Rodizio Rico has three branches open for both lunch and dinner, with an average occupancy rate of 80%. With a growing popularity of such dining experience, the number of inbound calls at restaurants have increased significantly over the past years, ultimately impacting the efficiency and quality of the service offered.

ROLE

Product Designer

TIMELINE

April/23 to June/23

PLATFORM

Responsive Website

Development Process

1 - UX Tools

Figma
Maze
Pen & Paper
Hotjar
Google Analytics

2 - Discovery & Research

Problem Statement
HMW
‍Persona

3 - Define & Solutions

Features Prioritizations
(MoSCoW)
User Flow
Competitor Analisys
Solutions Skecthes

4 - Develop

Low Fidelity Wireframes
High-Fidelity Design
Usability Test
(unmodareted)

5 - UI & Frontend

High-Fidelity Re-Design
Redo Usability Test
(Unmodareted)
Style Guides & Components
Webflow Frontend Development

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Redesign of the Rodizio Rico website.
Working in tandem with UX Researcher and UX Writer Emanuela Ferraro.
Launching an updated the responsive version of the website.

CHALLENGES

Reserve the customer's table online.
Customer easily finding ket information, in order to avoid a high volume of incomingcalls and emails.

OUTCOMES

~30% Increase of online bookings at restautants.
~70% reduction of revenue calls and emails requesting information about reservations, menu and prices.
A change in booking software, thus reducing by 90% issues regarding to bookings, payments, refunds, no shows and late cancellations.

RESEARCH GOALS AND METHODOLOGY

We used the Double Diamond Design Methodology to evaluate the online booking experience and to understand user preferences, both for visual design and navigation. We wanted to gather qualitative and quantitative data from existing customers, ideally those who had already visited the Rodizio Rico website, or have attempted to make an online reservation. Thus, we placed a QR code on each restaurant table, which linked to the online survey. To ensure that we collected a significant amount of data, we offered a free drink or dessert as an incentive to customers who completed the survey.

METHOD: Evaluative research through online survey.
SURVEY DESIGN: 10 multiple choice and open-end questions.
PARTICIPANTS: 40.
DATA SOURCED: Qualitative.

KEY TAKEWAYS AND PAIN POINTS UNCOVERED

- 100% of customers navigated the website from their mobile
- 90% visited the website to make a reservation or to check the menu and prices
However, less than 40% of customers were able to successfully complete a reservation or get the needed information
- Due to a poor website experience, customers resorted to calling the restaurants to make enquiries, thus causing a spike in inbound call traffic and reservation bottlenecks

HMW STATEMENTS

Based on survey results and key takeaways, we narrowed down the pool of potential solutions to develop, therefore addressing critical pain points in the UX design.
- How might we help clients find the information they want in a timely and accurate manner?
- How might we facilitate the reservation process (which areas can be improved)?
- How might we make our clients’ online experience more pleasant and efficient?

PERSONA

With the help of the above data and insights, we developed a persona that outlines the behaviours and preferences of the targeted Rodizio Rico's customer base.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Further honing our research, we conducted a competitive analysis amongst the most popular Brazilian Churrascaria within the UK:

We investigated the online navigation experience offered based on:
1) Online booking and how does this work? Does it rely on a third party’s reservation system?
2) Menu and price visibility and readability. How easy is it for users to browse online menus and different price options?
3) The overall website visual design.
4) Advantages that differentiate them from competitors.

THE (RE)DESIGN PHASE

We started by focusing on:
Visual Hierarchy · Information Architecture · CTAs proximity

DESIGN SOLUTIONS

Crazy 8’s, Low-fidelity and Prototype

UNMODERATED USABILITY TEST

Once the navigation and user flow were validated, we iterated the design on a high-fidelity prototype. The goal at this stage was to understand how users interact with the different components, such as checking menu and pricing options, as well as to assess the efficiency of reserving a table at a desired Rodizio Rico branch. Participants were asked to perform tasks and to value on a 5-point liker-scale the level of satisfaction in completing the task.

METHOD: Evaluative research through unmoderated tests.
SURVEY DESIGN: Open-end, multiple-choice and 5-point liker-scale questions.
PARTICIPANTS: 16.
DATA SOURCED: Qualitative and quantitative.

Below are the test results and improvements achieved by the web redesign:

100% search success rate for menu and price information:

 Customers frequently called to ask for menu and pricing options. Through this usability test, we achieved a 100% success rate in the task, which users completed in less than 18 seconds. We also asked about the level of satisfaction in browsing the information and got a rating of 4.8 on a 5-point liker-scale. In the future, the goal is to reduce the volume of inbound calls to restaurants by at least 50%.

75% of users show their preference for the menu price drop-down function:

Given the extensive list of menu prices, which vary depending on the time of day or day of the week, we redesigned the page to reduce the cognitive load on the user and make it more appealing and intuitive.

Reduced booking completion time:

By modifying the design of the Call To Action (CTA) ‘Book a Table’, we were able to achieve a 100% success rate, while significantly reducing the time to book a table, which users completed in an average of 48 seconds.

Refinement of user preferences:

Users were asked to show their preference towards different aspects and features of the revamped design and navigation flow. Results proved our success in improving visual and content hierarchy, as well as mobile-first navigation experiences.

THE HIGH-FIDELITY PROTOTYPE

Here is a preview of the final prototype, optimised for navigation for both Mobile and Desktop.

LIVE PROJECT

The website redesigned and developed on Webflow:
https://www.rodiziorico.com

TESTIMONIAL · RECOMMENDATION

‘I have worked with Caue on several UX projects, and his ability to foster harmonious collaboration between design, marketing, and product teams has been invaluable in effortlessly achieving project goals. As an experienced product and UX designer, Caue has consistently produced visually stunning and intuitive user experiences, while providing insightful advice that has helped advance our UX research.’

Emanuela Ferraro

Fellow UX Researcher & UX Writer

Linkedin: in/emanuelaferraro

During my tenure as a Product Manager at Rodizio Rico, I actively contributed to various aspects beyond my core role. I took on additional responsibilities, such as product designer, graphic design, photography, social media management, and hosting. In addition, I successfully implemented new software solutions for streamlined booking, payment, refund, floor plan, and marketing automation processes.

Graphic Design & Prints

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?

Reflecting back on the project

In this project, I have gained valuable insight into the art of conducting thorough research and synthesising survey data from diverse ethnic backgrounds. By studying various behaviours and preferences exhibited by different ethnicities, I have acquired a deep understanding of how to strategically position elements in UI. This involved careful consideration of the average opinion derived from the survey data, enabling me to make better design decisions.