Drink Genie Design Document
Part 1: Understand the User
Name
Age
Education
Salary
Experience with
software interfaces
Soda Enthusiasm Level
Job
Sally
15
In Highschool
n/a
High
Bill
55
Bachelors
$60000/year
low
Greg
25
High School Diploma
<$25000/year
mid
Connoisseur
Student
Low
Corporate Accounts
Accountant
Medium
College Student / Drink
Genie Operator
Sally: the 15-year-old technology early adopter. Sally is considered a potential expert user of the Drink Genie. She is very
comfortable with technology, has had a cell phone since she was 5, isn't afraid of making mistakes, and likes
experimenting with drinks. Every time she visits a Drink Genie, she's likely to order a different unique mix of drink. She's
eager to dive into "advanced options" submenus and is very likely to take advantage of special offers and beta features
of the machine.
Bill: the 55-year-old purist. Bill has been going to the same restaurant for the last 20 years and sees no reason to try
other restaurants. He comes in at precisely 8:11 every morning before work to enjoy "The King's Breakfast" of two eggs,
two pieces of toast, and a piece of sausage with free unlimited fountain drinks of his choice. He always fills his cup with
the exact same beverage: a diet Dr. Pepper, with extra ice. Bill will be very distraught when the soda fountain machine
he's been using for the last two decades changes, and will likely be very confused at the lack of multiple drink
dispensers. He will not want to ask for help(for this would be very embarrassing), but he will not intuitively know how to
use the machine because he has never owned a computer (and sees no reason to). Bill just wants his diet Dr. Pepper
with extra ice.
Greg: the 25-year-old maintenance operator of the Drink Genie machine. Greg was looking for a weekend job without a
huge time commitment to make some money on the side. He has limited time available for training and is unlikely to
read a manual any longer than a page. Greg is in charge of maintaining a ring of 50 machines around his neighborhood,
but only has Saturday to do it, so he wants to spend as little time as possible refilling each machine.
Part 2: Understand the Task
Q: What do you not like about the soda machines that you currently use?
[Sally]: It takes a lot of practice and skill to truly mix and match flavors to make the perfect drink. Also, some fountains
don’t have a lot of choices.
[Bill]: There was nothing wrong with it. It worked perfectly fine. Why fix it if it isn’t broken?
[Greg]: I don’t like when the drinks aren’t consistent. Sometimes it’s too sweet, but other times it’s too carbonated.
Q: What size soda do you typically like to buy?
[Sally]: I typically like to buy a medium to large size soda.
[Bill]: I normally only get medium sized sodas.
[Greg]: I like to get very large sodas. Normally I go to buy a super big gulp.
Q: How much ice do you typically use?
[Sally]: Normally half way up the cup.
[Bill]: I put my ice all the way to the top of the cup.
[Greg]: I usually go for easy ice
Q: How often do you mix soda types?
[Sally]: All the time, it’s fun to come up with new types of drinks.
[Bill]: Never
[Greg]: Rarely
Q: How do you feel about flavor shots?
[Sally]: I love them, like I said I like to come up with unique drinks.
[Bill]: I cannot see myself using them.
[Greg]: Seems like a neat idea, I would occasionally use it.
Q: What unit of measurement do you prefer for cup sizes, soda volume, ice level, and flavor shot volume?
[Sally]




Cup Sizes: small, medium, large, x-large
Soda Volume: ounces
Ice level: none, half, full
Flavor shot: I would guess a shot’s worth
[Bill]




Cup Sizes: small, medium, large, x-large
Soda Volume: none, 1/4, 1/2, full
Ice level: none, some, to the top
Flavor shot: A shot is typically 1oz
[Greg]




Cup Sizes: small, Medium, Big-gulp, super-big gulp
Soda Volume: ounces
Ice level: none, easy-ice, half, full
Flavor shot: ounces
Q: Using a traditional soda fountain, how do you normally make a drink?
[Sally]
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pick cup size
Add Ice
Add soda(s)
Add Flavor(s)
Repeat steps 3 and 4 until I get desired taste
[Bill]
1.
2.
3.
4.
Pick cup size
Add Ice
Add one soda
Done
[Greg]
1.
2.
3.
4.
Pick cup size
Add Ice
Usually add one soda and fill the cup almost all the up
Every once in a while add a splash of flavor
Q: When ordering a drink from the Drink Genie what are some things that you would expect?
[Sally]: I would want it to be very easy to use without any room for errors. I want it to be very clear what I am putting in
my drink.
[Bill]: I would want it to be very fast. I just want Dr. Pepper with a lot of ice and want it quick.
[Greg]: The selection is very accurate. I would hate to be given the wrong drink, or have it pour the wrong amount and
have things spilling.
Q: If a Drink Genie were put into your place of business and you were responsible for maintaining it, how easy would
it need to be for you to feel comfortable with the task?
[Sally]: I would want it to be pretty easy. I don’t want to have to take much time out of the day to mess with it.
[Bill]: Very easy. I do not like to clean so if I had to clean soda spills off all the time I would not be very happy.
[Greg]: It would need to be super easy. I’m not very good with technology so I would want the instructions to be very
clear on what needs to be done.
Q: What terminology do people who do these tasks use?
People use the follow terminology: cup, shot, choice, quantity, ice, dispense, create, empty.
Q: When monitoring supply level, what warnings would you like to see?
[Greg] Really all I want to know is if the supply is empty or about to be empty. It would be nice if there was an easy way
to determine that.
Part 3: Finding Functionality
• Visual concepts that are available to the user are as follows:
o
o
o
o
Concept of choosing a drink made of one or more sodas
Concept of choosing an amount of a flavor/multiple flavors or no flavor at all to mix in the drink.
Concept of seeing which drinks, flavors, or ice is low in quantity (Admin).
Concept of managing drink supply items (Admin).
• These concepts can be presented as familiar concepts by formatting the drinks similar to how a non-automatic drink
machine is, like in Whataburger. The quantity can be as simple as an empty glass picture when the drink/flavor is out.
• The data that the users will have access to is the array of drink options they can choose from. They will also be able to
see an array of flavor options. This data will come from what is available in the machine. The generated data will be used
to mix up the drink so it can be served. The maintenance user will also have to have access to the data of
drink/flavor/ice quantities. The users will be able to gather if a drink is available through this status data.
Options – Based on Task Analysis, it makes sense to use the following options for each object.
Cup Sizes




