Product Sense: A Restaurant Tabletop That Doubles as an Interactive Touchscreen

Design a restaurant table whose surface is a touchscreen. Decide which restaurants and which of the table's users it should serve first, what problems it solves for them, and what the first version should do. ```hint Walk through one visit Follow a single party from being seated to leaving, from the diners' side and from the staff's side, and at each step ask what a screen built into the table could do better than a phone, a tablet or a server. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Which kind of restaurant is this for: quick service, casual sit-down or fine dining, or is that mine to choose? - Are we a hardware maker selling tables to restaurant operators, or is the table part of a wider platform we already run for restaurants? - Should I design mainly for diners, for servers and kitchen staff, or for the operator who buys the table? - Is the goal to sell as many tables as possible, to raise the restaurant's revenue per table, or to improve the dining experience itself? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A chosen restaurant type and user segment, with the alternatives considered and why they rank lower - A clear split between the buyer of the table and the people who use it, and what each of them needs - Pain points mapped across the dining visit, plus a case for why a built-in table screen beats cheaper options such as tablets, QR-code menus or simply asking the server - A prioritized feature set and MVP that accounts for a surface that also holds plates, drinks and spills - Success metrics for both diners and the restaurant, with guardrails, and risks such as hardware cost, hygiene, privacy on a shared screen and the effect on staff ### Follow-up Questions - A chain's operations lead says QR-code menus already handle ordering at almost no cost. How do you justify the price of a table, and what pilot evidence would you bring back? - Four people are using the surface at once while plates cover part of it. How should the interface divide and adapt the screen? - Features that keep a party entertained may also keep them at the table longer. How would you handle that tension during a busy dinner rush?