Application Proposal for a Restaurant - Report Example

An Application Proposal for a Restaurant Student’s Name Institution An Application Proposal for a Restaurant The growth of the mobile phones has made our life much easier in accessing information. Therefore, life in the 21st century has become very difficult without the use technology. The Internet has greatly contributed to an ever increasing global information database and has been used as means to data mine information. Today’s fast food and restaurants have chosen to use technology to enhance speedy delivery of orders through the use phones, but such a system has many disadvantages such as inconveniences of physically copying orders, the lack of a visual confirmation of order that are placed and the need for the restaurant to have an employee that answers the phone and takes order. The restaurant app developed offers a seamless ordering system for any restaurant. The advantage of such a system is that it simplifies the entire ordering system both to the customer and the restaurant. When a customer visits the order page they are presented with an interactive and up to date menu that has various options that can dynamically adjusted based on what is selected(BUCANEK, 2013). After the customer makes the selection, the items are added to the order cart; the customer can review the order and ensure that he or she has selected the correct item before checking out. This features offers the user with an immediate visual confirmation of what is selected therefore reducing the number of incorrect orders. Such a system is great since it reduces the load for the restaurant as compared with legacy systems by automating the entire ordering process. Once an order is placed it can be easily retrieved from the database. This system therefore, allows the restaurant employees go through order quickly as it is designed to produce item with minimal delay and confusion. Problem Statement The challenges that are encountered with legacy system have major drawbacks to restaurants in terms of efficiency and customer satisfaction. Thus the experiences of the ordering process in most restaurants are not pleasant to customers. Customers sometimes have to make long queues before placing the order. This is particular worse during peak hours when the ordering staff record high customer orders. Another problem is that the restaurant will realize better efficiencies by implementing such a system (WOOLDRIDGE & SCHNEIDER, 2010). The restaurant business is a very competitive and one way of competing is through improving the entire business process by automation the entire process to help in business improvement. The problem with legacy system is that the customer is not able to see the ingredients of the meals before they place the order. The app will help in solving such a problem. Objectives Increase the efficiency within the restaurant by providing the customer with an application that assist in their daily operation To be more competitive in the business sphere. Project Scope Online ordering system will be a Java based mobile app. The main purpose of the application is to improve the efficiency of the entire ordering process for both customer and the restaurant reducing the manual data entry process and ensure the accuracy and data security during the ordering process(BUCANEK, 2013). Additionally, customers will be able to view menus, their various ingredients and have a visual confirmation that the order was place correctly. Limitation of the App The app requires an Internet connection and the user needs to be computer literate Another drawback is that the app target is main adults that have access to mobile phones while minors might have to go to the restaurant to purchase food Another limitation is that the system will be only useful for people within a small geographical region, within the boundaries of the restaurant Draft layout of all UI screenshots, or manually designed layout App Structure Diagram/Map List of App Functionalities The App will enable customers to open an account with the restaurant, log into the system, view the menu and place an order. During the log in process, the customers will be required to provide the hotel with their information in terms of the place of residents/address so as to make it easier for the delivery purpose. Customers will have the option of choosing whether they want their order to be delivered to their exact location or if they will pick it up by themselves. The system will enable customers to view all the food products that are served by the restaurant including their respective prices. With regards to pricing and food products, the hotel managers will have the option of updating the prices of foods plus including or deleting various food products. This will enable the restaurant to concentrate on foods that are on high demand. Before customers can place an order, they app shall prompt the customers to make a confirmation of whether the order they have placed is the correct one. This will be aided with a visual confirmation of the type of order that the customer have placed. The app will enable the employees to make confirmation of orders that have already been delivered, cancelled and those that are still pending (WOOLDRIDGE & SCHNEIDER, 2010). As a result of this, the hotel will be able to generate sales reports of the various kinds of orders that were made by the customers. The sales report will summarize how the various food product performed within a given financial year. It will also enable the company to know where its strength and weakness lies. This will aide in decision making process of the hotel in terms identifying which food products are mostly preferred by the customers. Under the non-functional capabilities of the app include safety of use of the app. No health concern will be experienced when using the app. The app is much faster and easier to use and understand, Minimal complexities are involved in the ordering process. There will be an option to back up the data for those who prefer to back any data. App purpose & full description Once the customers have downloaded the app onto their mobile phones, the next procedure is for them to register with their full description including full names, address, contacts and age (WOOLDRIDGE & SCHNEIDER, 2010). This information will aide in the delivery of the food and provide an overview of where most of the customers of the restaurant come from. Each and every customer who owns an account with the restaurant will be able to log in, make a selection and place an order. The app enables the customers to place an order through electronic ordering process which will enable customers to pay for their orders through the mobile app. The customers will have an opportunity to view the entire menu through their mobile including the prices of the food. Once they are satisfied and have confirmed their order, they will have the option of having it delivered to them or picking it up later. The generation of sale report on the part of the restaurant enhances the decision making process of the company and which will be geared towards enabling the restaurant to gain competitive edge over other competitors. The other purpose of the app is to enhance customer loyalty and service delivery to the customers. The various functional capabilities that comes with the app enable the customer to get a personalized kind of service which meets their unique preference and taste. In the event that the food that was ordered by customer is not readily available, the customer will be provided with an alternative food that is next or similar to the one that they had placed. The diagram below gives an overall pictorial view of how the app operates. System Requirement These will consist of both hardware and software components of the mobile app that will be required so that it efficient runs Minimum Software Requirement Supports Android  and iPhone Internet data plan Minimum Hardware Requirements 16 GB, 2 GB RAM CPU 500 MHz  Bibliography BUCANEK, J. 2013. Learn iOS app development 3rd Ed. New York, Apress. WOOLDRIDGE, D., & SCHNEIDER, M. 2010. The business of iPhone app development making and marketing apps that succeed 2nd Ed. New York, Apress. Read More