Zaiko - Inventory Management App
Senior Capstone Class
Overview
Zaiko Inventory is a restaurant-focused inventory management system that I helped design during my senior capstone. The idea came from a shared pain point: keeping track of inventory is one of the most tedious and frustrating tasks in a food business—but it’s also one of the most important.
Our goal was to build something that actually worked for the people using it every day—something simple, clean, and functional. We started with small restaurants in mind, but the long-term vision is to scale it into retail and other industries with similar needs.
Method
Goal Directed Design
Tools
Figma
FigJam
Adobe Illustrator (Branding)
Timeline
12 Weeks
Role
UI Designer
User Researcher
Team
Mechelle Nguyen
Katherine Lanham
Sarah Siyam
Thanacha Thamma
Nashion Dove (Dev)
Scott Rzasa (Dev)
The Problem
Many small restaurants—and even some franchises—still rely on manual tools like spreadsheets, Notes apps, or Google Docs to manage inventory. Others, like franchisees using CrunchTime, often do so only because it’s required by corporate, not because it’s user-friendly.
Across the board, restaurant staff struggle with systems that are too complex, not intuitive, or misaligned with real workflows.
Zaiko Inventory was designed to solve that—by offering a simple, accessible tool that fits the day-to-day needs of restaurant teams, whether independent or part of a franchise.
Our Solution
Zaiko Inventory is a streamlined inventory management system built specifically for restaurant staff. It focuses on:
Ease of use, even for non-technical users
Quick item entry and updates
Clear visuals to track stock levels
A foundation that could scale to retail and franchise settings
Our goal was to design something that felt intuitive, flexible, and actually enjoyable to use—because inventory shouldn't be a pain.
My Role
I was the UI Designer and User Researcher on a team of six working on Zaiko Inventory over 12 weeks. I focused on the visual direction and interface design while also supporting early research. I worked closely with our developers and designers throughout the entire process, from interviews and flows to high-fidelity mockups and handoff.
What I worked on:
Built a design system in Figma with 8pt grid, semantic color tokens, and auto layout optimized for iPad
Created wireframes and prototypes for core flows like inventory input and stock tracking
Helped conduct user interviews and translated insights into task flows and early design concepts
Contributed to the final high-fidelity UI, working with the team to refine layouts and prepare developer-ready assets
Research & Discovery
Before jumping into design, our team spent time understanding the problem space through user interviews, literature reviews, and internal discovery sessions. This helped us separate assumptions from real user needs and build a clearer picture of what Zaiko needed to solve.
Persona Hypothesis
Before conducting user interviews, our team created a persona hypothesis to map out our initial assumptions about potential users. We identified two key user types:
Managers – responsible for overseeing inventory and operations
Store Associates – often tasked with counting or updating inventory at the end of shifts
This exercise helped us clarify our assumptions around each role’s behaviors, goals, frustrations, and tools. For example, we assumed that managers would be more tech-comfortable and focused on cost tracking, while store associates would prioritize speed and simplicity.
We used this as a guide to shape our interview questions and ensure we captured insights from both perspectives. It also helped us spot any mismatches between our assumptions and what users actually told us in later phases.
Initial persona hypothesis outlining assumptions about managers and store associates.
User Interviews
To better understand how restaurant staff currently manage inventory, our team conducted interviews with four participants across different roles and business types. We spoke with shift managers, store associates, and front-line staff from both independent restaurants and franchise settings.
We used a semi-structured script to guide our conversations, focusing on how inventory is tracked, tools used, pain points, and what improvements they’d want to see. In our interviews, we learned that teams used everything from paper and spreadsheets to iPads, phones, and even RFID scanners.
Interview Takeaways
Inventory systems are inconsistent and fragmented. Some participants rely on pen and paper or spreadsheets, while others use apps like CrunchTime or Truve because their companies require it. Most were not designed with the end user in mind.
Sharing information is a common challenge. Interviewees mentioned that inventory data is often stored in personal files, making it hard to access across teams or shifts. This lack of visibility leads to confusion and duplication.
Organizing items is harder than it should be. People struggled with categorizing and tracking products, especially when systems didn’t match how the kitchen or storage areas were physically set up.
Customization is limited. Users wanted better ways to track seasonal items, update counts for open containers, and combine inventory across locations. Most tools didn’t offer this flexibility.
Time spent on inventory varies. Depending on the system and store, inventory could take as little as 15 minutes or as long as 1.5 hours. Manual methods were slower and more prone to mistakes.
From Research to Design
After synthesizing our interview findings, we created a primary persona named Tori Jones, a 24-year-old store manager who helped guide our design direction. Tori represents a common type of user we spoke with: someone responsible for tracking inventory, training staff, and ensuring daily operations run smoothly, often while working with limited time and outdated tools.
Through her narrative, we prioritized the real frustrations our users shared, such as tool inconsistency, inefficient communication, and error-prone tracking. From there, we translated those needs into focused design decisions.
Persona that the team created as a result of our research.
Design decisions driven by research
1. Collaborative Inventory Tracking
Tori expressed frustration with miscommunication and data silos between her and her team. To address this, we designed a shared inventory dashboard that updates in real time, so everyone stays aligned.
2. Clear, Customizable Organization
Organizing items was a consistent pain point. We added flexible item categories and location labels, so teams can structure inventory in a way that matches their physical layout and workflow.
3. Streamlined Input for iPad
Since most users accessed systems on phones or tablets, we optimized our layout for iPad. Large tap targets, simplified flows, and minimal input steps were all prioritized to match their fast-paced environments.
4. Visibility for Owners and Managers
Tori wanted a way to show product usage to the owner without doing extra work. We included usage summary views and a history log, so insights are available without extra reporting.
Wireframes
Before jumping into high-fidelity design, we began with low-fidelity wireframes and task flows to explore layout ideas and user journeys. This phase helped us quickly define the information architecture, screen order, and core interactions—without getting distracted by visuals too early.
We used FigJam for early flow mapping and Figma to create wireframes for key screens like the inventory dashboard, item entry, and category views.
Early sketches and wireframes that helped us figure out the layout and functionality of Zaiko’s main screens before jumping into visual design.
Low-Fidelity Design
Early low-fidelity design showing Zaiko’s layout, task flows, and key screens including inventory lists, item views, and reports.
Final Design
