Scheduled Ordering is a new feature designed to give Starbucks partners the visibility and control they need to manage future-dated mobile orders. As the Mobile Order & Pay (MOP) ecosystem expanded, it became clear that baristas lacked insight into when and how these scheduled orders would appear—leading to confusion, misfires, and operational strain. I was brought in to help design a solution that brought clarity and trust to this emerging order state.

The Challenge

Partners were essentially “chasing waterfalls”—trying to keep up with a growing stream of scheduled orders without context or control. Our goal was to design a tool that would:

• Surface actionable insights at the right moment

• Reduce manual guesswork and increase order flow confidence

• Integrate smoothly into current production and handoff processes

• Ensure accessibility from day one

My Approach

Learn, Adapt, React

I began by catching up on the broader MOP roadmap and understanding what data needed to be surfaced in our Daily Production Manager (DPM) tool. From there, I aligned with product and engineering teams to define realistic MVP goals—while still pushing for design excellence.

Explore & Test

Concept: Sketched and prototyped three early concepts with clear visual hierarchy, flexible filters, and system status indicators.

Accessibility Considerations: Brought in A11y early in the design phase to catch potential issues up front and reduce rework later

Team Feedback: Collaborated with the FMO UX team for feedback, critiques, and direction refinement.

Prototype & Validate: I developed a mid-fidelity prototype that walked through all order states and interactions related to scheduled orders. Because this was a net-new feature, it was critical to show baristas exactly how it would behave from entry to handoff.

Usability Testing: Partnered with Research to test the prototype with 10 partners (6 Tryer store, 4 learning stores). The insights were invaluable—surfacing friction points and validating what felt intuitive to partners.

Key Refinements

• Adjusted the scheduled order chip color from burnt sienna to a more neutral gray to signify an inactive state

• Reworked the bottom sheet layout so it wouldn’t fully cover the received orders list

The Solution

Launched an MVP that included:

• A new Scheduled order state clearly labeled and styled

• Contextual visibility within the DPM tool without interrupting the normal order flow

• A subtle but accessible design language that balanced urgency with simplicity

• A system of manual levers and order filters to give partners more confidence and flexibility

The Impact

• Received positive feedback during testing from all 10 partners—100% felt confident using the new design as-is

• Improved partner trust in the system by introducing visibility into scheduled order timing and volume

• Set the foundation for long-term enhancements to the partner-facing ordering dashboard

What I Learned

• Speed and quality can coexist when the team shares a clear, common goal

• Early inclusion of Accessibility can save significant time and create a better user experience for all

• Listening to frontline users unlocks valuable insights that specs alone can’t surface