Overview
This case study is about the design of a vendor management mobile app for Make My Restaurant (MMR), an end-to-end restaurant setup company in India. With multiple projects and vendors to coordinate, operations had become fragmented and inefficient, relying on scattered WhatsApp chats and phone calls that caused delays and missed updates.
MMR needed a centralized, scalable tool to streamline vendor communication, improve task visibility, and enable faster, smoother project execution.
I led the project as the Product Designer, responsible for the end-to-end design process.
What was the problem?
Make My Restaurant’s vendor management was messy and unscalable. Managers relied on scattered chats and calls to track tasks and payments, leading to delays in project completion, constant follow‑ups, and no real‑time visibility across multiple projects.
Our Solution
To solve this, we designed a vendor-first mobile app that provides a centralized, easy-to-use system for managing tasks, sharing progress updates, and tracking payments.
The focus was on clarity and simplicity, ensuring that even non–tech-savvy vendors could adopt it quickly, while giving managers a reliable, scalable way to track vendor progress without constant follow-ups.
What was the impact? (anticipated, as product is in development)
Early usability tests showed that vendors, even those with little tech experience, could quickly adopt the app without training.
By replacing scattered calls and chats, the app sets the foundation for:
01
Faster, on-time
restaurant openings.
02
Reduce constant
follow-ups
03
Improve task visibility across projects
04
Streamlined vendor
operations
Final Outcome
Research & Discovery
With a tight deadline, I needed to move fast. So I went straight to the source, talking directly to both stakeholders and vendors. These conversations gave me a firsthand view of the challenges stakeholders & vendors faced every day and what truly mattered to them.
The goal was to map their day-to-day workflow, identify friction points that slowed progress, and gauge how comfortable they felt with mobile technology.
I conducted 1:1 online interviews with 5 active vendors, all recruited through MMR’s internal contacts to ensure their workflows reflected real project conditions.
Key Findings
From these conversations, several clear patterns emerged:
Business
No centralized view of vendor activity across multiple projects.
Too much time lost to manual follow-ups and status checks
Delays in task completion affecting project delivery timelines
Vendors
Lack of payment clarity, uncertainty over paid vs due payments.
Too much time lost to manual follow-ups and status checks
Delays in task completion affecting project delivery timelines
Impact on Design Direction
01
Centralized Dashboard to
replace scattered communication
02
Simple navigation, to support
less tech-savvy users.
03
Lean features set, to focus on
core actions
Problem
The research confirmed what the team at MMR had been experiencing for months: vendor management was fragmented, inefficient, and unscalable. Managers had no reliable way to track progress across projects, and vendors struggled with unclear communication and limited visibility into payments.
Business Impact
These inefficiencies caused delays in restaurant openings, increased follow-ups, and strained relationships with vendors. Without a solution, scaling operations would become even harder.
Problem Statement
Make My Restaurant’s vendor management was messy and unscalable. Managers relied on scattered chats and calls to track tasks and payments, leading to delays in project completion, constant follow‑ups, and no real‑time visibility across multiple projects.
Our Solution
To solve this, we designed a vendor-first mobile app that provides a centralized, easy-to-use system for managing tasks, sharing progress updates, and tracking payments.
As a mobile app fit vendors’ existing workflows, offered real-time access on-site, ensured easy adoption even for low-tech users, and created a scalable foundation to support MMR’s growth.
Structuring the Experience
With the solution defined, the next step was to structure the experience in a way that felt simple, intuitive, and scalable. The goal was to keep the app lean, making essential actions effortless while ensuring vendors never felt overwhelmed.
Task prioritization using MOSCOW Method
we decided to start with the must & should have features, we consider that those features could solve the main problem and relive the pain points of the users.
Information Architecture
The app follows a flat five-tab navigation - Home, Projects, Payments, Notifications, and Settings. This keeps everything vendors need just one tap away, making the experience simple for low-tech users while leaving room to scale as MMR grow
User Flow
I mapped key vendor journeys around the essentials: logging in with OTP, viewing and accepting/declining tasks, updating progress, checking payments, and managing settings. Each flow was designed to be short, clear, and easy to complete on the go.
Ideation & Early Design
Wireframe
I began with quick sketches and wireframes, exploring layouts that kept tasks and payments clear, while avoiding unnecessary complexity for vendors.
Design Rationales
Style guide
Usability Testing & Iteration.
After completing the prototype, we approached the participants that were initially interviewed during my primary research phase to conduct a moderated usability usability test to validate whether the experience was intuitive and efficient.
Scenarios included viewing tasks, updating progress, checking payments, and managing settings.
Objectives
Identify usability roadblocks in completing key tasks.
Observe how vendors navigate through the app.
Gather feedback to refine the design.
Key Findings:
Vendors wanted to see both earned and pending amounts upfront.
Due dates were mistaken for assigned dates, I labeled them clearly.
Payments lacked project context, I added project names.
Iteration
After analyzing usability test results, I refined the design to improve usability, clarity, and accessibility.
This usability testing and iteration phase confirmed that the app effectively addressed vendors’ pain points while revealing small but impactful refinements. The continuous feedback loop ensured the solution remained user-friendly, practical, and scalable.
The Final Design/ Solution
Impact & Results
Although the vendor management app is currently in development, early stakeholder feedback and design validation indicate significant potential to improve Make My Restaurant’s operations and vendor relationships.
Anticipated Benefits:
01
Faster, on-time
restaurant openings.
02
Reduce constant
follow-ups
03
Improve task visibility across projects
04
Streamlined vendor operations
Early Feedback & Validation:
Positive responses from initial usability testing confirm the solution aligns with user needs and business goals.
Stakeholders express confidence that the app will address long-standing challenges in vendor management
Next Steps & Success Metrics:
Once development is complete, planned metrics will track:
Reduction in project delays.
Decrease in manual manager follow-ups.
Vendor adoption rates and user satisfaction scores.
Timeliness and accuracy of task updates and payments.
Reflection & Learnings
This project was a deep dive into translating real user pain points into a simple, scalable, and business-aligned solution. Working closely with both stakeholders and vendors taught me how vital clarity, simplicity, and empathy are when designing for diverse user groups.
Done is better than perfect: In a fast-paced project, prioritizing core user needs allowed us to deliver value quickly, then refine through iteration.
Lean UX can still drive impact: Even without extensive interviews, focused stakeholder discussions and targeted usability tests guided the design toward a functional, scalable solution.
Feedback loop matters: Usability testing early revealed small but critical changes (like task visibility and payment labels) that had big impact.
An app doesn't need everything: Success depends on solving the right problems for the right users, aligned with business goals, not on feature parity with other apps.
These lessons reinforced the importance of balancing speed with empathy, and iteration with vision, ensuring the product meets immediate needs while laying the foundation for long-term success
Conclusion
This project was more than just designing an app, it was about creating a foundation for smoother vendor operations and stronger business relationships. By focusing on core needs, collaborating closely with stakeholders, and iterating based on real feedback, I delivered a solution that’s practical today and adaptable for the future. I look forward to seeing it in action and continuing to refine it as it grows.
