Whereby transcripts were closely examined to identify common themes and patterns.

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Once the data has been coded the themes are then reviewed to explore potential ideas for recommended solutions.

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Using Miro an affinity map was created to assist with organising the data and recommendations.

An insights report was then presented to the client, accompanied by a highlight reel to bring the insights to life.

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Insights

Here are a few of the insights that were presented to the client in the report.

Onboarding & Training

Participants discussed their need for first-hand training and customer support. To allow them to know how to use their TMS to its fullest potential. Particularly important for Robs to help ease their reluctance to change.

Decision Making

Most participants stated the decision making process is slowed down. As data is fragmented across multiple platforms.

After viewing the prototypes, there was appetite for data centralisation to assist with decision making.

Distrust of Tech

A pen & paper solution or printed backup of table plans were used across all personas. Especially during busy services as a failsafe against what participants see as a fallible and sometimes slow TMS.

Reflections & Challenges

When participants are shown prototypes they can naturally gravitate to giving feedback on the usability of a prototype.

However, as usability is not the aim in concept testing. Its important to navigate the participants back to focusing on the objectives at hand. This is done using the trusty discussion guide. Which has prompts throughout to ensure the discussion stays on topic.