Group 1: WAITer (Waiter Assistant Information Technology)

http://ratbert.bmrc.berkeley.edu/courseware/cs160/fall01/Projects/Group1/
Andrei Boutyline (role: PDA Programming)
Neetin Gulati (role: Testing)
Ha Nguyen (role: Documentation)
Randy Shoopman (role: Web Programming)

Contextual Inquiry and Task Analysis

Problem and Solution Overview

As restaurants become increasingly busy, waiters and waitresses are finding themselves
with having to reduce the level of customer service in order to balance their higher volume of
customers. We believe it is time to replace the archaic use of paper and pencil with the digital
technologies that are currently available. Information technology has revolutionized how we
work and applying that trend to the restaurant industry is a logical next step. Appropriate use of
technology would lead to more efficient waiters and waitresses. Our solution is to design a PDA
application that will help the server complete many of their tasks, as well as provide real time
information. Some of the tasks would include order taking, wireless order submission,
communication via messaging, credit card transactions, and receipt printing. The system would
also provide real time and static data to enhance the server’s awareness. Order status, food item
availability, customer statistics, and nutritional information would be some of the information
accessible from the server’s PDA. Our design philosophy will be easy use and fast access to
program functions.

Contextual Inquiry Interview Descriptions

Ultimately, the main purpose of our system is to increase the efficiency of restaurant
servers by taking advantage of technologies available today. Therefore, choosing waiters and
waitresses as the system’s target users was an obvious choice. Although restaurant managers,
kitchen staff, as well as restaurant patrons will be affected either directly or indirectly by our
system, servers will be the primary users of our interface. Having identified the target users, our
group was able to find subjects for the contextual inquiry interviews at Via Centro, Fat Apple’s,
and Pyramid Alehouse. Although these restaurants have differing environments, we found
common tasks and themes in the servers’ work practices. The most evident commonality was
that all servers had to quickly take orders from the customers and communicate them clearly to
the kitchen staff. Two of the servers used electronic systems while the other used slips of paper.
Other common tasks included the delivery of food and drinks and the processing of bills. The
most notable theme that was shared among servers was the goal of serving customers as quickly
as possible, while maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction. Specific details about each
contextual inquiry interview are provided below.

Via Centro
Via Centro, a small Italian restaurant on Center St., was where Ha Nguyen was able to find a waiter kind
enough to be the subject of my contextual inquiry. The setting of the restaurant was slightly formal and intimate.
Ha’s subject Zach was 26 years old with approximately 4 years of experience as a waiter; however, his employment
at Via Centro only began a couple of months ago. Having missed the usual lunch patrons, she was unable to shadow
Zach waiting on customers as I had hoped to do. However, he provided simulations of various tasks, during which
Ha asked questions and encouraged comments. For example, when he demonstrated how orders are processed, she
discovered that Via Centro has its own electronic order-submission system. This system includes two stationary
consols that servers use to send their orders to the kitchen and process bills. The interface of these consols
comprises of a small screen surrounded by ATM-like buttons that Zach detests. He complained that the buttons are
hard to push and that the system never gives an acknowledgment when certain buttons were pushed.

Fat Apple’s
Andrei interviewed waitress Jackie Bendzinski from Fat Apple’s, a small café-like restaurant. She is 20
years old, and this is her second job as a waitress. Andrei shadowed Jackie, asking her questions when relevant.
Being a good waiter, in her opinion, involves being aware of the state and mood of all of the tables she is serving.
Orders for entrées need to be timed in such a way that they are ready exactly when the guests are finished with the
appetizers. Checks need to be brought when the guests are ready leave. She clearly indicated that any timing
control or timing reminders in the PDA device we are designing would be unwanted, indicating that it would be
annoying and slightly insulting. She likes the idea of a PDA ordering tool; however, she says that if writing down
orders with such a tool would involve going through menus it would be too slow. She suggests that the menus
should be there, but there should be an extra option of entering an acronym or a code for the order via pen. The
features that Jackie listed as being most useful in a PDA ordering tool would be the ability to split checks easily and
to transfer a table to a different waiter if the original waiter needs to leave.

