dissertation proposal (e-menu system)

Mr Traitet Thepbandansuk Student ID: 20043132 Module: RPP

Assessment 2 – Individual Research Proposal

A Development of Electronic Menu (E-menu) Application

for Restaurant on iPad

By Traitet Thepbandansuk, Student ID 20043132

MSc. Enterprise Systems Professional, Sheffield Hallam University

1. Introduction

Development of technology enables people to become more comfortable in most areas

of our lives. The restaurant industry is an area which has remained behind the technical

advances until recently, when the electronic menu (e-menu) started being used to

improve catering services and increase revenue. Nowadays, the e-menu is becoming

popular and changing the concept of food ordering by paper-based menus. As can be

seen in figure 1, restaurant customers are able to view the items listed on the menu as

well as being able to order directly from tablets or touch-screen monitors located on

tables, which offer customers a full range of ordering choices (Azilen 2011).

This research will conduct an inductive approach by case study methodology at a Thai

restaurant to develop a software prototype and evaluate users’ perceptions. This

research will employ qualitative methods, such as passive observation to gather system

requirements and test the prototype, and group interviews to evaluate users’

perceptions. To conduct this research, this paper proposes research design divided into

six main sections: Research question and objectives, Critical evaluation of literature,

Research methods, tools and techniques, Research process, Potential outcomes, and

Issues of access and ethics.

Fig. 1 - E-menu on iPad tablet (Conceptic no date)

Course: Enterprise Systems Professionals of 14 Assessment 2 – Individual Research Proposal


2. Research question and objectives

The aim of this research is to study that how to develop e-menu application for casual

restaurants to meet their business requirements. The research question, objectives and

limitations of research are summarised below.

2.1 Research question

How can a prototype of an electronic menu (e-menu) application be developed for

the casual dining restaurant industry to meet business requirements?

2.2 Research objectives

1. To identify the key issues relating to the development of an e-menu application

for the casual restaurant industry.

2. To investigate the system requirements, and analyse, design and develop an e-

menu prototype to meet business needs.

3. To evaluate users’ perceptions on the final prototype of the e-menu application

from stakeholders such as restaurant customers, owners and waiting staff.

4. To make recommendations regarding the development of the e-menu

application based on chosen software development methodology.

The first objective begins with the critical evaluation the range of literature to find

out the potential issues relating to the development of the e-menu application,

such as the current use of paper-based menus and e-menus at restaurants, and the

software development methodology.

The second objective is to gather system requirements to design and develop the

e-menu prototype, and produce software development documents. In addition, to

delivering software to meet business needs, Hanafiah (2007) suggests that the

software development approach should be compatible with customer requirements,

project team and time of implementation.

The third and final objectives are focused on data collection and analysis. Group

interviews will be used for data collection to analyse users’ perceptions, which are

expected to answer the research question in terms of developing an e-menu

application to meet business requirements, whereas the software development

processes will be reflected to make recommendations regarding the development

of the e-menu application to meet business needs.

2.3 Limitations of research

The proposed dissertation is a product-based project involving the application of

software engineering techniques to analyse, design, and develop of a piece of

software (University of Oxford no date). The software prototype for this research

includes only some specific features such as ordering food and beverages,

previewing order information, calling for services, and transferring information to

the kitchen. Therefore, other functions, e.g. booking, billing and integrating with a

point of sale (POS) system, are excluded in this project.



3. Critical evaluation of literature

This critical evaluation explores potential information to identify current knowledge and

key issues relating to development of a prototype of an e-menu application for the

casual restaurant industry, which are divided into four sections: E-menu for restaurants,

Restaurant service processes, Software usability and human-computer interaction (HCI),

and Software development methodology and prototyping techniques.

3.1 Electronic menu (e-menu) for restaurants

The e-menu system is a new technology for restaurant ordering solutions. The

system includes touch-screen devices installed with a piece of software to show a

restaurant menu with actual photos of the dishes (Emenunyy 2012). The touch-

screen devices are not only used to display the list of food and beverages, but also

to process the restaurant services, from ordering to payment (Jenie 2011). In

general, an e-menu is used in three different ways: tablet menu, table side touch

screen menu and a touch screen menu for waiting areas, as shown in figure 2

(Emenu USA 2011; Conceptic no date). However, Chen, Lin, and Yen (2011) indicate

that interactive restaurant tabletop menus can also be implemented by using

interactive surface technology to enlarge the size of menus and increase customer

attraction.

Fig. 2 - E-menu (Emenu USA 2011; Conceptic no date)



3.2 Restaurant service process

To investigate requirements of a restaurant system, logistics and information flows

are of importance to analyse the system. As can be seen in figure 3, the dotted

lines show that a customer has to wait for a waitress in order to give the order and

make payment. Therefore, these processes can be greatly improved by using an e-

menu system (Crowston, Rubleske and Howison 2006). Furthermore, e-menu

enables information to be sent directly from a table to the bar or kitchen. Although,

the e-menu system can bring several benefits, e.g. enhance the dining experience,

increases restaurant revenue, and reduces waiting time (Chirag 2012), they are

much more expensive than printed menus, and tend to decrease personal contact

between customers and waiting staffs (Studentwebstuff 2009).

