Connected TV is no longer a distribution surface. It is becoming the operating system of the living room, where household engagement, monetization, and retention are decided.

Next‑generation CTV is shifting from browsing to intent‑predicted engagement, powered by AI, household‑level data, and resilient platform engineering. Streaming businesses that treat CTV as a full‑stack capability, spanning performance, intelligence, monetization, and operational resilience, will outpace competitors still approaching it as “mobile on a bigger screen.”

Where households decide to stay or leave

First‑session abandonment on Connected TV remains stubbornly high. Subscribers download apps, browse briefly, and exit before content value is fully assessed. 

In those early moments, households were not judging catalog depth. They are judging whether the service belongs in the living room: onboarding friction, navigation clarity, discovery effectiveness, and playback reliability. 

Connected TV is where streaming businesses are won or lost, yet it is frequently where product organizations are least operationally prepared.

CTV apps are becoming intelligent living‑room platforms

This is not a UX trend. It is a capability shift.

Next‑generation CTV reduces decision fatigue by anticipating intent rather than waiting for explicit input:

• Predictive discovery based on household viewing patterns
• Context‑aware recommendations shaped by time‑of‑day and session type
• Mood‑driven search using natural language intent
• Cross‑device intent recognition, where discovery begins on mobile and resolves on TV
• Real‑time personalization across household profiles, not static personalization

Discovery is no longer a menu problem. It is an engagement system.

What AI is changing in CTV

AI is not just improving recommendations. It is restructuring the economics of content discovery.

The cost of serving the right title to the right household at the right moment is falling to zero. The cost of a wrong recommendation, an abandoned session, a cancelled subscription, a household that never returns, is rising. That asymmetry is what makes AI infrastructure a strategic investment, not a feature.

Concretely, this means:

Generative AI is rewriting the discovery interface

Voice input powered by large language models moves beyond keyword search into genuine intent understanding. A household saying “something light for after dinner” gets a relevant result, not a confused one. First‑session success rates improve. Personalization signals accumulate faster.

AI is collapsing with the gap between signal and action

Earlier generations of recommendation engines updated on a cycle, daily or weekly. Real‑time AI inference means the platform responds to what a household is doing now: switching profiles mid‑session, abandoning a title at the twelve‑minute mark, returning after a two‑week gap. Each signal feeds back into the model immediately.

AI-curated home screens are replacing static content rows

The home screen is no longer a merchandising decision made by an editorial team once a week. It is a continuously updated, household‑specific surface, the single most valuable piece of real estate on the platform, dynamically managed at scale.

The platforms investing in this infrastructure now are not building a better recommendation engine. They are building a compounding retention advantage that widens every quarter.

The multi‑device reality: CTV as the household hub

Households move fluidly across devices. Discovery often starts on mobile, continues on tablets, and culminates on the TV, sometimes within the same session.

The engineering target is not a single‑screen experience but continuity across the household’s device graph: maintaining play state, profile context, and discovery intent across environments.

Beyond the “10‑foot experience”: intelligence determines outcomes

Usability fundamentals, including legibility, safe areas, focus behavior, and accessibility, remain at table stakes. The differentiator is what sits on top of them.

Navigation becomes an intent flow

Next‑gen platforms reduce steps by arranging UI around predicted household intent. Navigation shifts from finding to confirmation.

The remote becomes conversational

Voice input, increasingly powered by Generative AI, enables contextual discovery, faster first‑session success, and continuously strengthening personalization signals.

Monetization expansion: FAST and commerce move to center stage

FAST platforms, including Pluto TV, Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, and Tubi, are expanding globally, creating a hybrid streaming ecosystem where subscription and ad‑supported experiences coexist within the same household environment. This raises the operational bar significantly: dynamic ad insertion, household targeting, and governance requirements must coexist with playback stability and experience quality.

Content and commerce are also converging through shoppable overlays, QR‑driven flows, and contextual product placement, transforming the TV into a retail media surface and creating a new unit of value: revenue per session, not just per subscriber.

Data infrastructure: household signals become strategy

A mature CTV data layer captures household co‑viewing patterns, peak‑time behavior, intent signals (browse vs. play vs. abandon), and cross‑profile consumption flows.

At scale, these signals inform dynamic subscription bundling, FAST inventory and targeting strategy, content acquisition decisions, and retention interventions during early sessions.

Data evolves from analytics into an operating control surface, and it is the fuel that makes AI infrastructure perform.

Engineering the platform beneath next‑gen CTV

CTV experience quality in the living room is determined less by interface design than by platform engineering. Five critical layers define whether a platform performs in real households or only in controlled environments.

1) Performance architecture

CTV platforms must support low‑latency live‑event scaling, real‑time personalization without playback degradation, and safe over‑the‑air update governance across device fleets. Few organizations can deliver all three without stability trade‑offs.

2) Content delivery

Content delivery must account for extreme hardware variability, from premium Apple TV devices to constrained Android TV environments.

3) Design systems at scale

Component‑based, token‑driven systems enable consistency across Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Samsung, LG, and Android TV without fragmenting experiences.

4) Data and intelligence infrastructure

Personalization, recommendations, and cross‑device continuity require unified signal processing across household profiles. This is the layer where AI either compounds or collapses, and it is only as good as the data architecture beneath it.

5) Operational resilience

Living rooms are unpredictable environments. Graceful degradation and intelligent recovery are non‑negotiable.

Building Discovery+ across mobile, web, and smart TVs required every one of these layers to work in harmony, under the pressure of live production environments across fragmented device ecosystems. It is precisely this kind of at-scale, multi-platform engineering that reveals where theoretical frameworks meet real-world complexity.