Pyramid Alehouse, Brewery & Restaurant

Our last interview was at Pyramid Alehouse and was conducted by Neetin Gulati and Ha Nguyen. This
restaurant is quite large, consisting of two floors, and has a casual environment. Here, we had the experience of
following around Tempe Minaga, a 23-year old Berkeley alum who had a couple years experience as a waitress. We
were able to shadow Tempe as she served one table from start to finish, as well as wait on other tables at the same
time. We were able to see how she took down orders on her notepad and then entered them into onto the Squirrel
Consol System. The Squirrel system uses a touch screen to enter items, with the entire menu accessible and
customizable with just a few clicks. We were able to see how orders go to the bar and the kitchen, as well as how
billing issues are resolved. Tempe was generally happy with the way the current software worked because it could
handle tasks like bill splitting very easily. It also gave her the option of separating orders into courses and selecting
when courses would be sent to the kitchen for preparation. Tempe encouraged our questions, allowed us to look over
her shoulder as she interacted with the customers, and walk all around the restaurant with her.

Task Analysis Questions

1. Who is going to use the system? The users of the system will be waiters and waitresses working in
restaurants where they take orders at the customers’ tables.

2. What tasks do they now perform? The servers typically take orders from the customers, process the
orders, deliver the food to the table, periodically check on the customers, and process the bills. Presently, most
servers will take orders using paper and pencil. Some restaurants, such as Via Centro, have computerized consoles
on which they are able to electronically send orders to the kitchen. At cheaper restaurants, servers will typically
walk orders to the kitchen.

3. What tasks are desired? Overall, servers seem to want an ordering system that will increase the efficiency
of their work while not increasing its complexity. Zach, from Via Centro, desired the ability to wirelessly submit
orders to the kitchen. Jackie from Fat Apples, desired simple menus that can be instantaneously accessed, the ability
to split customer bills, and an electronic way to communicate with other employees.

4. How are tasks learned? Users may require a quick introduction to the system, but the details of performing
specific tasks will be learned through actually using the system themselves. We expect experienced servers to adapt
to the system quicker as it will be more intuitive to them than to new servers.

5. Where are tasks performed? All tasks are performed in the restaurant. Some tasks, such as taking orders,
will take place before a table. Other tasks, like messaging an employee, may take place elsewhere in the restaurant.
6. What is the relationship between the user and the data? The data encapsulates all of the necessary
information that the server needs to know in order to fulfill the needs of his/her customers.

7. What other tools does the user have? In addition to the PDA that will run our program, servers will have
paper and pencils to process orders in the unlikely event that our system should be unavailable.

8. How do users communicate with each other? In addition to the usual verbal communication, servers
using our system will have access to an instant messaging utility.

9. How often are tasks performed? The basic tasks, such as inputting orders and processing bills, will
correlate directly with the influx of customers.

10. What are the time constraints on the tasks? Our system should allow servers to perform their tasks at
a rate no slower than the traditional methods. With experienced users, servers will be able to carry out their tasks
even quicker using our system.

11. What happens when things go wrong? Our system will be built with easy data-entry correction
capabilities, which will handle most situations. In extreme situations, such as PDA failure, servers will have to
revert back to taking orders with paper and pencil until problem can be solved.

Analysis of New and Existing Tasks

1. (easy): A customer at table 5 has a complaint and wishes to speak with a manager. Contact a manager and
send him/her to table 5.

2. (easy): Table 2 ordered buffalo wings as an appetizer and two orders of meatloaf.
The customers are almost finished with their appetizer so you need to send notify the kitchen staff to begin preparing
the meatloaf.

3. (moderate): Your shift just ended, but your current tables (2, 4, & 6) still require service. Find one or more
servers that will be able to add these tables to their workload.

4. (moderate): Bob, a customer at table 1, complains that his steak was overcooked. He doesn't want another
steak so you need to subtract it from his bill. In addition, in order to comply with the restaurant policies, the
customer is entitled to a free dessert. Bob wishes to have the apple pie so place the order, but do not add the charges
to his bill.

