Pizza Hut
Call center POS
End-to-end redesign of the two legacy Pizza Hut call centers’ POS tools into one unified web-based tool with a modern, intuitive interface.
Role
Senior UX Designer II
Responsibilities
Design strategy
UX, UI, design system
Research and testing
Defined relevant use cases
Allocated work to Jr Designer
Oversaw delivery and timelines
Collaborators
UX Research
Product
Engineering
Operations
Password required.
Problem
Pizza Hut’s call centers were operating on two separate, decades-old POS systems with outdated GUIs and limited flexibility. While kudos should be given to the dev teams that made them work for this long, the limitations made it difficult to support evolving business goals and user needs.
These tools were also very hard to learn. In an environment with constant staff turnover, supervisors spent significant time helping new employees navigate the system rather than focusing on customers.
The business needed a platform that could evolve — one that could support new menu items and features without major technical overhauls
Goals
Move all call centers onto a single, web-based POS.
Create a modern, intuitive tool so training can focus on learning the products instead of the tool.
Make the call center an extension of the in-store team by enabling two-way visibility and order management
Research & synthesis
Observation & research
UX and Product teams set out to better understand the call center experience. The goal of the research was to identify pain points, needs, and what is working well today. Employees at multiple call centers were interviewed and observed over several days, including new and experienced agents, supervisors and managers.
We saw how deeply users relied on memorization, workarounds, and team collaboration to overcome system limitations.
I then performed heuristic evaluations of both existing tools, TMS and Panda, and compared the POS tools of other QSRs like KFC, Taco Bell, McDonalds, Chick-fila, etc.
Synthesizing the data
We collected data through observations, user feedback and product team research. The UX team then organized and categorized the data in order to identify meaningful themes and categories.
One method was affinity mapping. Data went onto sticky notes to create clusters of related information. Sticky notes were then grouped and regrouped to refine categories and gain insights.
The most significant insights were the foundation for our design principles.
Design principles
Themes, users & journeys
Themes
During synthesis, we organized our research insights into key themes and connected them back to Pizza Hut’s broader brand principles. This ensured our design direction not only addressed user needs but also reflected the brand’s commitment to consistency, hospitality, and speed across every customer and employee touchpoint.
Guidance & clarity
Food first • Build Trust
Integrate product details, easy to review
Easy to learn systems for new members
Efficiency & accuracy
Modernize hospitality • Simplify
Remove interruptions & barriers to ordering
Show the right information at the right time
Pricing transparency
Intuitive order taking
Modernize hospitality • Food first
Order taking flow matches customer’s mental model
Easier to find products and deals
Inclusion & integration
Modern hospitality • Celebrate
Flexible design to meet different user needs
Share data across sytems for a seamless and more personalized experience for the customer
Modern & clean UI
Simplify • Celebrate
Dashboard with metrics for wins-at-a-glance
Modern, responsive design
User types
We identified 3 user types we needed design for – call center agents and supervisors and in-store team members. The long-term plan was to create call center first and then modify as needed to use in-store as well, so all orders were going thru one consistent tool.
agent
Core tasks
- Take calls / orders
- Edit orders
- Handles some complaints
Frustrations
- Multiple sources for reference info
- Learning about products / system is hard
Job made easier by
- Having more shortcuts for repetitive tasks
supervisor
Core tasks
- Train new agents
- Monitor customer calls
- Responsible for call center performance
Frustrations
- Training is hard and turnover is high
Job made easier by
- Access to metrics and performance within the tool
- Easier onboarding for new agents
- Dashboards with easy-to-scan metrics
In-store team
Core tasks
- Order fulfillment
- Make order
- Take order
Frustrations
- Store is noisy
- Order taking while juggling other tasks is hard
Job made easier by
- Simplify the order taking experience for easier multi-tasking
- Consider mobile platform to allow easier mobility
Old POS – A disjointed user journey
New POS – A guided user journey
Design principles in action – before & after
Design
Reimagining the flow of conversation and ordering
With a clear picture of our users and their challenges, we began turning insights into design. Our process was fast and iterative — exploring ideas in Figma, testing with real agents, and refining based on what we learned.
From rigid to natural
In the old tools, agents had to force customers through flows that didn’t match how people actually ordered. If they needed to look something up, customers were often put on hold while agents checked external resources or asked supervisors for help. The friction made ordering feel complicated and awkward for both sides.
Make it easy to tell us what you’re craving
- Customers think they’ve called their local store — make localization fast and easy to get the conversation flowing.
- Let customers describe what they want naturally — agents should be able to keep up.
- Support quick decisions and reduce cognitive load.
- Surface the right information at the right time.
- Follow the customer’s mental model of ordering.
- Guide agents toward missing info or relevant upsells.
- Confirm selections and pricing at a glance.
- Easy money — fast and accurate checkout.
The system should
adapt to the conversation,
not the other way around.
Simplifying the flow
I mapped the end-to-end order journey to identify redundancies, move nonessential steps to the end of the flow, and design streamlined paths for key tasks like customer lookup, store localization, 1-click products, pizza and deal building, and checkout.
Wireframes explored different layouts, navigation patterns, and task hierarchies to support both new and experienced agents.
Exploring early concepts
Before moving into detailed design, I explored multiple concepts and interaction models to streamline order taking and reduce cognitive load. Sharing these early explorations helped align the teams, confirm key features and MVP goals, and ensure everyone was moving toward the same vision.
(Below: early concept explorations, comparing old to new.)
Testing early and often
We prototyped quickly and tested with call center agents and supervisors. Each round helped us fine-tune flows to match real-world call patterns and confirm MVP priorities. Those learnings also shaped how we structured future enhancements, setting the foundation for continuous improvement beyond the initial launch.
Styles and components
As the design evolved, we refined the system’s visual hierarchy, established reusable components, and built a cohesive design system that balanced Pizza Hut’s brand personality with enterprise usability.
Designs & prototypes
For confidentiality reasons, I cannot show the final designs publicly.
Please use the form below to request the password to the end-to-end prototype and more design details.
