Case Study: MICROS inMotion

MICROS Systems is a leading global provider of software and hardware for the hospitality and retail industries, including point of sale, labor, inventory and loyalty programs. Their restaurant customers include TGI Friday’s, Perkins, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Great America and Aramark.

Over a 4-month period, Qubop designed and built MICROS inMotion, a mobile business intelligence app for restaurant management, featuring a rich graphical presentation of key analytics in a high-performance native interface.

Project Goals

• To distill a firehose of real-time restaurant information into simple data visualizations, key performance indicators and actionable alerts for managers
• To assist managers of single or multiple restaurant locations, whether they are on their property or managing remotely
• The creation of a new graphical appearance for MICROS software: a break from the company's traditional enterprise UI, using a contemporary restaurant palette and a highly animated, gesture-based interface
• Positioning MICROS as a forward-leaning company, establishing leadership in mobile hospitality software and changing the way that restaurants are managed

Project Timeline

• 4 months in total for design and development
• 2 weeks for initial product discovery and UI design phase with key MICROS stakeholders
• Full app wireframes (68 screens) delivered at end of discovery phase
• Prototype app delivered after 4 weeks, demonstrated live at MICROS User's Conference
• Final release build delivered on time, at end of 4 months
• Additional two-month beta test at selected customer sites

Challenges

• The creation of custom graphing modules with a unique visual style
• Custom mobile APIs (REST/JSON) designed by Qubop for implementation by MICROS server teams
• Handling a range of different customer types (kiosk, quick service, table service) and use cases (regional managers, store managers) "out of the box", with zero configuration required
• Surprise mid-project release of iPhone 5 meant UI adjustments for taller screens
• Real-world restaurant data is noisy, and required creative approaches in data visualization

Project Outcome

• Enthusiastic reception by MICROS management: "Revolutionary", "Second to none in design and usability", "Blows away our competition!"
• Early customers also very enthusiastic (see reviews below)
• Public launch of app on April 2, 2013

App Store Reviews

Game Changer!! ★★★★★
by Jason4305 - Apr. 2, 2013
Just incredible from the moment you enter the app. To have all this information at your finger tips to help run your business is truly a game changer for anyone. Real time numbers that make the difference to any operator. Making a profit is a game of inches and this app becomes the measuring tape! Great job and Thanks MICROS!!

Like a Swiss Army knife! ★★★★★
by mbmz0r - Apr. 3, 2013
This app is a must have tool for my business, the front end of micros made simple, quick and easy. Thank you micros!

A must for the restaurant manager on the go! ★★★★★
by ChefAndy - Apr. 5, 2013
A great first attempt by MICROS! Certainly light-years ahead of the mobile MyMicros website, and the competition. It is actually easier to glean useful statistics about your business from this app than it is from the full-blown website, due to the presentation of data and the use of forecasting.

If you have MyMicros and you have an iOS device, you are a fool if you do not download this.

Restaurant MGR ★★★★★
by Restaurant MGR - Apr. 5, 2013
Fantastic data that actually means something to me.

Over the top ★★★★★
by wanger1993 - Apr. 6, 2013
Probably one of the best hospitality industry apps.

Operation director ★★★★★
by Killer not - Apr. 8, 2013
Truly a great app. Put the best information at your fingertips. The information is readily available to be able to better run your operations. This tool makes you proactive instead of reactive.