Case Study

Modifications

Team

Joshua

UX Designer

Swetha

Product Manager (KFC)

Brian

Product Manager (TB)

Andy

Software Engineer

Overview

Redesign the order modification flow within KFC & Taco Bell’s Point of Sale (POS) system to:

  • Improve team member efficiency when modifying orders.

  • Adapt to unpredictable customer order patterns.

  • Build a scalable white-label solution for future brands.

The result was a faster, more intuitive order modification flow that increased upsell conversions, reduced service time, and laid the groundwork for cross-brand scalability.

The Challenge

Inflexible Modification Flow: The existing POS system made it difficult for team members to modify orders, especially during high-volume periods.


Limited Menu Customization: The lack of dynamic menu suggestions or quick modifications slowed down service time.


Scalability Constraints: KFC's POS was not designed to scale across Yum! Brands, making future implementations resource-heavy.

KFC & Taco Bell's Previous POS

Taco Bell's Previous POS

KFC's Previous POS

Research and Discovery

User Interviews: Conducted 35+ interviews with team members to identify pain points. In-store Observations: Spent 60+ hours across multiple locations to study team member behavior and customer interactions. Cross-functional Collaboration: Worked closely with product managers, developers, and operations to understand technical limitations and business goals.

Key Insights:

  • Team members struggled to modify orders efficiently.

  • Opportunities for increasing revenue through dynamic menu suggestions were missed.

  • The flow lacked scalability, making future brand rollouts inefficient.

Design Solutions

Flexible Flow Design: Introduced a dynamic order modification flow allowing team members to make real-time changes. Smart Menu Guidance: Implemented predictive suggestions to simplify upsells and customizations. White-label Design System: Built a modular design system allowing rapid customization for future Yum! Brands.

Wire-framing & Prototyping

I led the design of low-fidelity wireframes to:

  • Break down the modification process into intuitive steps.

  • Reduce cognitive load for team members.

  • Create a seamless experience adaptable across different brands.

High-fidelity prototypes focused on:

  • Enhancing visual clarity in the POS interface.

  • Implementing clear order modification guidance.

  • Introducing scalable design components.

KFC V2

KFC V5

TB V1

TB V5

Testing and Validation

Alpha Testing: Internally tested with operations and engineering teams. Beta Testing: Conducted real-world usability testing across 50+ KFC locations.

Results from testing:

  • 41% reduction in time spent modifying orders.

  • 29% increase in upsell conversions.

  • 64% reduction in team member error during order modifications.

Outcome

The redesigned Modification Flow delivered exceptional outcomes:

  • Faster order processing, reducing service time by 41%.

  • Increased upsell conversions, driving 29% more revenue.

  • Scalable solution implemented across KFC, and primed for Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Habit Burger.

The design system reduced future development time by 30%, allowing rapid rollout across multiple brands without requiring heavy design/development lift.

Takeaways

Designing for scalability was key in ensuring future brand rollouts could happen quickly.

  • Minimizing cognitive load for team members allowed faster service times.

  • Leveraging operational insights ensured the solution aligned with business goals while improving customer experience.

Future Considerations (Currently in Discovery)

AI-driven recommendations: Introduce predictive upsell opportunities based on customer order history.

  • Centralized management panel: Enable real-time menu updates for franchise operators.

  • Voice-enabled modifications: Implement voice interaction to further streamline order modifications.