Designing a Digital Menu Product That Helps Restaurant Diners Decide What to Order

Design an application built around restaurant menus: who it is for, the problem it solves, and what its first version would do. ```hint Picture the table Think about the moment a diner opens the menu at a restaurant they do not know, what makes choosing hard right then, and what would stop them from using a new product in that moment. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Is the product for diners choosing what to eat, for restaurants publishing and updating their menus, or for both? - Are ordering and payment in scope, or only reading and choosing from the menu? - Should it be a standalone app, or part of an existing Google product where people already look up restaurants, such as Maps or Search? - Which restaurants should it target first: independent sit-down places, chains, or quick-service counters? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A chosen user segment, with the reasoning for picking it over diners with other needs and over restaurant owners - Concrete problems diners have with menus today, prioritized by how often and how badly they hurt - Solutions ranked by value and effort, a clear first version, and a plan for getting restaurants' menu data into the product - Success metrics plus guardrails such as menu accuracy and allergen-related complaints - Risks and trade-offs: stale menus, allergy liability, privacy of food preferences, and whether diners will adopt it at the table ### Follow-up Questions - How would you get thousands of independent restaurants to keep their dishes and prices current? - A diner with a nut allergy relies on your allergen filter and has a reaction. What should the product have done to prevent it, and what do you do now? - How would the product handle a group at one table choosing dishes to share?