Dan McCurley

Hy-Vee Food Service Kiosk

Tags
Interaction & Experience Design, Visual Communication

Hy-Vee sought to decrease customer wait times for in-store food service and provide a flexible self-service option for multiple store formats and brands. We were tasked with delivering a solution that allowed customers to order and check out in under 30 seconds while still upholding Hy-Vee’s hallmark customer service and brand.

Kiosk start screen for Nori Sushi with a sushi roll held in chopsticks and green Dine-In and Carry-Out buttons (full size)
Kiosk start screen for Hy-Vee Market Grille Express with bacon jalapeño wontons and brown Dine-In and Carry-Out buttons (full size)

Role

Working with a fellow designer, we synthesized business and customer requirements and delivered workflows, wireframes and hi-fidelity visual designs on a very tight timeline. After launch, I conducted in-store user testing with customers and helped the dev team quickly iterate on and deploy design enhancements.

A whiteboard covered in a hand-drawn map of the kiosk ordering flow, from menu to payment (full size)

Process

We worked to ensure all customer workflows were adaptable to relatively simple menu items (drinks) and complicated, multi-step orders (burritos). We took turns iterating on each other's ideas for the UI, and we held daily design reviews to refine and finalize visual designs.

Solution

Usability testing showed that customers were able to order and check out well within our 30-second goal. The visual design of the kiosk showcases Hy-Vee’s culinary expertise while remaining scalable, accessible and intuitive.

Kiosk screen customizing a cheeseburger, with options for burger substitution, toppings and sauce and an Add to Order button (full size)
Kiosk menu screen showing a grid of Nori Sushi artisan rolls with prices and a Review Order button (full size)

Challenges

We struggled to account for the physical constraints of the kiosks during the design phase, such as in-store layouts, signage and customers’ movements while shopping. For example, we designed the post-checkout flow under the assumption that cups and order buzzers would be available near the kiosks, which turned out not to be true in many stores.

Usability test result for 'Did customer see the buzzers/understand where to enter number?': all six customers failed (full size)

Outcomes

The kiosks were deployed in Hy-Vee stores across the midwest. They provided convenient ordering options for customers and enabled flexible staffing options for stores during off-peak times.

The in-store testing I conducted for this project (and resulting iterations) demonstrated to leadership the importance of requirement gathering, stakeholder interviews and challenging assumptions. We saw the intersection of digital and physical UX as it affected customers first hand.

A Hy-Vee self-service ordering kiosk on a stainless steel counter beside a heated food display case (full size)
A cluster of kiosks under an 'Express Order: Start here and skip the line!' sign in front of a Hy-Vee Asian food counter (full size)