What the next three years of Connected TV will look like

Next‑gen CTV platforms are already incorporating capabilities that move well beyond content delivery:

• AI‑curated home screens replacing static content rows
• Retail media becoming a primary monetization layer alongside subscriptions
• Voice‑first navigation replacing remote‑driven search
• Cross‑platform identity graphs enabling seamless, continuous viewing
• FAST ecosystems rivaling traditional broadcast channels in reach and targeting
• Mood‑driven search using natural language
• Cross‑device intent recognition, with mobile to TV continuation becoming a standard expectation
• Dynamic personalization evolving continuously, not set once at onboarding

The platforms investing in these capabilities now will define household viewing habits for the next decade.

The Robosoft perspective

Connected TV should be engineered as a household platform capability, where experience design, data intelligence, monetization systems, and operational resilience are built together, not layered sequentially. This is what separates functional CTV applications from platforms that deliver sustained retention and monetization.

When CTV is engineered as a platform:

• Household economics improve as multi‑user engagement compounds lifetime value
• Switching friction increases once routines and personalization are established
• Brand perception strengthens because the big screen is the most visible proof of quality

For media and entertainment organizations, the question is whether Connected TV is engineered to deliver intent‑predicted engagement, FAST‑ready monetization, and living‑room reliability across fragmented device ecosystems.

Robosoft partners with streaming teams to design and engineer next‑generation CTV platforms that scale under peak conditions and perform consistently in real‑world household environments.

Let’s discuss your CTV strategy.

A blueprint conjures up visions of a plan, a model, or a template. It can be replicated and saves time and effort. Similarly, in the digital world, Design Systems act as the blueprint for creating consistent, scalable, and efficient product design.

Any physical or digital product needs a defined process to establish a unique identity. This becomes crucial in today’s crowded marketplace, full of parity products and services.  The quality of customer experience on digital platforms is often a differentiating factor for brands and becomes the basis of customer engagement and loyalty.

Creating a robust design system is essential for startups and enterprises aiming to deliver consistent, scalable, and efficient digital experiences. For senior design professionals, mastering their creation and governance is key to driving product quality, team efficiency, and brand integrity across complex organizations. This blog explores the best practices in building and maintaining Design Systems. It covers the need for Design Systems, how to build them, their benefits in redesign projects, and strategies for maintenance and scalability.

What is a Design System? Why do we need one?

Design System combines branding and UI/UX principles, establishing a shared vision to ensure each user touchpoint reflects the brand’s values and personality. Such consistency promotes familiarity and memorability, vital assets in a digital marketplace crowded with similar offerings.

Today, organizations must deliver seamless user experiences across multiple platforms and products. A design system addresses this by providing a shared language and reusable components that unify design and development efforts.

Without a design system, product teams risk inconsistent UI elements, leading to fragmented user experiences and brand dilution.

Building a Design System: best practices

Building a design system is a structured process that requires careful planning, collaboration, and iteration. Here are the Design System best practices and key steps:

1. Analyze your current design process

Start by auditing your existing design assets, tools, and workflows. Understand the design maturity of your teams and identify pain points such as inconsistencies or inefficiencies. This baseline helps tailor the design system to your organization’s needs.

2. Define guiding principles

Establish design principles that reflect your organization’s values and goals. These principles act as a north star, guiding design decisions and ensuring alignment across teams. For example, if accessibility is a priority, include actionable guidelines for inclusivity and compliance with standards. Airbnb’s Design Language System centers on “belonging,” influencing warm colors, approachable typography, and inclusive visuals that make every interaction feel personal.

3. Conduct a UI audit and catalog components

Inventory all UI elements—buttons, forms, icons, colors, typography, grids, and patterns. Evaluate each component’s usage and relevance, keeping only those that serve user needs and business goals. This creates a component library that forms the core of your design system.

4. Create a visual language

Define your brand’s visual identity through colors, typography, spacing, and iconography. Introduce grid systems and layout rules to ensure consistency across screens and devices. This visual language should be documented clearly for easy reference.

5. Build and document components

Develop reusable UI components with clear usage guidelines, including behavior, anatomy, and accessibility considerations. Documentation should be comprehensive, covering when and how to use each component, supported by code snippets and design files.

6. Establish governance and collaboration models

Design Systems evolve continuously. Define a governance strategy to manage updates and contributions. Common models include:

• Solitary: one person or a small team owns the system.
• Centralized: a dedicated team manages the system.
• Federated: multiple teams share responsibility.

Choose a model that fits your organization’s size and culture, ensuring clear communication and version control. IBM’s Carbon Design System encourages regular review sessions and open channels for feedback, balancing governance with community contributions.

7. Roll out and promote adoption

Communicate the design system’s value and usage across teams. Provide training, create accessible documentation hubs, and encourage feedback. Use tools like Slack channels or project management software to keep everyone informed and engaged.

Benefits of using a Design System

Redesigning digital products is complex and resource-intensive. Leveraging a design system during redesign offers significant advantages:

• Reduction in design time: on average, screen design times reduced significantly by around 30-40%, thanks to the library of pre-designed elements.
• Reduced feedback time: stakeholders reviewed designs faster due to the predictable structure and consistent patterns.
• Minimized errors: with standardised components and design patterns, inconsistencies across screens and platforms dropped significantly.
• Pre-built components: designers could leverage reusable UI components, eliminating the need to start designs from scratch.
• Reduced iterations: pre-approved design standards minimised back-and-forth revisions during the design phase.
• Efficiency in the hand-off process: developers received well-documented, pixel-perfect designs, reducing guesswork and errors during implementation.
• User-centered improvements: Design Systems often incorporate accessibility and usability best practices, ensuring the redesign enhances the overall user experience.
• Scalability for future growth: a well-maintained design system supports ongoing iterations and expansions without starting from scratch, making redesigns more sustainable.
• Cross-functional alignment: Design Systems foster collaboration between designers, developers, and product managers by establishing clear guidelines and standards. This shared understanding minimizes miscommunication and streamlines workflows.