Fig. 3 - Basic process flow diagram of restaurant system

(Crowston, Rubleske and Howison 2006)

3.3 Software usability and human-computer interaction (HCI)

In a software engineering perspective, the usability has been recognized as an

essential key factor to evaluate software quality (Gulati and Dubey 2012). Majid

(2011) similarly describes that effectiveness of software can be measured based on

its usability in terms of a HCI design and users' experience in using the software.

Therefore, consideration of HCI is an essential factor in delivering high usability

software following business needs.

In addition, because HCI deals with the way that people interact with information on

electronic devices, a HCI design should help non-IT proficient users to use the

software without specialized IT knowledge (Edexcel 2010). For example, effective

graphical user interfaces (GUIs) on e-menus should be easy to use without a user

manual. Therefore, to answer the research question, HCI design should be

considered and evaluated by both users and developers in all development

processes to produce the quality of the software prototype (Adikari 2009).



However, Hussain et al. (2012) and (Gulati and Dubey 2012) similarly suggest that

successful software development is not only associated with HCI and software

usability, but is also dependent on how software development processes fit

solutions into problem areas required by customers or businesses. The software

development methodology is reviewed in the following paragraph.

3.4 Software development methodologies and prototyping technique

There are several methodologies for software development to meet customer

requirements, e.g. waterfall, Agile and RAD (Rapid Application Development). The

waterfall model is a traditional approach which clearly separates development

projects into four separate stages: analysis, design, implementation and testing

(Khan et al. 2011). Although the waterfall model is an effective way to control

deadlines and outcomes in each process, it has a high cost when requirements are

changed. On the other hand, the Agile and RAD approaches are more flexible to

change requirements at any stage. With an iterative process, the requirements are

fulfilled to increase customer satisfaction (Hoffer, George and Valacich 2008).

Prototyping is an effective development technique that allows analysts to know how

users react to work with the prototype and how good the fit is between their needs

and the prototyped features (Kendall 2011). In addition, after the analysts get the

users’ feedback, they then make a new version to test with users again. This

iterative process continues so that users are relatively satisfied. Therefore, the final

product can be developed in a short time following the customer requirements

(Hoffer, George and Valacich 2008). However, Khan et al. (2011) claims that the

RAD approach with prototyping concentrates mainly on experimenting with the

customer needs. It may results in insufficiently understanding of the overall

business requirements.



4. Research methods, tools and techniques

The objectives of this section are to describe selected research methodologies, tools

and techniques based on the research objectives in order to answer the research

question, as well as to evaluate the chosen methods by comparing with other possible

alternatives.

As can be seen in table 1, there are several approaches to archive the research

objectives. Some essential methods, such as case study methodology, direct

observation, group interviews, and rapid software development (RAD), are evaluated

and justified in the following paragraphs.

Table 1 - Matching objectives to methods and outcomes, and summary of chosen methodologies



4.1 Case study methodology

This study conducts an inductive research. The proposed methodology to

accomplish the aim and research objectives in this research is a case study

approach. This is divided into four main stages: design, conducting, analysis the

case study evidence, and developing the conclusions and implications (Yin 2010).

The case in this research is the development of an e-menu prototype at a selected

Thai casual dining restaurant. The type of research design is a single-case study

with two analysis units, which are the evaluation of the software development and

users’ perceptions. The case study method is not only suitable for conducting

evaluation research, but is also appropriate for a descriptive question, such as what

or how. It is better than a quantitative approach in terms of providing holistic and

in-depth explanations of the behavioral problems (Kemanusiaan 2007). However,

Baxter and Jack (2008) claim that it can also be extremely time consuming.

To conduct this case study, qualitative approaches by direct observation and the

group interview methods are selected to collect data.

Firstly, direct observation for requirement analysis is a straightforward activity that

can provide insight into the users and their tasks, whereas indirect observation by

video recording can create more distance between observers and users, and that

by interviews only can be difficult to clearly understand all problem areas

(Kriwaczek 2006).

Secondly, although collecting data by a questionnaire method is cheap, convenient

and has no bias by an interviewer, evaluating users’ perceptions of the e-menu

system by group interviews enable an interviewer to make clear in unambiguous

question as well as prevent missing important data (Slack 2012a). It can also

provide both detailed information and some fascinating contextual or other

information (Wisker 2008). The comparison among observation, interview, and

questionnaire methods are summarized as following table.

Table 2 - Comparison table among observation, interview and questionnaire methods

(Slack 2012b)



4.2 Software development methodology by RAD with prototyping

Regarding literature evaluation, Agile and rapid application development (RAD) are

iterative software development methodologies to react to the problems with the

traditional waterfall methodology. Agile approach starts from analysis requirements

and design specifications, then directly to code and test software, whereas the RAD

approach uses a prototype to get feedback from customers in order to enhance the

prototype until the users are satisfied. This continuous feedback loop enables an

RAD prototype to correspond exactly with customer needs (Meso and Jain 2011).

