Mcdonald’s Drive-thru
To see opportunities to improve the Mcdonalds drive-thru experience.
ABOUT MCDONALDS
Mission
“To be our customers’ favorite place and way to eat and drink.”
History of Drive-Thru
First opened by In-N-Out Burger in 1948 in the L.A based on the unique concept of a drive-thru hamburger stand using a (then) state-of-the-art two-way speaker box.
In November 1970, the founder of Wendy’s, features a pick-up window — an innovative feature in the fast-food restaurant industry at the time.
The first McDonald’s drive-through was created in 1975 near Fort Huachuca, a military installation located adjacent to the city — to serve military members who weren’t permitted to get out of their cars off-post while wearing fatigues. Created out of the need, than convenience.
MILESTONES
- Background research, Competitor Analysis, Service Safari, Crazy8/Design Studio
- OCB + App design + Body Storming
- Iteration 1 + Body Storming Usability Testing
- Iteration 2 + Body Storming Usability Testing
- Final Prototype Outcome Findings
CIRCUMSTANCE
2 weeks research > 2 rounds of iterations > interactive prototype (add-on feature on Mcdonalds App + OCB)
THE TEAM
Details on Roles and Requirements
- Rachel Lee — Project Manager / App Designer / UX Researcher
- Zakhran — Sketchup Designer / UX Researcher
- Nurul — OCB Prototype Designer / UX Researcher
- Gwen — Competitor Analysis/ OCB Prototype Designer / UX Researcher
My Contributions
User research, Contextual Inquiry, Service Safari, Usability testing, UX design, High fidelity Prototyping on Sketch/Figma (Mobile)
RESEARCH
Research goals
Find out how customers place orders at drive-thrus as well as understanding Mcdonald’s staff process and protocols to identify if there is any opportunity to improve the overall process.
Research questions
Who are the target audiences?
Drive-thru customers and Mcdonald’s drive-thru staffs
METHODOLOGY
Contextual inquiry, service safari, usability test — Interview with a total of 9 customers and 3 staffs followed by usability testing on our prototype with:
- 6 users for version 1
- 5 users for version 2
Understanding the Business and Users
- McDonald’s Growth Strategy
- Stakeholders Interview (Customers & Drive-Thru Staff)
- Contextual Inquiry & Service Safari
- Case Studies
- The McDonald’s Experience in Singapore
- McDonald’s Drive-Thru in the US
Mcdonald’s Growth Strategy
McDonald’s has introduced three growth accelerators:
Digital — Re-shaping our interactions with the customer — whether they eat in, take out, drive-thru or order delivery
Delivery — Bringing the McDonald’s experience to more customers — in their homes, their dorm rooms, their workplaces and beyond
Experience of the future — Elevating the customer experience in the restaurants through technology and the restaurant teams who bring it to life
We see Mcdonald’s is in its Competitive Advantage as it is the major player in Singapore drive-thru market. However, there are constraints like legacy systems such as the speaker box and land scarcity, high cost in Singapore resulting in the limited numbers of drive-thru lanes.
Current Mcdonald’s Drive-Thru
- Single-laned drive-thru
- Ordering speaker box with menu
- Payment booth
- Collection booth
- Drive-thru parking lot (for large orders)
ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
Original Service Blueprint
FINDINGS
Customers Considerations
- Service Time (Defined as the time between stopping at the order station and receiving of all items, including change.)
- Order Accuracy
- Service Satisfaction
McDonald’s considerations
1. Restaurant Workflow
2. Kitchen/Drive-Thru layout
3. Staffing (Manpower)
Direct Competitor
KFC (ordering system is similar to Mcdonalds and there’s only 1 KFC drive-thru in Singapore)
CASE STUDIES
McDonald’s US — Mobile Order & Pay
Our question: Is this feasible in SG Drive-Thru ?
- Curbside Pick-up — Not feasible to replicate in Singapore due to space constraints and strict traffic rules.
- Drive-Thru Pick-up — Most drive-thrus in Singapore are single-laned. Due to space constraints in Singapore, it might be cost-inefficient to expand the drive-thru layout just for pickup orders.
- In-Restaurant Pick-up — Customers still need to find parking and enter the restaurant physically for order collection. They also need to stand in line at the counter to collect their orders with dine-in customers. There may be an adverse impact on dine-in customers expected.
Proposed Service Blueprint
Proposed Drive-Thru Solutions
- Digital Order Confirmation Board (OCB)
Replace the speaker box with Digital Order Confirmation Board (OCB) at the drive-thru lane to reduce staffing at order taking and payment stations and reduce inaccurate orders due to miscommunication with Order Taker.
“Floating Screen” — which detects the height of the drive-thru vehicle and adjusts the height of OCB screen accordingly
Voice feedback — To confirm order number and designated collection point, after the order is placed.
Order number Stub — Stub generated from Order Confirmation Board (OCB) for the user’s reference.
- Addition of “Drive-Thru” feature in existing McDonald’s App
Users can prepare their order ahead via App and generate a QR code which represents their order details. Once the QR code is scanned at OCB, the order will be confirmed and sent to the kitchen for preparation.
Users are allowed to continue to edit their order via Order Confirmation Board (OCB), after generating and scanning QR code in the app.
Boost Ordering Efficiency
A. Included a (+) sign to add more items to order list
B. Added a “Save to Favourite List” pop-up after QR code is scanned
C. Allow users to continue to edit their order via Order Confirmation Board (OCB), after generating and scanning QR code in the app.
- Digital Payment System at Collection booth
Privacy of paying without human contact while waiting for food to arrive.
Results after prototype #2
100% Task Success Rate, Ease of Use Rating: 5.5/7.0
- Increased the number of orders in the task scenario. As per insights gathered from research, users would use the app if they are placing
>3 extra value meals
TOOLS USED
Google slides, Invision, Sketch, Photoshop, Axure
