SAR BackOffice
Role
UX Research / UX-UI Designer
Duration
4 Months
Year
2023
McDonald’s Mesoamérica is a Guatemalan company with Triple-A-rated franchises operating in Central America and the Dominican Republic, among other locations. They have been awarded the corporation’s Golden Arch Award for their quality and service. With theri in-house developed application, SAR Backoffice, the company ranks in the top 3 within the corporation for excellent inventory management, as reflected in their audits.
Overview
SAR Backoffice was developed to manage all the internal restaurant operations. This platform was not intended for end customers but for employees, cashiers, and managers who handled day-to-day tasks such as inventory, cash balancing, purchases, sales, and overall administration of more than 100 restaurants in Guatemala. The vision was to pilot the solution locally and then scale it across Central America, the Dominican Republic, and other markets.
Main Objective
Specific Objectives
- Reduce execution time for critical processes (cash balancing and sales closing).
- Simplify login and password recovery flows.
- Deliver a modern, intuitive, and consistent user interface.
- Enable access from tablets for managers and administrators.
- Reduce dependency on technical support.
Measuring Success (KPIs)
Quantitative KPIs
System Speed
Core processes executed in under 3 seconds.
Task completion
Finish without interruptions: increased to 95%
Support tickets
Decreased by at least 60% for system-related issues
Sales Closing Time
Reduced from ~120 minutes to under 30 minutes.
Tablet Adoption
At least 20% of managers using the system on iPads.
Faster Onboarding
Training for new staff requires 50% less time.
Qualitative KPIs
Reduced Frustration
Reports of stress and negative emotions decrease as processes become simpler and faster.
Employee satisfaction
Measured through surveys, reflecting overall happiness with the tool in daily use.
Positive Feedback
Stakeholders perceive the platform as scalable and aligned with long-term business goals.
Perception of Modernity
Employees feel the platform is professional, up-to-date, and reliable.
Background
McDonald’s Mesoamerica relied on SAR Backoffice, an internally built system used daily across more than 100 restaurants in Guatemala. The platform handled essential operations such as inventory, sales closings, cash balancing, and staff management. However, over time it became slow, unintuitive, and technologically outdated, creating frustration for employees and high volumes of support incidents.
With processes like end-of-day closings taking up to two hours and the system unable to scale across the region, stakeholders recognized the urgent need for a modern, cloud-based solution that could restore efficiency and improve the employee experience.
Opportunity Insight
The discovery process revealed that technology alone would not solve the problem—what was needed was a holistic redesign centered on the people using the system every day. Employees wanted faster processes, intuitive navigation, and a modern interface they could trust. Managers needed the freedom to operate from tablets while walking the restaurant floor. Stakeholders demanded scalability and reduced dependency on technical support.
This intersection of user frustrations and business needs created a unique opportunity: to reimagine the backoffice as a modern, cloud-based platform that improved efficiency, boosted employee satisfaction, and positioned McDonald’s Mesoamerica as a regional leader in operational innovation.
UX Approach
The design process was based on Design Thinking and Design Sprint methodologies:
- Mapping stakeholder goals.
- Assessing the current user situation.
- Heuristic evaluation of the legacy platform.
- Shadowing and interviews with employees in restaurants.
- Defining the project vision and value proposition.
- Identifying pain points and opportunities.
- Producing high-fidelity visual proposals to validate solutions.
- Providing high-level estimations for development.
Previous UI
Findings
- Support Overload
During peak hours, especially end-of-day closings, the support team was overwhelmed with thousands of tickets. - Repetitive Workflows
Employees performed the same tasks several times a day, but the system offered no shortcuts or streamlined processes. - Technical Limitations
The legacy system could not scale and slowed down under heavy use, creating significant operational bottlenecks. - Negative User Perception
Employees described the interface as “ugly” and “depressing,” which impacted morale and engagement. - Lack of Mobility
Managers needed to handle tasks away from their desks, but the system was limited to desktop use.
Pain Points
Session Timeouts
Users were logged out after only 5 minutes of inactivity, losing unsaved progress.
Slow Performance
Processes that should take minutes extended into hours, particularly during sales closings.
Poor Navigation
Frequently used tasks were buried deep in the system, requiring unnecessary steps.
Complicated Login
Resetting credentials was so complex it often required calling technical support.
No Notifications
The system lacked an internal notification center, forcing reliance on calls for updates.
