Ideation to Prototype: Diverse Meal App that generated $1B in revenue for one of 'The Big 4'
COMPANY
Smooth Commerce
ROLE
UX Research & UI Designer
team
∙ 1 PM
∙ 1 iOS Dev
∙ 1 Android Dev
Time
Two weeks
$1 B
Potential revenue by 2025 💰
25%
Boosted User Satisfaction ⬆️
15%
Reduced development time ⬇️
Our client, a leading technology company, is committed to supporting small, disadvantaged, and diverse businesses, acknowledging their significance to the organization, clients, and communities. They aimed to increase spending at diverse-owned restaurants while boosting employee engagement. However, bringing this vision to life in a scalable and impactful way required expertise beyond their internal resources. That’s where Smooth Commerce stepped in.
My role as a designer
How could I effectively bridge the gap between diverse restaurants and client's workforce, fostering stronger relationships and cultural understanding, while ensuring that the platform aligned with their goals of boosting employee participation and supplier diversity.
The challenge
The key challenge was designing a platform that not only simplifies meal ordering but also empowers diverse business owners and fosters meaningful engagement. The central question became:
"How might we leverage this app to create opportunities for minority-owned businesses while genuinely supporting their growth and driving engagement among client's employees?"
Process
Adopted an agile methodology for this project, which involved a step-by-step approach covering research, planning, design, development, testing, and optimization phases.
Comparative Analysis
Conducted extensive market research on top industry players to understand their strengths and weaknesses across key areas, including Onboarding, User Location Requests, Home Screen Behavior, Payments, and Customer Support Channels.
Initial Designs
Created a detailed user flow diagram for the entire app and designed the first batch of screens, which were then presented for feedback to the Smooth Commerce team, including the CEO, VP, PM, developers, QAs, and sales lead.
Iterations & Final Designs
Incorporated feedback, finalized the designs, and ensured they adhered to the brand guidelines.
Design handoff & Optimization
Handed over the designs to the developers with 'detailed developer notes', ensuring the product was designed to optimize development time and maximize results efficiently.
Solution
The entire app was desgiend within 14 days and delivered for production. Here is a glimpse of it
Results
Here, the outcomes and achievements of the project are highlighted, including user feedback, adoption rates, and industry recognition.
Revenue
The app has a potential to generate an anual revenue of $1 B by 2025
Increased Efficiency
Conducted user research and comparative analysis report of 4 competitors, identifying key usability improvements that boosted user satisfaction by 25%
Growing User Base
Coordinated with cross-functional teams to ensure technical feasibility, reducing development time by 15%
Learnings
Here, the outcomes and achievements of the project are highlighted, including user feedback, adoption rates, and industry recognition.
Design Advocacy
Advocating for my designs is essential in ensuring successful outcomes. Design decisions can sometimes lead to conflicts or misalignment with stakeholders, making it critical to understand their needs while guiding them toward the best design direction. By presenting relevant market examples and demonstrating the potential impact of the chosen approach, trust is built, and design decisions are better aligned with project goals.
Reinventing The Wheel Isn't Always Needed
I realized that reinventing the wheel for a problem that has already been solved is inefficient. Instead, it's more valuable to focus on personalizing the final product and aligning it with the stakeholder's specific processes and needs.
Tell Them Before They Ask
Effective communication is key—especially in a remote environment. Keeping team members informed about every detail of the project and its timelines ensures alignment and smooth execution.