Moreover, RAD is appropriate for a small project which has a shorter delivery time,

but Agile is suitable for a larger project (Khan et al. 2011). Finally, the RAD

approach can enhance the features of the prototype more rapidly to deliver a

workable and satisfactory system. However, using RAD with prototyping may make

a system inadequate for overall business needs if the system is accepted by only

specific groups of users (Hoffer, George and Valacich 2008).

This research proposes RAD as a development methodology to develop a prototype

for several reasons. Firstly, RAD is an incremental software development process

model by using customers’ feedback. Therefore, the quality of the prototype will be

improved throughout the life cycle as shown in figure 4 (Sommerville 2004).

Secondly, Hoffer, George and Valacich (2008) point out that system developed by

the RAD model both spend shorter time and is closer to the business needs than

that by the Agile and traditional models. As a result, the prototype fulfilled

requirements can be and developed rapidly. Finally, Gantthead (2010) mentions

that RAD is more effective than Agile for a narrow project scope with a small

implementation team. Therefore, a prototype which implements only some features

by one person is more suitable for implementation by RAD than Agile approach.

Fig. 4 - RAD Prototype model (Sommerville 2004)



5. Research process

There are four main research stages of this case study, which are design, conducting,

analysis and conclusion, as shown in figure 5 (Yin 2010). In the second phase, a

prototype is developed following the RAD approach to analyse, design, develop and test

the system (Khan et al. 2011). Data are collected and analysed in the conducting,

analysis and conclusion stages as follows.

In the conducting stage, requirements are gathered at a selected restaurant by direct

observation of the service processes and interviews with related users such as the

owner, chefs and waiters. Then, requirements are analysed to design user interfaces

and new restaurant service processes. Lastly, requirements are confirmed and an initial

prototype is developed, respectively.

After the first prototype is developed and tested by users, feedback data is collected by

direct observation again in order to analyse and create a new prototype version. As can

be seen in figure 5, the life cycle of developing the prototype is an iterative process

repeated until the users are satisfied.

In addition, after the final prototype is completed and tested by waiting staffs and

customers, data is then collected by group interviews from the restaurant owner and all

waiting staff, whereas a non-probability sample of around ten customer groups are

selected to interview.



Fig. 5 - Proposed research process framework (Yin 2010; Khan et al. 2011)

In data analysis process, the approach for interpreting qualitative data is a content

analysis method. This method can analyse data for the objective and systematic

description of manifest content of communication. It is an effective technique that helps

analyst reducing time and the effect of bias (Kohlbacher 2006).

In conclusion, collecting data by direct observation in their natural habitats is an

effective way to understand business processes and requirements, especially implicit

requirements. It is also an effective way for getting feedback about the prototype to

refine requirements so that it satisfies users (Sehlhorst 2006), whereas qualitative

group interview approach is a good method to capture the subjective comments of

participants and find out the perceptions of users (Blom 2006).

6. Potential outcomes

This research is expected to design and develop a prototype of e-menu application for a

Thai casual dining restaurant. The potential outcomes can be defined in terms of

software development artifacts, users’ perceptions and recommendations regarding

development of the e-menu application.

Firstly, a prototype of e-menu application, system analysis and design documents, such

as database design, use case, class diagrams, and feedback from development of the e-

menu prototype can be of benefit to software practitioners and developers who are

interested in software development, especially for mobile application, restaurant system

and RAD methodology. Furthermore, the prototype and system design documents of

this case study will be useful to produce the final product of an e-menu system in the

future.

Secondly, the summary of users’ perceptions on using e-menu application can be

information for restaurant owners and people who would like to start a restaurant

business. It can help them to make decisions with regards to implementation of the e-

menu system to improve their service efficiency and customer satisfaction. In addition,

this case study can also generalize the result to other types of restaurants, e.g. fast

food restaurants, cafes and pubs, because most restaurants use menus for ordering

food and beverage as a basic function.



7. Issues of access and ethics

There are some ethical issues that need to be addressed in this research. Firstly, in the

direct observation process at a selected restaurant, a researcher must request formal

permission to observe activities, and must not disclose business information without

permission, e.g. revenue and number of customers. Moreover, all information has to be

reviewed by the restaurant owner and related people before submission. Finally, in the

interview process, the researcher must explain the objectives of the research to

participants and request permission to record sound or video during the interviews

(Wisker 2008).

8. Conclusion

To sum up, this inductive research will employ a case study approach to answer the

research question that is how can a prototype of an electronic menu (e-menu)

application be developed for the casual dining restaurant industry to meet business

requirements? The case study will use qualitative approaches i.e. direct observation to

develop a software prototype, and group interviews to evaluate users’ perceptions.

Finally, this research is expected that the software prototype, system design documents

and suggestions in this development will be of benefit to software practitioners and

developers who are interested in the development of mobile applications, especially for

the restaurant industry. It is also hoped to be of a particular interest to restaurant

owners who are looking towards improving their service efficiency and customer

satisfaction by using an e-menu system.



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dissertation proposal (e-menu system)

Technology

emenu prototype

restaurantsthe emenu

research design

research methods

software prototype

research process

research questionhow

research objectives1