PRIMARY RESEARCH
Stakeholder Interviews
Interviews with café professionals provided valuable real-world insight into workflow challenges, organisation, multitasking and cognitive load. These findings helped shape the project’s understanding of user needs and informed the direction of concept development.
Jose, Head Barista at Pret a Manger
Interview 1
The interview highlighted a range of workplace design issues that affect comfort, safety, and independence for neurodivergent employees. The main concerns related to storage, lighting, workspace layout, utensils, and coffee-making equipment. These barriers can make everyday tasks more difficult, increase reliance on others, and reduce efficiency at work.
Storage and organisation
- There are difficulties with storage, especially when items are not easy to reach or are not clearly assigned to specific places.
- Jose would prefer more dedicated storage containers and bowls for portioning and meal preparation.
- Shorter staff may struggle to reach higher shelves, and items can fall when stored in awkward or unstable positions.
- Better-defined storage systems could reduce confusion, improve speed, and support more independent working.
Utensils and cleaning
- Utensils such as tongs are cleaned too frequently or shared in ways that create inconvenience.
- A more practical solution would be to have dedicated tongs or task-specific utensils for repeated use.
- This would reduce disruption and make daily routines more efficient.
Lighting and atmosphere
- The lighting is too harsh and can hurt the eyes.
- Fluorescent lighting is a particular problem.
- The kitchen’s silver-and-white colour palette feels cold and industrial, and warmer colours could make the environment feel calmer and more comfortable.
Worktop and bench design
- The kitchen benches are seen as too large and not well matched to the users.
- The current metal tables waste space and create safety issues because people run into each other more easily.
- Adjustable-height tables were mentioned as a useful improvement, especially for people of different heights.
- The current tables are also described as primitive and oversized, suggesting they do not support efficient kitchen workflow.
Coffee-making jugs
- Jose also raised concerns about the jugs used for making coffees.
- They are difficult to use because of limescale build-up, which affects cleanliness and performance.
- The stainless-steel handle can become slippery, causing hands to slip and leading to spillages.
- The jugs are not seen as industry standard, as Pret uses 1-litre jugs, while the typical standard is 500–600 ml.
- The spout is wide and rounded, which makes pouring less precise, increases waste, and creates a safety issue.
- The handle can also become hot or cold, which may be especially difficult for neurodivergent people with thermal sensitivity.
- Jose said spillages and slips are common, and that using the jug to steam liquids is very difficult.
User needs list
- A safer and more reliable way to store and access tools and ingredients.
- Dedicated containers and utensils to reduce confusion, sharing, and repeated cleaning.
- Better lighting and a warmer visual environment that reduces sensory discomfort.
- Work surfaces that are correctly sized, stable, and suitable for users of different heights.
- Coffee-making tools that reduce spillages, improve grip, and are easier to control.
- Equipment that does not create extra difficulty for people with sensory, thermal, or motor sensitivities.
- A workspace that supports independence rather than making people ask for help repeatedly.
Design Opportunities
The interview suggests several strong design directions for improving the Pret workspace. The most promising opportunities are better storage systems, clearer task-specific utensils, improved lighting, more suitable workbench dimensions, and safer coffee-making equipment.
Jose’s comments about the coffee jugs point to a very specific design problem: the current jug shape, handle, and capacity may not support safe, accurate, and comfortable use. A redesign could reduce spillages, improve grip, and better match industry expectations while also supporting users with sensory or thermal sensitivities.
Jose’s interview suggests that the main issue is not one single object, but a combination of poorly adapted tools and environments that reduce comfort, efficiency, and independence. The current kitchen setup appears to assume a standard user, when in reality staff have different physical heights, sensory needs, and levels of comfort with heat, grip, clutter, and workflow.
Problem statement: Neurodivergent staff at Pret face avoidable barriers in the kitchen because storage, lighting, work surfaces, and coffee-making tools are designed around generic workplace standards rather than diverse sensory and physical needs. This can lead to spillages, wasted product, discomfort, and reduced independence at work.
User Needs List
From the interview, the main user needs are:
- A safer and more reliable way to store and access tools and ingredients.