In essence, a design system is not just a style guide but a strategic asset that drives product quality, team productivity, and business growth.

Design System in action

We recently created a Design System for a leading audit brand in the US.  Our journey began with building a robust design system based on the product requirements, new brand guidelines, and foundation DSM created for the website. This foundation ensured that our approach was both strategic and aligned with core values and vision of enhanced experience.

We built the design system using the Atomic Design framework, defining and designing everything from tokens to layouts.

We then set out the design goals, a design style guide, design tokens and components.

As we transitioned to redesigning the training platform, we carefully adapted the design system. Our approach focused on addressing challenges like inconsistencies and scalability while retaining the brand essence.

Key takeaways

• Design Systems are essential for delivering consistent, scalable, and efficient digital experiences across products and teams.

• Building a design system involves auditing current assets, defining guiding principles, creating a visual language, developing reusable components, and establishing governance.

• Using a design system in redesign projects accelerates workflows, improves consistency, reduces technical debt, and enhances collaboration.

• Maintenance requires continuous updates, clear ownership, scalable architecture, thorough documentation, and effective communication.

• Choosing the right governance model and fostering cross-functional collaboration are critical for long-term success.

• By investing in a well-crafted design system, startups and enterprises can streamline their product development, improve user experiences, and maintain a competitive edge in the digital marketplace.

• This strategic approach to Design Systems empowers product managers and design experts to build cohesive, user-centered digital products that scale efficiently and adapt to evolving business needs.

Creating a successful product isn’t just about adding the right features, it’s about ensuring users’ ease and delight in interacting with it. That’s where usability testing comes into play. 

This comprehensive guide breaks down the what, why, and how of usability testing to help you design user-centric digital products. 

We also introduce our RAPID framework (an easy-to-use design thinking approach). 

What is usability testing?

Usability testing is a structured, user-centric approach to evaluate how intuitive, efficient and satisfying your digital product is. More than just functionality, it’s about observing real people as they try to complete tasks using your product. Where do they pause? What causes confusion or frustration?

It makes you understand the user experience of a particular instance of the prototype you are testing for. Whereas the user interview would provide a holistic view of user psychology. 

Elements of usability testing 

According to the popular user experience community, Nielsen Norman Group, usability testing has three elements. However, we believe there exist a fourth element as the facility:

• The Facilitator – the guide who creates the tasks and sets the tone. 
• The Participant – the real-world user who brings authentic interaction. 
• The Tasks – the practical product journeys you want the user to navigate. 
• The Facility – that has testing tools, prototypes, and digital assets. 

Why usability test? 

You might wonder, “If we’ve hired expert UX designers, why do we still need usability testing? Shouldn’t their experience and talent be enough?” 

Think of it this way: every choice on the interface has countless variables, and each user brings unique perspectives and preferences. The combination of these factors is vast, and there’s no shortcut around it. Usability testing is the key to unlocking those insights. By observing users engage with your product or service, you get a clear view of what resonates and what needs a second look. 

How does usability study drive conversions? 

UX often segments customers into continued journey vs drop-offs. Carefully crafted UX walks users toward their goals, whether exploring content, making a purchase, or downloading an app. Visitors who move through your platform easily are far more likely to complete desired actions. Conversely, even minor usability lags can leave potential customers feeling frustrated or lost, leading to high bounce rates and lost opportunities. 

UX testing methods 

Usability testing transcends the mere act of checking if buttons are clickable or verifying that date fields can be personalized. Instead, it incorporates a range of methods designed to find how users genuinely interact with your product. Below are several core methods to consider: 

Moderated testing 

In this method, you (the researcher) walk participants through a series of tasks, observing their actions and inquiring about their thought processes in real-time. Because you have the chance to ask for clarification, moderated testing works well for complex or lengthy workflows that might confuse new users. 

Unmoderated testing 

Here, participants complete tasks independently, often through an automated platform. This approach allows for faster feedback and covers a broad spectrum of users, but you lose the ability to ask follow-up questions during the session. 

In-person and remote testing 

Usability testing can be conducted in person or remotely. These are not separate testing types but delivery modes that complement both moderated and unmoderated formats. 

In-person sessions allow you to be physically present with participants, making it easier to observe non-verbal cues like facial expressions, body language, or moments of hesitation. These cues are valuable for capturing deeper user insights. 

Remote sessions, on the other hand, are conducted online using screen-sharing tools or dedicated usability platforms. They are ideal for distributed teams, global user bases, or scenarios where logistics make in-person testing impractical. 

The journey doesn’t conclude with data gathering. Post-testing, the real challenge begins – analyzing your findings for actionable insights. This is where we can step in. 

How to conduct usability testing: a step-by-step framework 

Effective usability testing goes beyond checklists and surface-level observations. At Robosoft, we follow a proven methodology called RAPID (Robosoft Accelerator for Product Innovation in Digital), a plug-and-play, Design Thinking–based framework. 

We have conducted extensive usability testing for a wide range of consumer and enterprise apps. One such engagement was with Motif, a US-based photobook editing app for iOS. Here’s how we put theory into action. 

STEP 1 – Preparation stage: project setup 

Preparation stage is the foundation of a successful empathy-based usability testing project. It ensures that the research objectives are clear, and the right users are recruited. 

For example, in our work with Motif, we segmented users into age-based cohorts (Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X). Each with different levels of photo-editing experience. This helped us set realistic goals, such as selecting photo book types, uploading images, and customizing layouts. 

STEP 2 – Testing phase: unmoderated usability testing 

This phase involves evaluating the live product or prototype to identify usability and product issues.  

In Motif’s case, we conducted task-based unmoderated tests where participants interacted with the app on their iPhones and iPads. Tasks included selecting a book type, choosing photos, editing layouts, and checking out. The sessions revealed valuable insights, such as frequent confusion around image selection sliders and theme previews, and helped identify friction points like long loading times during checkout. 