User Needs
1.
Reduce reliance on technical support by making the system self-sufficient.
2.
Complete critical tasks quickly and reliably.
3.
Experience consistent layouts and patterns across all tasks.
4.
Avoid errors through clear flows and validations.
5.
Integrated notifications for better internal communication.
6.
Access the system easily with simple login and password recovery.
7.
Use a modern, visually appealing interface that inspires confidence and could be customized.
8.
Work seamlessly on both desktop and tablet devices.
Why build a new version of SAR BO?
Because the current backoffice system failed to support daily restaurant operations, slowed down critical processes, and caused high levels of frustration for both employees and managers. It also generated significant costs in support tickets and was not scalable to future business needs.
Problem Statement
McDonald’s Mesoamerica employees and managers need a fast, reliable, and user-friendly backoffice system to perform daily operations without interruptions or frustration, because the existing system is slow, unintuitive, and generates costly inefficiencies.
Audience
Target Users
Young to mid-career employees, typically between 18-40 years old.
Commute mostly by bus or motorcycle.
Employees from urban and rural backgrounds.
People who begin their careers at McDonald’s and remain with them for several years.
Value job stability, clear career progression, and tools that help them work efficiently under daily pressure.
Education ranges from basic schooling to high school
Hardworking and reliable individuals, motivated to improve both personally and professionally.
User Persona #1
Luis Hernández
General Manager
"When you love what you do, time just flies."
Bio
Responsible man, student and a worker, a father of 2 children. He has been with the company for over 15 years. He seeks not only personal growth but also for all his colleagues.
Age: 38 years
Marital status: Married
Education: University
Personality traits:
Engaged
Liable
Helpful
Determined
🎯 Goals / Needs:
- Increase sales volume to stand out.
- Ensure everything is in order at the audit level.
- Increase customer satisfaction and reduce complaints.
- Enhance operational efficiency.
😣 Pain Points:
- It’s very difficult for him to review reports.
- When there are differences, it’s not possible to compare between reports.
- There are processes that take a long time.
🙈 Frustrations:
- Despite being Managers, there are things within SAR BO that they can’t modify and depend on the Help Desk.
- Every night I have to stay and wait for support before close the restaurant.
💪 Motivations:
- Clients
- Good Customer Service
- Sales
- Studies
- Family
User Persona #2
Katerin Pérez
Manager
""When things are made with love, they always come out beautifully."
Bio
Hard worker, honest woman who seeks self-improvement through professional studies. She likes to have all things under control, enjoys free moments and relax on Netflix.
Age: 26 years
Marital status: Single
Education: High School
Personality traits:
Organized
Responsible
Leader
Proactive
🎯 Goals / Needs:
- Complete all activities within the shift schedule.
- Maintain as much control as possible to avoid discrepancies at closing.
- Conduct cash register reconciliations regularly.
😣 Pain Points:
- Having to wait until the end of the shift to address administrative issues with SAR BO.
- Many times, inventory is done with paper because the tablet loses data.
- To conduct reconciliations, they need to move the cashier with money to the computer.
🙈 Frustrations:
- Not everyone puts the same effort into their work.
- I wish I had more mobility and didn’t have to depend on always being in front of a computer.
- It’s hard for me to make plans because of my job.
💪 Motivations:
- Growth
- Teamwork
- Control
- Education
- Family
User Persona #3
Irma Cruz
Help Desk
"I enjoy helping others because everyone needs help sometimes."
Bio
A woman with a considerable work history, organized, and hardworking. She is dedicated to her work and enjoys constantly learning new things. She likes to feel productive.
Age: 34 years
Marital status: Single
Education: High School
Personality traits:
Worker
Organized
Engaged
Trained
🎯 Goals / Needs:
- Provide support to restaurants across the entire region.
- Be organized to have all restaurants closed by the early hours.
- Quickly resolve restaurant requests.
😣 Pain Points:
- There are certain processes that require many steps to be carried out.
- There are many tickets and the system is slow, especially during peak hours.
- There are certain actions that managers should be able to change in order to reduce tickets.
🙈 Frustrations:
- My workdays are usually 10 to even 12 hours long.
- Most of the tickets come from the same problems.
- The solutions are simple, but they take up too much time.
💪 Motivations:
- Family
- Education
- Productivity
- Organization
- Support everyone