5. (hard): The 4 customers at table 7 have completed their meals and are ready for the check. They have
requested that you provide them with four separate bills reflecting the following breakdown:
Customer 1: hamburger, coke (cash payment)
Customer 2: hamburger, ice tea (credit payment)
Customer 3: Cesar salad, clam chowder, flan, coke (credit payment)
Customer 4: spaghetti (credit payment)

6. (hard): The 3 customers at table 6 are ready for you to take their orders. Their orders are as follows:
Customer 1: potato salad (with the addition of cheddar cheese on top),
BLT sandwich
Customer 2: mixed green salad (with ranch dressing on the side),
water with lemon and no ice,
garden burger (with Swiss cheese, no onions, no mayonnaise)
Customer 3: coke, spaghetti
Interface Design
The goals of our user-interface are simplicity and quick access. Our product will have
the ability to view the restaurant layout, record statistics about a table, take orders, send orders to
the kitchen at the server’s discretion, modify charges, process credit cards, split checks, message
other employees, write notes for a particular table, and view a server’s personal information (e.g.
total daily tips and work schedule).
Figure 1 Every screen will have a vertical toolbar (Figure 1) on the left
side and a horizontal toolbar along the bottom. The vertical toolbar will
include the time, a button going to the restaurant homepage, and
numbered links going to individual table homepages. The horizontal
toolbar will include back and forward navigational buttons and icons
linking the user to the servers’ homepage, the messenger tool, and the
logout screen.
Figure 2
After logging in (see website for
log-in screen), the server is taken to the
restaurant homepage (Figure 2). From
there, he/she sees a map of the tables. The
user can zoom in and out among three
views – Table View, Room View, and Restaurant View.
The numbered links found on the
Figure 3 vertical toolbar take the server to the
individual table home pages (Figure 3). On
the table homepage, you can see the current
status of a table (open, waiting to order,
waiting for food, etc.), the time the party
came in, the number of people in the party,
and any messages relating to the table.
There will also be links to the table notepad (Figure 4), order
description (Figure 5), and billing information (Figure 6) for the table.
The table notepad will enable the waiter to quickly take notes. There
will be no handwriting recognition; rather, the image would be saved so
the waiter could use his or her own shorthand.

Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6

 Figure 7
The messaging feature (Figure 7) will look similar to AOL Instant
Messenger. There will be a list of active users. Along the bottom, there will
be buttons to write a message and to read a message (if applicable). The
server will see all the users currently logged into the system, and therefore
would not be able to add or remove users. Once again, there will be no
handwriting recognition so that users could quickly scribble a note and send
the image to another user.

Story Boards of Selected Tasks

Task 1 (easy):

User selects the messenger

feature by clicking the
mail icon. Manager is
chosen as the recipient.
This leads to a screen that
the user can use to
compose and send a short
message.

Task 4 (moderate):
User starts by adding the free apple
pie. This is achieved by first
selecting table 1. The home page for
table 1 is displayed and the ‘Order’
option is clicked. Table 1’s order is
shown. Since we wish to add a pie,
the ‘Add Item’ command is picked.

The user now navigates

through the menu and
chooses ‘Apple Pie’. The
system returns the user to
the order summary. The
apple pie order is sent to the
kitchen by clicking ‘Send’.
To adjust the bill for table 1,
the user now clicks the ‘Bill’
option.
 With the bill displayed for
table 1, the user clicks on
the steak item. The price is
then set to zero and a reason
is provided. This same
process is then completed
for the apple pie.

Task 6 (hard):
Orders are taken by first
selecting the appropriate table,
so the user selects table 6 by
clicking it. This displays the
table homepage where the user
would then choose ‘Order’.
This leads into the order
summary where ‘Add Item’ is
picked.
‘Potato Salad’ is located in the
menu and selected with the
proper toppings. When
complete the item is now listed
in the order summary and
process is repeated for the
BLT.

The order website is designed hierarchically to make best use of the limited screen space. For
example, to order a cheeseburger, a server would have to click entrée, then burgers, and then
click cheeseburger. Once an entrée is clicked, all the options related to it come up so that it can
be easily customized. Each item on the order is also assigned a number referring to the diner.
This enables the waiter to remember which order goes where and will help with splitting bills if
necessary later on. Once an order is taken, the server has to specifically send it to the kitchen at
a time of the server’s choosing.

When the server is ready to process the bill, the option to split the bill will be present. The server
can split the bill easily because each specific item is assigned a person. The server must then
select the payment method, process the payment (make change or swipe the credit card), and
enter in the tip amount. After that, the table can be closed and made available for new patrons.