- Dedicated containers and utensils to reduce confusion, sharing, and repeated cleaning.
- Better lighting and a warmer visual environment that reduces sensory discomfort.
- Work surfaces that are correctly sized, stable, and suitable for users of different heights.
- Coffee-making tools that reduce spillages, improve grip, and are easier to control.
- Equipment that does not create extra difficulty for people with sensory, thermal, or motor sensitivities.
- A workspace that supports independence rather than making people ask for help repeatedly.
Thomas - Co-Founder of an early-stages cold brew on tap startup in London (Sibling Founded Business)
Interview 2
The interview focused on the operational design of a cold brew on tap system used in a small startup café environment. The system is designed to simplify customer-facing coffee preparation by using a tap-based dispensing method, similar to a beer tap. This will allow drinks to be served faster with minimal manual preparation.
While the front-of- house coffee making process is intentionally simple, the interview revealed that most complexity exists in the system setup, maintenance, and preparation behind the counter. These insights are relevant for understanding workflow, training needs, and opportunities to reduce cognitive load in operational tasks.
Key Points:
- Simplified customer facing coffee preparation - The coffee dispensing process is very straightforward due to the on-tap system, where staff simply pull a tap to serve cold brew in a similar way to beer dispenser.
- Streamlined Approach - This method reduces the number of actions required during customer service and is designed to speed up service while minimising decision-making during busy periods.
- Flavour Additions - Syrups and flavour additions are added afterwards, but this remains simple and repetitive, when having organised station.
Logistic Workflow and Stock monitoring
- System Operates - Logistic workflow where efficiency depends on managing supply and replacing pre-filled kegs rather than carrying out any on-site preparation or brewing process.
- Stock Monitoring - Ensuring kegs are tracked accurately and replaced on time to avoid interruptions in services.
Lighting and atmosphere
- The lighting is too harsh and can hurt the eyes.
- Fluorescent lighting is a particular problem.
- The kitchen’s silver-and-white colour palette feels cold and industrial, and warmer colours could make the environment feel calmer and more comfortable.
Maintenance and Cleaning Workload
- Cleaning Process - Tap lines and storage equipment is required daily or regular taks and is more time-consuming than the actual coffee serving process. If not done correctly, it can affect taste and system performance, with a strong reliance on staff remembering the correct cleaning sequence.
Training and Learning Process
- Staff Training - While the tap system allows new staff to learn drinks serving quickly, understanding the full backend system (cleaning, setup, and maintenance) takes significantly longer.
Operational Challenges
- Operation - If most errors will occur in backend preparation rather than customer-facing service.
User Errors and Workflow Pressure
- Errors - Potential errors will occur during preparation rather than drink service, especially when staff is under busy conditions, due to forgetting key cleaning or setup steps. Although serving is simple, backend complexity can still affect product quality even when the front-end process appears straightforward.
Efficiency and System Goals
- System - Due to the nature on-tap system, the product prioritises speed and consistency at the point of sale, requiring minimal customer interaction. Efficiency depends on a well-organised workflow, which ensures clear and consistent service.
Design Opportunities
The interview highlight a key design insight: tasks simplicity at the point of use does not remove underlying system complexity.
While tap-based coffee dispensing process is intuitive and low-effort, the supporting tasks (cleaning, setup, and maintenance) could potentially create cognitive load and potential for error. This creates opportunities for design improvement such as:
- Clearer step-by-step backend workflows
- Simplified cleaning procedures
- better visual indicators for system readiness
- Reduced reliance on memory for maintenance tasks
- Structured training system for repeatable processes
From a neurodivergent design perspective, the main issue is not the coffee serving tasks itself, but the multi-step, memory-dependant nature of system upkeep, which can increase cognitive load and reduce independence.
User Needs List
From the interview, the main user needs are:
- A simple and structured system for cleaning and maintaining the tap setup
- Reduced reliance on memory for multi-step preparation taks
- Clear visual or physical indicators showing system status (ready, needs cleaning, etc.)
- More consistent and standard training for backend processes
- Support for fast-paced environments without increasing cognitive load
- A more 'guided' workflow for maintenance rather than informal learning
After diving deep lets go back to the research!
Research & Discovery
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