Empathy Interview (Follow up)

This step involves deeper user conversations to explore motivations, challenges, and emotional responses, adding context to what was observed during task completion. 

For Motif project, we conducted empathy-driven interviews to understand not just what users did, but also why they performed particular action. For instance, users who skipped the guided tours shared that the language was too dense or repetitive. Others expressed frustration over not being able to preview themes before selection. These emotional insights proved crucial in shaping product-level recommendations. 

STEP 3 – Usability report phase: insights and recommendations 

The final stage involves analyzing the findings and presenting them in a structured report, as well as supporting the planning of the next steps. 

Our final report for Motif consolidated effectiveness, efficiency, and desirability scores. We prioritized findings into Must Fix, Should Fix, and UI/UX Upgrades, helping the product team quickly focus on what mattered the most. 

While the above Motif case study offers a glimpse into our usability testing approach, it’s just one of many success stories. At Robosoft, we’ve partnered with several global brands across industries to improve user journeys through thoughtful research and design. 

Usability testing best practices 

Use these guidelines when planning, conducting, and analyzing usability tests. It focuses on ethical considerations, data accuracy, and meaningful product improvements. 

• Get consent from participants: clearly explain the study’s purpose and how you will use the data. Request written or verbal agreement before starting.
• Recruit relevant users: target participants who match your product’s user profile. Their feedback will reveal issues and requirements that matter the most.
• Record and analyze results: document the observations throughout testing. Review data to identify pain points and prioritize improvements.
• Test in the real environment: simulate actual usage conditions (devices, environments, connection speeds). This approach highlights issues that emerge in day-to-day scenarios.
• Conduct relevant compatibility checks: ensure usability is tested in the environments your users will actually use. If your product is mobile-first, focus on device and OS diversity. If it’s web-only, browser compatibility might matter more. Instead of a blanket cross-platform approach, align testing environments with real-world usage scenarios.
• Conduct iterative testing: integrate usability tests at different stages of your development lifecycle rather than treating it as a one-time activity. By revisiting the product repeatedly, you catch potential issues sooner and refine the UX at every stage, saving considerable time and resources in the long run.
• Prioritize usability over visual perfection: instead of focusing on pixel-perfect interfaces or polished UI elements, prioritize making features intuitive, accessible, and functional. A well-designed feature loses value if users can’t understand or effortlessly access it. 

Taking your product to the next level 

Usability testing is one of the most valuable investments you can make in your product’s success. It helps build customer confidence, identify hidden issues early, and fine-tune the user experience before launch. 

Depending on the need and state of the project, usability testing can be conducted for the specific type of results that one intends to get out of it. It does incur initial cost, but the long-term benefits are invaluable. 

Once your product moves into the prototype phase (before any code is written), usability study helps validate ideas and gather early feedback on new implementations. Testing at this phase enables faster design iterations and ensures that only user-validated features move forward, reducing rework and saving both time and cost 

If you wish to be more closely involved, our RAPID methodology offers a structured, collaborative approach. Both you and your team can observe and analyze test sessions together. Perhaps you are wondering how many users to include, whether you should personally review the findings, or if you would prefer a comprehensive report. You don’t need to have all the answers right now. We are here to guide you step by step. Contact us to explore how usability testing can fit seamlessly into your workflow.

More than half of US consumers believe that ordering delivery and takeout from restaurants is an “essential part of their lifestyle”. The trends would be along similar lines across the globe. In some countries, ordering 3-6 times a week is common among the 25-34 age group. While ordering food delivery via third-party aggregator apps or websites is common, a significant number opt to order directly through a restaurant’s website or app .  

Aggregator platforms provide initial reach, but also restrict branding, charge high commissions, and limit direct customer engagement. Food ordering via one’s own website or mobile app makes business sense for restaurant and QSR chains. A user-centric approach and digital experiences that prioritize customer needs are a critical need for such an initiative. The starting point for this journey is service design. 

What is service design in online food ordering? 

Service design is all about creating an experience that aligns with customer needs and preferences. It is about thoughtfully designing processes, touchpoints, and interactions that align with those expectations. It also involves understanding how customers interact with your app or website – from browsing menus to placing orders and tracking deliveries. 

Effective service design takes into account every element involved in the ordering process, including digital and physical environments, employee-customer interactions, and all service touchpoints. The real value of service design comes from involving all stakeholders in the process. Through collaborative efforts, such as design thinking workshops, businesses can gather diverse perspectives and incorporate them into the design process. 

Benefits of a seamless digital experience for QSRs  

A well-designed food ordering system can turn peak-hour chaos into a streamlined operation and meet evolving customer preferences. Here are a few benefits that can introduce your restaurant to new customers. 

• Faster service during peak hours through automated queuing and order management.
• Gain insights into customer preferences and test the market for new menu items.
• Expanded reach by integrating third-party delivery platforms.
• Enhanced customer satisfaction with real-time updates and delivery tracking.
• Better marketing opportunities through targeted digital campaigns based on customer data.
• Reduced overhead costs through improved staff scheduling and resource allocation.
• Enhanced kitchen inventory management and optimizing supply.
• Increased order accuracy with mobile ordering systems.

Food ordering experiences commonly overlooked by QSR brands 

Customers are more likely to share bad experiences than good ones. Therefore, it’s essential for QSR brands to continually optimize their app design to avoid common pitfalls, such as:

Missing favorites: many QSRs miss the option to allow customers to save and quickly reorder their favorite meals. Without a favorites list, customers are forced to reselect items from scratch, which can lead to longer ordering times. Including a simple “favorites” option enhances convenience and encourages repeat orders.

Visual appeal of food: another common oversight in digital ordering is the absence of photos for some menu items. You don’t order what you don’t see. Providing high-quality images for all menu items creates a more engaging and appetizing customer experience. Brands that prioritize visually appealing menus stand a better chance of attracting and retaining customers.

