Overview
This project involved the development of a mobile application aimed at streamlining the operations of a coffee shop by facilitating communication and task management among multiple user roles. Designed and implemented independently in Flutter, the app was built to enable seamless order processing, task assignments, and transaction approvals across four user types. I developed the entire mobile app from scratch, with backend support in place at the outset.
Key Features
The app provided a variety of essential features for the coffee shop’s workflow:
- Role-specific Dashboards: Custom dashboards tailored to each user role, providing relevant information and actions.
- Order Queueing and Notification System: Servers could place orders directly through their accounts, sending real-time notifications to workers for preparation.
- Transaction Approval: Cashiers could approve, track, and finalize customer transactions efficiently.
- Admin Controls: Administrative users had access to control all operations, manage users, and view reports on order and transaction data.
Challenges
Role-based Interface Design: Designing separate interfaces for each user role without overwhelming the overall design required careful planning and iteration.
Real-time Notification: Ensuring real-time notifications for queued orders was challenging, especially on a mobile platform with limited backend control.
User Permissions and Access Control: Implementing secure access control to ensure that each role had only the necessary permissions for their tasks.
Lessons Learned
This project allowed me to deepen my understanding of developing for a multi-role system in a real-time environment. Key takeaways included:
- Complex UI Design for Multiple User Roles: Learned how to design and implement an app where each role’s experience was customized yet visually cohesive.
- Real-time Synchronization: Gained hands-on experience with real-time notifications and updates, balancing performance and responsiveness on mobile devices.
- Scalability in User Permissions: Enhanced my approach to secure user authentication and access management, a crucial skill for projects with diverse role-based access requirements.
Impact & Results
The application’s streamlined workflows contributed to:
- Faster Order Processing: Reduced order handling time by up to 30% due to efficient queuing and real-time notifications for workers.
- Improved Transaction Management: Provided cashiers with a dedicated interface, resulting in 20% quicker transaction approvals.
- Centralized Control for Admins: Enabled administrative oversight, allowing for a more organized workflow and operational transparency.
Future Improvements
- Advanced Analytics: Adding in-depth analytics and reporting to help the coffee shop track order trends and peak times for better resource allocation.
- Offline Mode: Developing an offline mode to allow servers and workers to queue and manage orders during network downtime, with data syncing once the connection is restored.
Conclusion
This project allowed me to bring together my skills in mobile development and role-based design, delivering a product that met the operational needs of a busy coffee shop environment. It was rewarding to create a tool that directly contributed to improving efficiency and user satisfaction for coffee shop staff.
Mobile Development: Flutter, Dart