McDonald's

Global Reuse - Crew Facing Digital Experience
The Ask
Create a solution that incorporates reusable packaging into the crew facing digital experience.
Project Overview
My role
McDonald's is the world's largest restaurant chain with locations in over 100 countries.

The goal of this project was to incorporate more eco-friendly packaging options into the ordering and fulfillment experience in order to support McDonald's 2 million crew members worldwide as they work to serve nearly 70 million customers each day.  

⚠️ - Note - The user experience in this project was based on a legacy design system developed by McDonald's in the early 2000s, an era characterized by skeuomorphism. Working within the limitations of this system, along with the need to design for outdated hardware, presented a unique and fascinating challenge.
Overseeing the experience design across all phases – from research and discovery to ideation, design and hand-off to developers.
‍
Responsibilities: 
•  Providing vision and direction
•  Organizing research and synthesis
•  Workshop facilitation
•  Leading presentations
•  Heading Ideation
•  Crafting UX and visual designs
•  Wire-framing and prototyping
•  Mentoring team members
Global Mandate
Countries worldwide are enacting legislation to promote reusable materials, with the EU proposing a ban on dine-in disposables and setting reduction targets of 40-80% for take-out between 2030 and 2040. Currently, over 5,000 McDonald’s restaurants, accounting for 14% of global locations, are already affected by such legislation, with this number potentially increasing to 41% as new proposals emerge. Additionally, starting July 15, 2024, British Columbia will ban plastic takeout containers and require businesses to charge fees for reusable and paper bags.
How We Got There
This project followed a design thinking methodology, represented below by four icons: Empathize, Define, Ideate, and Test. We began with the Empathize phase to deeply understand the needs and motivations of the crew members who would be using the system. In the Define phase, we analyzed the competitive market and conducted an internal audit of existing systems. During the Ideate phase, we explored various design possibilities. Throughout the process, we iteratively tested our ideas, refining them based on feedback and findings, as depicted in the Test phase.
➊
Empathize
➋
Define
➌
Ideate
➍
Test
➊ Empathize
Who is our user?
We identified various roles across the restaurant, each with digital experiences tailored to their specific tasks. By examining these roles and their unique interactions with the digital system, we gained insights into their needs, allowing us to design more effective and user-centric solutions.
Use Case
Front counter - Bring your own cup: Below is an example of a use case where a customer orders at the front counter with their own cup. We utilize real-world journeys like this to make the experience more tangible, helping to identify both common practices and edge cases. This example includes a timer, highlighting the pressure crew members face to quickly take orders while analytics track restaurant performance.
➋ Define
Looking Out
Competitive Analysis: To understand the competitive landscape and identify best practices, we analyzed various POS systems. Some of the most valuable insights came from independently posted videos and social media posts by crew members and managers, which provided authentic perspectives and real world challenges.
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Looking In
Designing for McDonald's legacy system presents unique challenges, as it varies significantly from market to market and even from restaurant to restaurant. With nearly 38,000 unique versions of the system—one for each McDonald's location—we must account for a wide range of differences and ensure our solutions are adaptable and effective across all scenarios. This complexity requires a flexible and comprehensive approach to design.
Behind the Scenes
Downstream Products, Services and Channels: 


The diagram below was created to simplify the downstream flow of data from over a dozen unique sources, as depicted in the scrolling banner. Each system feeds into the POS system and shapes the experience for crew members. Oh and while you are here, say Hi to our friendly mascot, TIG, who we created to help share the story of data flow.
Legacy Crew Surfaces
These are the surfaces and their existing user interfaces that we were tasked with modifying to include options for reusable packaging.
POS
Used for order taking at the front counter,
drive-thru and cashier stations.
KVS
Used for informing crew of orders to be prepped.
➌ Ideate
Packaging Types
Our ideation process was shaped by the complexity of the various packaging options that need to be offered (as seen below.) Additionally, we had to consider local laws, which impact how packaging fees and taxes are applied.
Experience
Mapping
Workshop
I conducted several workshops that included crew sentiment and customer comments from support transcripts. These workshops were instrumental in understanding the pain points of crew members. Through the use of "How Might We" (HMW) questions, we were able to unlock opportunities for improvement and innovation.
Challenges with designing for a crew facing POS
Designing for a crew-facing user experience presents unique challenges not typically encountered in traditional web and app design projects.  Some of these challenges are identified below. 
Considerations
  • Speed is of the essence
  • Layout to support restaurant workflow
  • Flexibility for varying ways customers order
  • Accessibility for all (e.g. large touch targets)
  • Language barriers
  • Fast scanning (e.g. utilize color)
  • ‘Hangry’ customers
Challenges
  • Legacy Design
  • Limited Screen Real Estate
  • Lower Resolution - Font legibility
  • Lack of Multitouch - No pinch/zoom
  • Slow refresh - No animation
  • Minimal analytics available
Concepts
Flow diagrams were created to map out the various paths a user might take to capture customer orders that include the wide variety of packaging options.
Design Library
Time was invested upfront to deconstruct the old system and create a UI Kit, as no such library existed previously. This strategic decision enabled us to rapidly develop prototypes and explore design options more efficiently, ultimately streamlining the design process
Critiques, Showcases and Thunderdomes, oh my!
With the design library at our disposal, creating iterations was much faster. This enabled us to rapidly prototype and prepare presentations for critiques, showcases, and face feedback in the Thunderdome.
Behold...
The floating package panel.
Our team created a new design called the Floating Package Panel, a small but significant change introduced alongside existing elements that have been in place for decades. This update is important because it aligns with McDonald's sustainability goals to reduce the use of single use packaging and provide a wider variety of eco-friendly options for customers. This addition is incredibly exciting because it has the potential for a massive environmental impact, given that McDonald's serves over 68 million people daily.
➍ Test
Global Reuse
Usability Testing
US Usability Testing
  • Partnered with McOpCo people to recruit crew
  • Members from 2 different restaurants to come to MHQ
  • 6 crew members
  • 30-minute sessions each in the 4th floor studio
  • Testing Figma prototypes for KVS designs on the screens and POS designs on tablets
US Usability Testing
  • Partnered with McOpCo people to recruit crew
  • Members from 2 different restaurants to come to MHQ
  • 6 crew members
  • 30-minute sessions each in the 4th floor studio
  • Testing Figma prototypes for KVS designs on the screens and POS designs on tablets
Lessons Learned
Throughout the course of the project, we learned important lessons and gained invaluable insights, particularly from our frequent testing with crew members. These tests allowed us to understand their needs and challenges better, leading to more user-centric designs. Below are some of the key takeaways from this process.
      Introduce patterns
      • By observing users, we noticed that they wanted to toggle buttons on and off. That pattern didn’t exist.
      Introduce patterns
      • Proximity of similar buttons improves speed
      Local laws
      • State Cups in Taiwan
      • Discounts vs fees by market
      Nuanced language crucial for comprehension
      • Single Use packaging” vs. Disposable
      • “Own” vs. “BYO”
      • Language barriers
      Visual Cues
      • Color variations required for some markets
      • Image vs. Text varied between markets
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