Lack of customization: customers appreciate the ability to tailor their orders to their preferences, whether that means adding extra toppings, choosing portion sizes, or selecting dietary preferences. For example, features like “Add cooking request” allowing special instructions or additional comments during order customization, make the experience feel more tailored and accommodating. 

Limited filtering options: customers value the ability to filter options based on their specific needs, such as distance, fastest delivery time, or even toggle between delivery and pickup options. Many QSR apps overlook this, forcing users to scroll through irrelevant options, which can be time-consuming and lead to missed opportunities for restaurants to capture potential orders. Offering advanced filtering options allows users to make quicker decisions, provide more control and convenience.

Difficulty finding cart: another common challenge users face is the difficulty in locating the cart. When customers are ready to check out, they want easy and immediate access to their cart without navigating through multiple screens. If the cart icon is not clearly visible or accessible throughout the ordering process, it can lead to increased cart abandonment. 

Creating seamless digital food ordering experiences 

We must remember that the customer ordering food online is also a user of several other mobile & app experiences across categories. The intuitive design and user experience of one app or mobile site in one category makes them expect a similar or better experience in all categories.

User-friendly QSR web and mobile app design 

While mobile apps lead the way in online food delivery, websites remain an essential part of the QSR ecosystem. They offer a convenient platform for users who prefer browsing menus on larger screens or placing orders from desktops, particularly in office settings. Websites also serve as a critical entry point for first-time customers who discover services through web searches.

Customers interacting with your platform expect effortless navigation and mobile optimization to accommodate their fast-paced lifestyles. The layout should be intuitive, with well-organized menus and a responsive design that adapts seamlessly across devices. It’s also crucial to prioritize accessibility by following WCAG guidelines to ensure that all users, including those with disabilities, can easily navigate your platform. This enhances inclusivity and broadens your customer base.

Additionally, visual appeal plays a crucial role in capturing attention. A clean, aesthetically pleasing interface with high-quality images and clear fonts creates a professional, welcoming experience that encourages users to explore further and complete their orders. 

Personalization 

Personalization is the key ingredient that transforms casual users into loyal customers by making them feel valued and understood. By analyzing customer data, QSRs can offer personalized recommendations that suggest meals based on:

• Past orders
• Customer demographics
• Loyalty program data
• Feedback and reviews
• Seasonality (or limited time offers)

Additionally, enabling customizable profiles allows users to set preferences, dietary needs and even create profiles for different family members, ensuring that every suggestion or offer feels relevant to their specific needs. Dynamic content further enhances this by adapting menus and promotions in real-time based on user data, making each interaction feel exclusive and relevant. Personalizing the experience ensures that repeat visits become a deliberate outcome of the design strategy rather than a matter of luck. 

Efficient delivery and order fulfillment process  

Customers expect their orders to arrive fresh and fast. Providing real-time order tracking offers transparency and builds trust by allowing customers to follow their order journey from preparation to delivery.

Offering flexible delivery options is another way to elevate customer satisfaction. Whether customers want fast delivery for immediate cravings or more budget-friendly options for larger orders, having a variety of choices ensures their needs are met.

Accuracy in order fulfillment is equally critical. Partnering with reliable delivery services ensures that meals are delivered on time and without errors, building a positive and consistent experience.

Incorporating sustainable practices, such as eco-friendly packaging or fuel-efficient delivery methods, aligns with modern customer preferences and demonstrates a commitment to responsible business practices.

Simplified onboarding and checkout 

A user-friendly onboarding means effortless app navigation. The goal is to make both processes quick and frictionless by only requesting necessary information, such as an email, delivery address, and payment options. Offering a guest checkout option is especially useful for first-time users, removing the barrier of mandatory account creation and encouraging immediate completion.

Customers appreciate having various payment options, including credit cards, digital wallets like Apple Pay and even Buy-Now-Pay-Later services. Additionally, integrating local payment methods, such as PayPal, builds trust and reduces hesitancy during checkout. 

Customer reviews: building trust through genuine feedback 

Customer reviews are the modern equivalent of word-of-mouth, influencing the decisions of potential buyers. Displaying positive reviews and testimonials prominently on your platform acts as social proof, encouraging new customers to trust your brand based on the experiences of others.

However, negative reviews shouldn’t be ignored. Addressing them with transparency and professionalism not only resolves customer concerns but also showcases your commitment to improving service quality.

Beyond managing feedback, user-generated content (UGC) like customer-shared photos and videos brings a layer of authenticity to your brand. Additionally, tapping into popular review platforms like Yelp, Google Reviews, and local directories boosts your online visibility and credibility, ensuring your business stands out in the crowded digital landscape.

Building a user-centric online food ordering experiences requires thoughtful planning, design thinking, feature-rich development, and seamless integration. Our design practice also places a strong emphasis on emotional design, creating digital experiences that resonate deeply with users, evoking feelings of joy, trust, and excitement. These human-centric emotional pillars, along with empathy, form the foundation of our product design approach.

At Robosoft, we have gained insights into consumer behaviour in online food ordering after extensive work in the category including a complete UI/UX revamp of McDonald’s web & app (which resulted in 103% increase in orders via the mobile platform), a unique website for ARK Restaurants allowing for reservations for 22 of their outlets across the US and a last-mile delivery platform for food delivery brands in the Middle East, among others.

We are an Experience Engineering company offering a full suite of services in digital product design & development.  We are recognized as a Top Product Design Company, and a Top User Experience Company, and are committed to helping you create a delightful QSR digital platform that enhances that builds customer engagement, loyalty and your bottom line. Delicious, isn’t it?

In today’s fast-paced world, innovation isn’t just a business goal; it’s a necessity. Producing new products, improving existing ones, and creating solutions for future needs make Digital Transformation a requirement in every industry.

