RESTAURANT OPERATIONAL TOOL
During service, everything happens at once.
And when information isn’t clear, everything slows down.
Orders get delayed.
Communication breaks.
People start guessing instead of acting.
This project started here
From zero to dashboard.
BUILDING SOMETHING THAT MATTERS
A new restaurant was struggling with coordination
between the kitchen and the floor staff.
Waiters had no real visibility.
The kitchen was reacting instead of prioritizing.
The request was simple:
“We need a dashboard.”
But that wasn’t the real problem.
The real problem
Not a lack of communication.
A lack of qualitative communication.
Too much information.
Everyone was unsure what to do and how to do it.
Decisions shift prospective
The first version didn’t work.
Despite it may seem complete.
It wasn’t usable.
So, I changed my approach.
I started designing for roles.
What does a chef need to know in the middle of a rush?
What does a waiter need to be efficient?
What does a manager check at the end of the night?
How I got to the latest version
Three questions guided every decision:
- Is this information necessary, or does it create noise?
- Is one piece of information more critical than another?
- Does this information lead to an action?
If the answer to the last question was no, the information didn’t belong on the screen.
The first versions failed that test almost entirely.
CHEF
The chef is the most particular case; their attention belongs entirely to the food and the fire.
This screen is more informative than the others: it doesn’t drive actions on the portal; it drives actions in the kitchen.
Green was useless information.
Stacked data can lead to confusion.
This way, minutes bring no information; in a kitchen, every second mattered.
Active orders, timing, and priority now all have the right visibility.
Everything must be easy to scan and understand.
Reduce cognitive load during the service
WAITERS
During service, every unnecessary tap is a moment of lost attention.
Waiters need to manage and look after the clients.
A fast way to manage tables and reservations
Simple, clean, and effective.
Only a few clicks during the service.
Now, a bit of relaxation for the waiters.
Easy request management and visual feedback on the calendar.
MANAGER
The manager needs the right signal at the right moment, so every element had to answer one question: does this help someone act, or just inform them?
Check for priority and request.
Based on the other department’s actions
Buttons to check every aspect
The manager can check the inventory and its situation.
Label for easier navigation
Immediate action in a critical situation.
The real challenge, cost & profits, is the engine that moves the entire machine.
Read, understand, and get to the solution.
Outcome
Expected impact:
- Faster decisions
- Less communication friction
- Better coordination
Target:
~40% faster order processing
Mistakes led me to
a better solution
My Reflection
I started from zero.
I started from the wrong assumptions.
The real shift wasn’t visual.
It was mental.
Understand the system first.
Design the interface after.
If information doesn’t help action,
it’s just noise.