Literature Review On Restaurant Automation

Customer Statement of Requirements

Problem Statement

The Chef:

Working in a kitchen can be strenuous and it can be difficult to keep track of everything

that needs to be done. Orders need to be filled in a reasonable amount of time, while

simultaneously ensuring that any special dish accommodations are accounted for. This

needs to be done with accuracy because it can be a disaster if an order is made incorrectly

or even worse, a person with a food allergy could get hurt as a result of a waiter’s poor

handwriting. We want to get our orders out with accuracy and speed to make sure we

have a happy, returning customer. When dishes are complete and the server does not pick

it up for a few minutes, it can be a pain because the food gets cold and it takes up space on

the counter that could be used otherwise.

It would be a great help if I had something that clearly displays all incoming orders. This

can save me more time in the kitchen and make the cooking process more efficient. Finally,

I would love a way to signal to the servers that the order is finished and ready to be taken to

the table to reduce the time the food sits on the counter.

How do I want your application to help me? The application should generate a queue for

the chef to follow so that they are aware of what dishes they should be making and provide

them with a general idea of how old the order is so that they may stay on track. The

application should also allow chefs to ping waiters when a certain order is complete so that

they know when to come and pick the meals up so that they may be delivered to the tables.

The Host/Hostess:

Whenever I am welcoming customers into our restaurant, I aim to make the start of their

experience as flawless as possible. As parties of multiple people arrive, they tend to have

different requests and requirements based on how many people they have and where they

want to sit. Sometimes you can have a party of 8 looking for a round table in a corner,

whereas other times you can get a family of 4 wanting a booth. I love to find them their

preferred seating, but sometimes there just is not an available spot, and we are not really

sure how long it will be for an appropriate spot to open up.

Finding an available table for guests can sometimes be a challenge, especially when I am

unsure of which tables are ready to go. When I am welcoming customers in, it would be

great if there was a way to easily keep track of which tables are currently cleaned and

empty and which are occupied, without having to go through endless reams of paper. At

the same time, it would be nice to keep track of how long each table has already been

occupied. This will be a big help in providing guests with accurate estimations on when a

valid seating arrangement may become available.

How will your application help me? Using a handy tablet/phone I can keep on me, I can

mark tables as occupied, vacant, clean, etc. as the day goes on. Whenever I seat new

guests, I can mark the table as occupied. Once the guests leave, that table can be marked as

vacant, notifying a busboy that the table is ready to be cleaned. Once the busboy is

finished, they can mark it as cleaned which lets me know that the table is ready to be used

once again.

Server:

Working as a server is an extremely demanding job. Servers have to run around the

restaurant taking customers’ orders, keeping track of which table ordered what, and

returning orders. Servers have to interact with chefs/cooks and get food to people right

away so the food does not get cold. They also have to enter checks when a customer or

group is ready to pay. Since there are many tables in this restaurant, it is somewhat

difficult to connect a certain order to a certain table, and also to determine whether a table

needs to be cleaned and set up for the next customer. Unfortunately, sometimes a server

may have to send a dish back if the customer does not like it or finds something wrong.

How will your application help me? Having an application that could help take care of

customer’s orders so that they can take their time would be delightful. It would be

amazing if the software would be able to send the orders directly to the kitchen and

remember which table and which person ordered each item. Sometimes customers need

help however I am not currently in the same area as them due to other job responsibilities.

A way for my customers to ping me whenever they need my help would be greatly

appreciated! I would also love to be able to receive notifications from the chef once orders

are finished getting prepared so the food is not standing out for so long.

Managers:

Managing a restaurant and a full staff of employees is no easy task, there are many

different things that I have to do throughout my day and it can be a little overwhelming at

times. It can be difficult to keep track of which employees are on duty, as well as figuring

out payroll for every pay period.

Another issue with employees is keeping track of them, like whether or not they made it to

their shift on time or are in the building and calculating how much to compensate the

employees for their time. Any way to reduce the amount of effort that I have to put into

any of these tasks would be immensely helpful.

In addition to these issues, a restaurant application must be easily editable and user

friendly. I should be able to update the menu with ease to ensure that it matches the items

that we are actually serving. Floor plans are also constantly changing, for instance when a

larger party comes in, so I must be able to edit the floorplan on the fly to ensure that

customers and waiters are able to use a floor plan that matches with the restaurant.

How will your application help me? Your application can serve as an employee portal,

allowing employees to clock in and out, and will calculate the proper amount to provide to

them for compensation. Having this feature will make my life as a manager so much

easier, since I will not have to do any of the employee logging or pay calculations -

instead, the application will do them for me. The application will also verify the

employees location based on IP address or GPS location so that employees can only clock

in while they are on site. This way, I will know whether an employee is attempting to

clock-in to work before they even arrive to their shift. In addition to this, there are very

simple interfaces that will allow you to edit your menu options and quickly readjust the

floor plan.

Busboy:

Working as a busboy can be a very time consuming job. At times it is hard to keep track of

all the tables currently being used at the restaurant and whether or not they are vacant for

me to clean.

How will your application help me? Having an easy way to look at the current status of

tables would be a huge advantage. Being able to see which tables are ready to be cleaned

and prepared at any given time would be a huge help in efficiently getting stuff ready.

Once I am done, I would love to be able to update the status of the table to “ready” so it can

be used for incoming customers.