What is Digital Transformation?

At Robosoft Technologies, we define digital transformation as “the incorporation and unification of digital technologies into all areas of a business resulting in positive changes in how businesses operate and deliver value.”

We know, we know. That’s a mouthful. But, more importantly, it’s an informative reminder that our current consumer culture demands that businesses constantly challenge the status quo. As Howard King, head of data and analytics at Rufus Leonard, wrote in an article for The Guardian, “Businesses don’t transform by choice. Why would they want that? It is expensive and risky! They transform because they have no alternative.”

Because we understand the necessities and risks surrounding Digital Transformation, we work with our clients to implement change based on the principles of a holistic problem-solving framework — Design Thinking.

What is Design Thinking?

Design Thinking is a creative but practical method for problem-solving that has evolved from fields as varied as engineering, architecture, and business. It helps companies understand the hidden loopholes, not to mention the potholes they have to confront when finding the best answer to a problem. Design Thinking can also measure a project’s success or lack thereof. Within the Design Thinking framework, Robosoft and our clients can challenge the scope of our thought processes and ability to push their boundaries. That’s why Design Thinking is the foundation of our Digital Transformation strategies.

Three significant elements of Design Thinking: Empathy, Iterativeness, and Collaboration.

Although there are several renditions of Design Thinking, we’ve found that Empathy, Iterativeness, and Collaboration seem common to all. Many companies, realizing how important design advances are to profitability, are beginning to invest in Design Thinking initiatives. So, we are now offering our clients a cutting-edge innovation focused on creating new digital products. It’s called RAPID – an acronym for Robosoft Accelerator for Product Innovation in Digital.

Here’s How an Accelerator for Digital Product Innovation Helps Business

Virtually every product category is witnessing a constant and continuous need to keep up with business, technology, and user trends. If that weren’t challenging enough, new features and products could be copied or improved upon by the competition. So, speed is of the essence, along with user-centricity. And the Robosoft Accelerator for Product Innovation in Digital (RAPID) fills this need.

RAPID can accelerate innovation in all three stages of a product’s life cycle: Ideation, Development, and Continuous Improvement.

How RAPID Works in Just Eight Weeks

1. Commencement Phase-

In the Commencement Phase, we lay down the groundwork for the project. This covers initial planning and a discovery process with select business stakeholders that includes:

• agreeing on the product’s intent and vision.
• conducting empathy-based user research
• defining key challenges and pain points
• conducting a competitive analysis and benchmarking

2. Co-creation Phase-

In the Co-creation Phase, the longest part of the process, immersive workshops are held for key business stakeholders, and team members agree to follow a common goal. Together, the team validates requirement features and scope.

3. Consolidation Phase-

In the Consolidation Phase, the team considers UX/UI Design Prototypes. Bringing all of the project’s elements together, they refine them and create a final proposal for the project’s design and development.

Five More Reasons RAPID Makes Business Sense

• It Reduces Risk: Through iterative testing and prototyping, RAPID helps to reduce the risk of investing resources in products or services that may not meet customer needs.
• It Increases Efficiency: Using an iterative Design Thinking process; organizations can identify and address potential issues early on, reducing the need for costly revisions later.
• It Ensures Stakeholder Engagement and Buy-in: By involving stakeholders in the Design Thinking process, companies can better see the complete product development process. It helps all stakeholders to stay on the same page.
• It Enhances Customer Satisfaction: Design Thinking puts the customer at the center of the process, ensuring their needs and preferences are understood and met. This leads to more satisfied customers and higher customer loyalty.
• It offers a Competitive Advantage: Creative problem-solving helps organizations identify new and innovative solutions. When combined with an understanding of user expectations, creative problem-solving provides a competitive advantage to companies by delivering more relevant and compelling products and services.

Strategizing with Design Thinking Greatly Improves Corporate Performance

According to Fortune, businesses incorporating Design Thinking into their corporate strategy may outperform industry rivals by as much as 228%. But to continue this success, cognitive science and user experience expert Don Norman suggests that companies must evolve away from designs that center only on single users to those that focus on solving the community’s needs. Ultimately, this human-centered design will lead to corporate goals that solve global problems while satisfying individuals. And, in this fast-paced digital world, RAPID can lead the way in creating more satisfied customers and profitable companies.

Contrary to popular belief, humans aren’t inherently rational when making decisions. Our buying decisions stem from the subconscious mind 95% of the time. The rational mind is good at justifying what the emotional mind has already decided.

A good brand understands this well and builds digital products and experiences that tap into the emotional and irrational side of the users’ brains. They apply design principles and theories of psychology to understand what resonates with users and create digital platforms and apps around it.

To build a successful digital product, you can start by understanding and applying the following design theories and frameworks.

1. RWW Framework: The real-win-worth it (RWW) framework is a go/no-go screening method that helps you eliminate bias from the decision-making process and maintain objectivity. Ask yourself questions such as:

•  Is it real? Is there a market opportunity for my product? Is it feasible to build it?
•  Will it win? Is there an opportunity for the product in the market? Can it help my brand gain and sustain a competitive advantage?
•  Is it worth the effort? Is the idea worth implementing? Will it help me achieve my business goals or open doors for future opportunities?

2. Tim Brown’s Design Thinking: Tim Brown defines design thinking as a set of cognitive, strategic and practical processes that help you develop design concepts. The five components include:

• Empathizing with the users and understanding their challenges.
•  Defining the core issue that they face while using your product.
•  Ideating potential solutions to solve the problem.
•  Building a prototype of the solution to check if it can address the user’s problem and work on the product if it’s successful.
•  Evaluate the outcome of the solution by defining the metrics and measuring them regularly.

