A scenario was given, which says: 7 friends are visiting your place for a New Year's party. They want to order from 3 different restaurants and every restaurant is in the opposite direction from the main house, all the orders will be delivered by a single delivery person. Framing a problem statement with the information given:

Ensure an understanding of key terms in the problem statement.

Group food ordering refers to the process of collectively ordering meals or food items for a group of people. It simplifies coordination, ensures meals are delivered together, and often offers benefits like discounts and shared delivery fees

Starting with the ideation phase.

I have built a hypothesis about the issues a user can have when ordering in a group as a starting point for moving further.

Story: Let's say 7 friends ordered from 3 different places and they want the order as a single order, which means it should arrive at the same time. Hypothesis on this:

Food delivery is taking a lot of time.

Users are unable to easily follow the driver’s whereabouts.

Users must make a conscious effort to constantly verify the delivery partner’s whereabouts.

The food is not hot or warm enough to serve when it is brought.

Now to validate my hypothesis, I started taking user interviews

For the problem statement, I have categiorised the target audience as:

Users who like to order frequently in groups like College friends, office colleagues

Users like hosts or party organisers (reuinons) where there are limited number of people but various choices.

People hosting birthday parties , family gathering or group activities who like to order for a larger audience.

Most users are likes to order food online frequently

For most users, time and easy-to-get food convenience is an important factors.

While searching for restaurants people tend to focus more on 4 factors, the amount of time it takes to get delivered, the rating of the restaurants, the Distance of the place from their home, and if there is any offer applied to a particular order

In the scenario given of group food ordering, users want to have a personal selection of restaurants but they want it to be ordered by one single person.

Most people only tend to read cancellation policy, when they really want to move forward with food cancellation.

Users do not like to compromise on food quality, even if it takes time.

Out of 7 people, 4 like to track the status of their food.

Research

Keeping in mind the scenario of group food ordering, the following are the user's concerns:

Will the food be delivered on time?

How will be the quality of the food which is being delivered?

If one person wants to go ahead with the cancellation of a food item, how will it work?

How can we track the status of my food delivery guy?

Can I add my personal favorite restaurants to the list while I am ordering in a group?

Payment methods, so how will the payment option works in group ordering?

Food delivery Timing

Where is the restaurant located

Review and rating of the food and the restaurant.

Tracking the progress of the delivery partner.

User Pain points.

Interview of 2 users

To have a better understanding of the problem, I did some of the desk research which involved doing

Depending on the size of the order and the location of the restaurant delivery times may vary, but on average it takes up to 30–40 mins for a single order to get delivered to the customer's doorstep.

Most of the users do not check the different outlet options, they just focus on the restaurant's reviews and ratings.

The average time a user takes to browse through a restaurant menu is 5–7 minutes, most of the time they directly jump to their preferred choice of food.

According to my observation in average total time a user spends on food ordering app is 15- 20 mins.

Survey screenshots.

Indeed, group food ordering simplifies occasions like parties, but to ensure a positive experience, we must establish constraints and assumptions.

Validating the hypothesis reveals that a centralized platform optimizes orders, catering to diverse preferences and ensuring efficient delivery, elevating overall user satisfaction.

Starting with the designing process I have placed some constraints and assumptions

Orders are limited to a default range centered around the default location set for convenient and efficient delivery.

All the users are smartphone users with high-data connectivity

All 7 people have agreed that order will be placed from one person's phone

Since it is a party, the payment is done by the host.

The food order is taking place on the swiggy app and within the app it has a different interface for group food ordering but follows the same design language.

Based on the constraint set it is assumed that all the restaurants fall under the location range.

Following our research, I have divided the problem statement into the following small sections:

The app automatically sets a default distance range based on the user’s location, making it convenient for delivery personnel to access nearby restaurants for order pickups. This feature streamlines the process by ensuring that restaurants within the range are easily accessible to delivery personnel. By setting an optimal distance range, the app enhances efficiency in order fulfillment and timely deliveries.

During the order placement, a bottom sheet appears, providing users with an estimated delivery time for the entire order and suggesting nearby recommendations close to their default location. This visual indicator prompts users to make an informed decision about their next step, fostering a conscious selection process. By presenting relevant information, the bottom sheet enhances user engagement and decision-making within the app.

On the payment screen, a prominent reminder notifies users about the expected delivery time, ensuring they are aware of the waiting period before their order arrives. This keeps them informed and aware.

2️⃣ How might we make sure that businesses do not suffer the loss while catering a group delivery order?

Effective Cancellation Policy: A cancellation policy allows users to cancel their order within 60 seconds of placing it, but no refund is available for cancellations made after this time limit.

No cash on delivery orders: Users are required to make online payments, eliminating the need for delivery personnel to wait in billing lines. This streamlines the process as restaurants can promptly accept and progress with the order upon placement. The delivery partner’s task is simplified when picking up the food from the restaurant.

3️⃣ How might we make sure that users get the update of the food status on time?

Tracking the Status: The tracking screen displays a clear route and provides textual updates to inform users about the current location of their delivery partner. It also indicates which orders have been picked up and those that are still pending. This comprehensive information ensures transparency and helps users stay informed throughout the delivery process.

Notification: Once an order is picked up, users receive a notification on the screen, accompanied by a positive checkbox marking the specific order in the tracking screen.