Optimization of the pizza delivering process Understanding deliverers behaviors and needs 2006 | Solo | Scholarship context This project was one of the first design project I worked on during my studies at l'Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique. I worked on this project on my own. The aim was to optimize the pizza delivering process. I spent a lot of time observing and interviewing everybody involved in the process : the receptionist, the cook, the deliverers... So as to understand their real needs and expectations, and what were the key-points in the process.  I was really surprised by the results of my researches : indeed, when starting the project, I thought the main problem causing delay was linked to the deliverers who can meet problems when trying to find customer addresses, and I was already imagining something with geolocation or GPS system... But it appeared that the real problem was very different, much simpler : the paper bill ! Indeed, all along the process, the paper bill is the link between the customer and the pizza. It's printed as soon as the customer calls, and it's successively used by the cook and the delivery guys, causing many problems : it can be burnt near the oven and become hardly readable, it can be lost, and so on. So I decided to rethink the process and to avoid that 'bloody' paper by replacing it with a bluetooth based system :
I added a few convenient functions to the deliverers key-ring : a remote lock system for the mop's boot, and a light, useful for reading customers names by night...    Since then, I've always kept in mind that problems aren't always where we think they are, and it's compulsory to find real problems by observing and placing users at the heart of the design process ! |