3. Don Norman’s Three Levels Of Design Appeal: Great products always make users feel things. They trigger an emotional response and spur behavioral changes based on those responses. Don Norman calls it the three levels of design appeal in his book Emotional Design. The three levels are:

•  Visceral: Evoke the proverbial love at first sight response within your users by targeting their old brains with your product design.
• Behavioral: Build an immersive experience that helps users feel empowered and derive value. They should feel happy or productive after using the product.
• Reflective: Target the logical side of the human brain by making the users feel proud of using the product and enabling them to share their experiences with others.

You can implement these principles by:

#1. Demonstrating trustworthiness. Most users (66%) revealed that they would purchase a product because of positive reviews. Request users to rate and review your products and publish them on all channels. Offer them freebies or discounts for their unbiased reviews. Use pictures of real people endorsing the product to build trust. An A/B testing experiment by a web company revealed that using real, happy people’s pictures on a landing page increased sign-ups by 102.5%.

#2. Facilitating snap decision-making. Facilitate quick decision-making on your digital platform or app. One in five users abandons their purchases due to an inconvenient checkout process. But one-click checkout options, for instance, can allow users to save their address and payment methods as a default option to accelerate the checkout process. Find out what stops your users from completing the desired action and eliminate those deterrents to create a seamless experience.

#3. Addressing by name. The bystander effect theory states that if one person sees someone in distress, they are likely to help them 70% of the time. If multiple people see distress, that number would be around 40%. Eliminate the bystander effect by addressing the user by name. This will elicit their response faster. You can do it through personalization. Research shows that 60% of people want personalized offers in real time.

#4. Using the power of commitment. Social validation compels users to complete a task. Allow users to make their private commitment public. If the user is participating in a 30-day fitness challenge, for example, give them an option to share their progress or completion badge on social media platforms. The response from friends and followers will boost engagement.

#5. Talking to the reptilian brain. Humans have three regions in the brain: the reptilian brain, the emotional brain and the rational brain. The reptilian brain works on instincts and controls the behavior for survival. Talk directly to the reptilian brain to improve conversions. Tap into emotions such as fear and greed through images and text. Center the experience around the user, such as their challenges and victories, through stories and powerful words like trust, safety and love that imply an emotional connection.

#6. Performing usability testing. Always perform usability testing to understand the interaction between your users and the product. Empathize with their challenges to build a better human-centric product. You can conduct various usability tests, such as the thinking aloud test, in which you ask the participants to express what they feel about the product as they use it to get firsthand, undiluted responses. You can also use eye-tracking technology to track participants’ eye movements. This allows you to record areas where the eye movement stops or moves faster. Observe and collect empirical data such as how long it takes for users to complete the desired action to identify the possible bottlenecks and fix them.

Ad guru Bill Bernbach said, “Advertising is fundamentally persuasion, and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art.” His words still hold true in today’s digital era. New technologies and platforms have come, and the metrics to measure effectiveness have changed. But selling is still about how we persuade and sell to humans centered around users’ experiences.

As Don Norman and Jakob Nielsen of the Nielsen Norman Group put it, “True user experience goes far beyond giving users what they say they want or providing checklist features.” So, understanding human psychology and appealing to their emotions is key even in the digital era.

This article was originally published in Forbes Technology Council.

Every day, technology makes it easier, faster, and more affordable for businesses and individuals to communicate online with each other. Today more and more of this progress has been centered on over-the-top (OTT) brands. Through OTT, movie buffs can see classic and newly released films virtually anywhere and anytime. Sports fans throughout the world can attend exclusive athletic events that are happening thousands of miles away. And professional broadcasters, as well as the major networks, can reach wider audiences than ever before via mobile phones, digital media players, personal computers, and smart TVs.

But ensuring that users get the best experience from this technology demands design and development that meets certain criteria. Meeting these standards helps broadcasters retain and build the loyalty of their customer base, which is crucial to the success of any business. Here are some suggestions to help broadcasters design and develop OTT apps that provide the best viewing experience for users now and in the future.

Three Areas to Focus on While Building Your OTT App

1. The quality of the playback experience

Sounds obvious, right? It’s certainly the aim of such OTT leaders as Discovery+, Netflix, and Prime. Here are four elements that ensure a positive playback experience:

• Top video resolution

– Whatever device is being used, from Android to a large-screen smart TV, to Roku, the picture should be clear, sharp, and provide the ultimate viewing experience. To ensure that this is the case make sure the content supports various options including 4K, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos.

• Little or no buffering

– Whether a viewer wants to watch a rerun of a favorite classic TV episode or a new video, they hate waiting for the show to start. That wait is called buffering and is due to pre-loading segments of data when streaming video content. Various things impact the length of time it takes to upload data, but using a good capacity CDN/Server helps to speed things up, preventing delays and user dissatisfaction.

• A way to fix errors

– Stuff happens. And when there’s a problem with OTT, the faster it’s fixed the happier your audience – and you – will be. So, plan ahead. Engage a service like Video Analytics to monitor and correct errors as soon as possible.

• Basic UI

– Consider the example of Amazon Prime. Without using anything more complex than a basic UI, it offers access to tons of content and an excellent video-watching experience for users all over the world.

2. Convenient content discovery

Making it quick and easy for users to find relevant content across devices and platforms is how companies like Netflix, Prime, and Discovery have become industry leaders. The secret is to use technologies like AI/ML to build robust recommendation engines based on a viewer’s usage history.

3. The right framework

There are two different options to choose from when it comes to building your OTT app framework The first is having your developers rewrite and redesign the app’s functionality in the native development language.

Here’s a brief description of three native frameworks we recommend:

• Android Mobile & TV

– This makes use of the same framework for both TV and mobile devices using the same logic but a different UI layer that adapts to the TV experience with minimal effort. For example, Kotlin with MVVM architecture and ExoPlayer for playback.

