By Christina Mendoza

Overview

As a participant in the IBM Accelerate Program (Design Track), I was selected to join an immersive, apprenticeship-style learning experience focused on enterprise UX research, prototyping, and product thinking. During the program, I worked closely with IBM mentors to apply the Enterprise Design Thinking Loop—Observe, Reflect, Make—while contributing to research-based artifacts for enterprise product teams.

After the program, I challenged myself to take what I learned and apply it independently, start to finish. The result is a self-initiated case study: a conceptual redesign of the McDonald’s mobile pickup experience, applying IBM’s process to a real-world friction point. While speculative, this project demonstrates my ability to take an idea, structure it using proven frameworks, and push it toward execution—just as I would on a real team.

What I Did

• Framed the Problem – Identified a high-friction moment in everyday life: mobile order pickup at drive-thrus, where technology often gives way to confusion and inefficiency.

• Applied a UX Process – Used the IBM Enterprise Design Loop to guide my approach from empathy to ideation, prototyping, and feedback.

• Prototyped a Solution – Designed a new flow featuring QR code pickup integration, reducing the need for verbal confirmation and speeding up service.

• Prepared for Testing & Handoff – Created a proposal-ready package that could be pitched to stakeholders, complete with design rationale and suggested research methods.

CASE STUDY: RETHINKING MCDONALD’S MOBILE PICKUP

Mobile ordering is fast and easy—until you reach the pickup window. Customers are often asked to repeat their order number, confirm their name, or explain they ordered via mobile—all of which slows down service and frustrates both users and staff.

My concept: a QR code flow integrated into the McDonald’s app, allowing customers to scan their order at the window. This would link the digital order with physical pickup, reduce verbal communication, and increase clarity for all parties.

How I Applied IBM’s Design Thinking Loop

1. Observe- I framed the research: What questions would I ask customers? How do employees currently retrieve mobile orders? Where does miscommunication happen?

2. Reflect- I mapped a hypothetical journey, spotlighting gaps in the current handoff between the app and the window experience. Common themes: confusion, repetition, and human error.

3. Make- I sketched wireframes for a redesigned flow with a dynamic QR code. I built a clickable prototype to show how this could feel in context and imagined possible key success metrics and testing methods for launch-readiness.

Concept Artifacts

📌 User Journey Map

A walkthrough of the current mobile order experience, from in-app checkout to drive-thru pickup, highlighting where confusion, repetition, and delays typically occur. This journey map would illustrate the service gap between digital confirmation and physical fulfillment, with callouts for moments of breakdown.

📱 Wireframes & Prototype Flow

A redesigned mobile journey showing how a scannable QR code could function as the new “confirmation page” within the app. This section would depict:

• The user’s flow from finalizing an order to receiving their unique QR code

• The moment the QR is presented at the drive-thru window scanner

• The system response for the employee: a simplified interface queuing scanned mobile orders in order of arrival

• Reduced verbal interaction—just a visual cue and a “Next window, please.” or “You’re all set—pull forward for pickup!”

• This is also a fun opportunity to play with brand tone and enhance the QR code interaction moment. Include a McDonald’s logo or branded visual in the center of the QR code. Many major brands (like Starbucks, Spotify, or even PayPal) do this to create more branded, recognizable QR experiences.

💬 Employee Screen Message

For the employee interface, a message could say:

• “Mobile Order Scanned”

• “[Customer Name] – Mobile Pickup Confirmed”

• “New QR Order → #245”

• “Next: Greet and Send to Pickup”

These sketches would be annotated to show how the QR reduces error, speeds identification, and creates a clear visual handoff between user and staff.

Proposal Plan

A mock research and rollout plan prepared as if pitching this to stakeholders, including:

• Discovery approach: user interviews, employee ride-alongs, operational audits

• Testing strategy: pilot at select locations, tracking pickup time and satisfaction

• Success metrics: reduction in verbal confirmations, order accuracy improvements, time-to-window averages

If I Were on the McDonald’s Team

If I were hired to work on this experience, I’d approach it as a hybrid UX Designer + Product Strategist, focused on bridging user needs with operational realities. My first step would be to validate assumptions through discovery—interviews with customers and employees, on-site observation, and data review to understand current mobile order behavior.

I’d partner cross-functionally with product, engineering, and operations to identify constraints and define a phased approach to testing the QR code experience. I’d start small—designing a pilot, observing real usage, and iterating based on feedback before scaling across locations.

With my background in both research and rapid prototyping, I’m confident I could help transform this concept into a real, measurable improvement to the McDonald’s customer journey.

Reflection

This project represents how I naturally approach the world: as a problem solver grounded in user perspective. Whether it’s a household interaction, a digital service, or a real-world process, I often find myself deconstructing friction points and imagining smarter, more intuitive solutions.

Inspired by IBM’s Enterprise Design Thinking framework, this self-initiated case study was not an assignment—but a demonstration of how I absorb new methodologies and immediately put them into practice. I enjoy moving from insight to structure, from ideation to tangible design—especially when the challenge is real, relatable, and meaningful.

While I am not working for IBM or McDonald’s yet, this project reflects how I work: user-first, systems-aware, and capable of turning insights into actionable concepts that are ready for testing, refinement, and ultimately, launch.