Small
Medium
Large
X-Large
Ice Level




None
Easy Ice
Half
Full
Soda Measurement Units


For the customer user, Percentage. This is a new concept to drink fountains, but I think people are familiar
enough with percentages that this shouldn’t be too difficult to grasp. Ounces make sense, but then we would
have to tell the user how many ounces each cup size holds. Also, it is hard to gauge how much 8oz really is. It’s a
unit we are familiar with but not one we measure on a day to day basis. Percentages on the other hand are cup
agnostic. 0%, 50%, and 100% all have the same meaning regardless of cup size.
For the admin, ounces. To keep supply levels one needs to know an exact amount.
Flavor Shot Measurement Units


For the customer user, Percentage. Use percentage to be consistent with soda units in addition to reasoning
mentioned above.
For the admin, ounces. To keep supply levels one needs to know an exact amount.
Part 4: Objects and Actions Analysis
Identifying Objects, Attributes, and Actions
Objects
Attributes
Actions
Order
Sodas, Cup, Flavors, Ice
Liquid
Soda is a Liquid
Flavor is a Liquid
Name, Calories, Logo, Quantity
All
View Attributes, Cancel Order,
Submit Order for creation
All
View Attributes, Name, Calories,
Logo
Customer
Specify Quantity
Add/Remove from Order
Cup
Size, Quantity
Ice
Amount, Quantity
Admin
View Quantity, Edit Attributes,
Add to stock, Remove from stock
Customer
View Size, Select Size
Admin
View Attributes, Edit Attributes,
Add to stock, Remove from stock
Customer
View Amount
Add/Remove from Order
Admin
View Attributes, Edit Attributes,
Add to stock, Remove from stock
Object-Actions Hierarchy
Order
-Attributes
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sodas : List of Liquid
Cup
Flavors : List of Liquid
Ice
-Actions
User Role: All
1. View Attributes: All
User Role: Customer
1. Cancel
2. Submit
Liquid (This object won’t be shown to the user; instead it is used to group common attributes and actions for Subtypes.)
-Subtypes
1. Soda
2. Flavor Shot
-Attributes
1.
2.
3.
4.
Name
Calories
Logo
Quantity: Ounces
-Actions
User Role: All
1. View Attributes: Name, Calories, Logo
User Role: Customer
1. Specify Quantity
2. Add/Remove from Order
User Role: Admin
1. View Attributes: Quantity
2. Add to stock
3. Remove from stock
Soda (subtype of Liquid)
- <details omitted>
Flavor Shot (subtype of Liquid)
- <details omitted>
Cup
-Attributes
1. Size : enum of text { small, medium, large, x-large}
2. Quantity
-Actions
User Role: Customer
1. View Attributes: Size
2. Select Size
User Role: Admin
1.
2.
3.
4.
View Attributes: All
Edit Attributes: All
Add to stock
Remove from stock
Ice
-Attributes
1. Amount : enum of text { none, easy, normal, full}
2. Quantity
-Actions
User Role: Customer
1. View Attributes: Amount
2. Add/Remove from Order
User Role: Admin
1.
2.
3.
4.
View Attributes: All
Edit Attributes: All
Add to stock
Remove from stock
Object-Actions Matrix
X = Everyone
Cancel
C
Order
Submit
C
C = Customer
A = Admin
View Add to Order Remove from Order Specify Size/Quantity Add to stock Remove from stock Edit Stock
X
Cup
Sodas
Flavors
Ice
Liquid
C
Name
Calories
Logo
Quantity
Type
X
X
X
A
Size
Quantity
X
A
Amount
Quantity
Use color for type relationship
Liquid
Cup
X
A
C
Cup
Ice
C
C
C
A
A
A
C
A
A
A
C
A
A
A
Ice
Part 5: Lexicon
Soda Enthusiasm Level:
Connoisseur- Highly enjoys soda and enjoys trying and making new kinds of soda combination.
Mild- Often drinks soda, but does not often try new kinds or combinations.
Low- Occasionally has a soda, is not interested in trying different kinds or combinations.
Cup Size- Refers to the size of cup the drink will be put into.
Soda Type- Refers to the different flavors of soda offered.
Flavor Shot- various kinds of flavored liquid that can be added in small amounts to change the flavor of the drink.
Easy Ice – a small amount of ice. There isn’t an exact measurement, but something that can be said for all cup sizes and
be applicable.