• IOS and Apple TV

– This app also uses the same business logic for Android and TV but with a different UI layer for TV. Using Swift programing language with AVPlayer for playback is an example.

• Web, LG TV, Samsung TV, and other web OS-based TV and STBs

– This is a web application for all of these devices.

There’s no question that using the native approach to building an OTT app produces the best performance when it comes to memory and CPU optimizations. But a native framework demands a special team to build and maintain the app and can be expensive.

Fortunately, technologies such as Flutter and React-Native enable a more cost-effective approach to the development of cross-platform OTT apps. With a shared codebase and a hybrid framework, these apps work well on all devices like Android, iOS, TV, Web, and set-top box (STB). And by eliminating the separate codebases demanded by a native approach, they can be built and maintained by a single team.

With a Cross-platform OTT App You Can Still Get All of These Benefits

Expanded user reach

• Since different devices and operating systems can be served with the same app, OTT brands enjoy a wider audience regardless of how users view them. Users are able to tune in to their favorite shows, films, digital channels, and live broadcasts 24/7 on various devices no matter where they are.

Consistency of viewer experience

• One of the most attractive features of OTT apps is that they ensure a high-quality viewer experience on a wide range of digital devices and operating systems. Even if the user switches between devices with different screen sizes that are located miles away from each other, the OTT app ensures that the interface and experience remain the same.

Faster app development

• When cross-platform apps are built using a hybrid approach, they take less time to develop, maintain, and upgrade. Tools such as Flutter and React-Native provide faster development cycles because developers can “code once and deploy everywhere.” In addition, any updates are synced automatically for all platforms and devices.

Affordability

• Since a hybrid approach allows a single OTT team to take care of everything, there is no need to hire different teams for developing and maintaining different frameworks. This saves money throughout the design and development and for the entire life cycle of the hybrid OTT brand.

The choice is yours. But whether you build a native or almost-native app with just a single code base for most platforms, you’ll find that OTT apps are a worthwhile investment in the future success of your business. Here are some key reasons why:

Live streaming

• Live streaming allows viewers a chance to see a performance, an athletic contest, or a political event as it’s actually happening. That’s no doubt why live stream holds the attention of users ten to twenty times longer than pre-recorded videos. In the first quarter of 2021, live streaming accounted for twenty-four percent of global OTT viewing.
• Of course, crafting a live-streaming experience demands its own approach to design and development including these recommended best practices. But adding a feature to broadcast live content on your OTT app may be worth it. For example, live streaming a famous cricket event, Indian Premier League (IPL) helped Disney + Hotstar add seven million new subscribers to their subscriber base.

A library of localized content

• Users love good content even if they don’t speak the language of the country where it comes from. Multi-lingual subtitles and audio descriptions make it easy for users around the world to consume more localized content. For example, ninety-five percent of the users watching Squid Games on Netflix were living outside Korea.
• You too can include localized content on your platform to attract new users from all over the globe. Just add subtitles and audio descriptions in a number of different languages. You could also experiment with different genres, themes, and creative styles, which would not only attract new viewers but enhance the experience of your current subscribers.

Built for connected TV

• Every year more and more viewers are switching from traditional cable networks to connected TV. Currently, forty-four percent of households have dropped cable altogether while a full eighty-two percent of viewers are watching connected television on a regular basis. Building an OTT app for this market is clearly a worthwhile investment in your business’s future.

Access to multiple channels on different devices

• Continuity is king when it comes to developing OTT apps. The content should automatically be synchronized across different platforms and devices to prevent friction in the viewing experience. Users can switch from one device to another and still access different channels with just a single sign-on.
• You can create 4K videos that can be streamed on Roku devices, Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV, and some web-based smart TV platforms such as Samsung’s Tizen and WebOS. Just make sure to pay attention to the screen size and other functionalities while building the app. Here’s what we did for Magnolia Network, USA.

You Also Have a Choice of Subscription Models

OTT brands can choose from several different revenue models. Here’s a description of each:

• Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) gives users access to the entire content library for a subscription fee.
• Advertising Video On Demand (AVOD) allows users to access free content in exchange for viewing ads.
• Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) is a no-cost, high-quality alternative to cable TV. Instead of the library of user-chosen content available 24/7 on AVOD, it has linear channels that deliver scheduled programming to a mass audience on a one-to-many basis.
• Transactional Video On Demand (TVOD) also called pay-per-view, works well for live streaming of special events such as sports or worldwide premier of popular movies.

You can experiment with these different revenue strategies to find out which one works best for you. For example, you might use a combination of AVOD and SVOD to serve free content and upgrade the user to premium, gated content. You can also include exclusive live-stream content and charge on a per-view basis. The flexibility in revenue models gives users the choice to view the content as they desire while providing a revenue stream for you.

Other features that may be used to differentiate your brand are Chromecast (casting content from mobile to TV), offline download for mobile apps, mini-player, Picture in Picture (PIP), and DRM. You might also consider playback features like audio track selection, quality selection, and playback speed control.

A Final Note — Retention Is the New Growth Mantra

Typically, OTT players like Netflix lose almost one percent of their subscribers on a monthly basis. In the first quarter of 2021, this represented a loss of 200,000 subscribers for Netflix and the revenue they produced. That’s why customer retention is as essential to broadcaster success as acquisition.

You can boost retention by applying these data-driven design-thinking principles as well as:

• Adding features that make your OTT app easier to use.
• Creating a seamless experience across all devices and platforms.
• Testing new and innovative designs to meet the changing needs of the users.
• Providing a positive reinforcement or reward to the user for using the app.
• Building a friction-free onboarding process.
• Personalizing recommendations based on users’ behavior patterns and preferences.
• Listening to the user to make them feel valued.

Ultimately, acquisition and retention come down to following one universal principle – “keep the customer happy.” And designing and developing a cross-platform OTT app is a step in the right direction for today and tomorrow.