Streamlining
high-pressure restaurant operations
CASE STUDY • RESY B2B
Resy OS is an international B2B restaurant management platform that powers daily hospitality operations, from managing table inventory and booking shifts to coordinating front-of-house logistics.
During peak dining hours, restaurant managers must make dozens of split-second operational decisions. They need to scan seating plans, recognize VIP guests, manage strict food allergies, coordinate special events, and track table turn times, all while managing a noisy, high-pressure environment.
Timeline
Jun. 2020 - Feb. 2021
Markets
Global market, New York headquarters.
Team
US and Canada.
CHALLENGE
Designing restaurant dashboards and inventories
Restaurant managers need to make dozens of operational decisions in a short period of time, reviewing reservations, preparing seating plans, identifying VIP guests, managing allergies, coordinating special events, and monitoring daily performance.
The legacy dashboard crammed massive amounts of raw operational data onto a single screen without a clear visual hierarchy, high cognitive load, and inventory friction.
CONTRIBUTIONS
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Redesigned dashboard experiences to improve readability and support faster decision-making.
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Organized complex operational data using visual hierarchy, tags, icons, and progressive disclosure.
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Designed for worst-case scenarios, ensuring critical information remained easy to identify during high-volume service periods.
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Produced wireframes, interactive prototypes, high-fidelity designs, and implementation-ready specifications.
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Partnered closely with Product and Engineering throughout agile delivery cycles to refine and implement solutions.
APPROACH
Designing for the "Worst-Case Scenario"
Instead of designing solely for idealized single-tag bookings, I stress-tested every layout against worst-case data density: reservations stacked with severe allergy alerts, VIP tiers, special occasion badges, and lengthy manager notes.
Priority Tag & Icon System
Replaced unstructured text with a scannable visual language using standardized iconography, prioritized color-coded badges (e.g., red for severe allergies), and consistent spatial grouping.
Flexible Layout Containers:
Designed resilient UI components that expand gracefully under heavy data loads without breaking page alignment or hiding primary floor-management controls.
Reducing Cognitive Load
Surface only top-priority operational data (table assignment, party size, VIP status, critical allergies) directly on the main reservation card for instantaneous scannability.
Secondary information, historical visit notes, and custom preferences were nested inside quick-access drawer patterns, keeping the primary screen clean during rush hours.
Streamlined Library
Redesigned backend library item tools to enable managers to quickly adjust table combinations, seating capacity, and shift availability during pre-service prep.
Standardized inventory management components to reduce floor setup time and keep table inventory aligned with real-time room layouts.
