- asiya atcha
Voice Assisted Interfaces: Redesigning Self-Serve Kiosks at Fast Food Chains
Updated: Apr 8
This project began with a direction to observe a public space to look for patterns of behavior by users. The brief was to identify pain points in the user experience and then solve for them through a digital intervention.
I spent several days in a local coffee shop observing customer behavior at the counter. I observed on a Friday morning around 8 and again between 11:30 and 1 on Saturday and Sunday. I took notes for qualitative observations and counted customers at different points of the checkout process at 5 minute intervals to see where there was more traffic and a bottleneck.
Qualitative Observations
Social distancing is being observed, with customers staying away from each other but not always following the sticker guides on the floor. The line goes out the door and people have to wait outside.
Some customers who used a membership card were confused about how many points they had and how long it would take to redeem their points. This caused delay for other patrons.
I noticed that the digital self-serve kiosk received very little traffic, even when there was a lineup, no one bothered to try and use it. After further observation, I came to realize that kiosk orders took too long to fulfill.
The virtual queue. There is a screen showing the number of orders coming in digitally, either through the app, the self-serve kiosk, or Uber Eats.
There was signage everywhere. Signs indicating where to exit and enter, reminders to wear masks, dining room and line capacity, order stations, payment types accepted, etc. There were sticker guides on the floor indicating the entry and exit doors, but many customers choose to ignore these and head out through the entrance.
There were many times that the cashier greeted customers by name and even one time that she guessed the order of a frequent customer. Customers also used verbal shorthand for orders, simply saying for example, "medium double double" to get a medium size coffee with two sugars and two creams.
Quantitative Observations
During the busiest hour that I observed, a total of 130 individuals came through the entrance doors!
In one hour, I observed 4 patrons using the self-serve kiosk, compared to 60 who were served by staff.
Customers waited in line for an average of 2 minutes. Ordering itself took less than 1 minute.
During rush hour, I counted an average of 3 patrons in line at a time.1 customer at a time was being served.
Pains and Frustrations
I created a feedback grid to identify what worked and what didn't. Based on my observations, I identified the following pain points:
Interface on Self-Serve Kiosk. The screen is cluttered and there is an information overload because each screen contains too many options.
Redeeming Points for Free Items. Users tap their card on a QR code reader. The screen shows that a visit was earned. No details on how many points total or how many purchases left until they get a free drink.
Bottle-neck at Order Pickup. The line to order moves very efficiently, but slows down when actually fulfilling orders, leaving patrons to crowd around pick up counter, making social distancing impossible.
The Self-Serve Kiosk
I decided to narrow my scope and focus on the self-serve kiosk. I was curious to understand why customers didn't bother to use it even when they were lined up out the door. I counted and in the time it took one customer to use the kiosk, the cashier could take an order, complete payment, prep the order and serve two customers. I spent a little more time observing the kiosks and came to understand that the interface was confusing and cluttered. There were too many options that the user had to navigate through to confirm their order.
I was most surprised to discover that people did not use the self-serve kiosk, even when there were line-ups going out the door. I just assumed that people would choose the digital disruptor over the analog option, and this was challenged by the way in which users preferred their tangible rewards card over the app-based version of the same.
I also assumed that people would choose to interact with a digital interface when they are in a rush because of convenience, but I found instead that they prefer to speak to a person because the verbal short-hands for ordering that exist in speech but have no equivalent on an on-screen interface.
The other factor is the pleasure of interacting with a familiar face. Many customers are regulars and are used to staff knowing their names and orders. The experience of ordering a coffee in a shop combines physio-pleasure with socio-pleasure and rather than enhancing those factors, the existing digital interventions hindered them.
My aim in creating my digital interventions was to bring some of that familiarity and sense of community to the digital interface.
The User Problem
I'm in a rush and don't have time to use the kiosk, which takes too long. The screen is confusing and there are too many options.
Digital Interventions
The aim was to make the self-serve kiosk a pleasurable user experience and to eliminate user frustration with the rewards card point system. I came up with a list of possible changes that could be made to improve the user experience at a self-serve kiosk:
Simplify the Interface. Limit the number of choices the user needs to make per screen. If necessary allow for a scroll-down function.
Local Favourites. Create a screen with popular items that can be added in one-click. Populate it using frequent orders at that location.
Adjust Location and Position. Straighten the screen so it isn't tilted. Raise it higher up so users are looking straight at it rather than down.
Reduce Clutter. Remove the physical buttons located on the bottom left corner beneath the screen.
User Favourites. Add a function that enables users to save frequent orders. This will create a single-click interaction, saving time and effort.
Voice Assisted Technology. Creating a simple voice interaction would result in a similar experience to giving an order to a cashier and make the process more efficient.
The Design Sprint
I began by sketching. I usually go through two rounds of sketching, once to brainstorm and the second time to refine my ideas. Because I was designing a voice interface, I focused on the elements required to facilitate communication between the user and the device.
The resulting interface was a little bare, as the wireframes will demonstrate:
My main concern was creating a realistic and relatively quick exchange between the user and the software. I wanted the learning curve for the user to be very short. I also had to keep the phrases brief to reduce the chance of error on the system's part, in understanding what the user is saying. I created sketches and wireframes for different scenarios, including one with a membership card that keeps track of past orders and another one with a user who is completely new to the system. The wireframe in the pictures above demonstrate the userflow for a returning customer with a membership card.
Visual Design - Style Tiles
I created two style tiles, one called "Rich and Dark" and the other one "Warm and Earthy."
The Prototype
Below are some sample screens from the prototype. You can view the prototype here, you will have to create an account with Adobe to use the voice assistant function. The script to follow is below the sample screens.
Kiosk: Welcome! Say “Hello Timmi” to Start.
User: Hello Timmi.
Kiosk: Hello. Please scan your TimsCard or say “No Card.”
User: [click with mouse on screen to simulate tap of TimsCard]
Kiosk: Welcome, Jane Doe. Are you “Eating In” or “Taking Out.”
User: Eating in.
Kiosk: Okay, do you want to repeat “Last Order” or do you want “Something New?”
User: Last order.
Kiosk: You said, “Last Order.” Tap or say “Pay Now.”
User: Pay now.
Kiosk: Your total is 3.10. How would you like to pay? “Debit” “Credit” “TimsCard”
User: Debit
Kiosk: Please follow the instructions on the PinPad. Thank you! Please take your receipt to the counter to collect your order
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