Angus McIndoe wants to modernize his popular restaurant by adapting it more closely to the preferences of his repeat customers. Keeping track of his customers’ likes and dislikes. Information such as where they like to sit, what they like to eat, when they normally arrive at the restaurant are all items of interest to him, because he believes that in this way he can better serve his customers. Angus has asked you to develop a system for him that will help make his customers happy while increasing his business. You have heard what Angus had to say about his customers. There are certainly more preferences that he can keep track of. Develop a problem definition for Angus, similar to one developed for Catherine’s Catering in this chapter.

What will be an ideal response?

The problem definition for Angus is:

Problem Definition

There is currently no method for keeping track of customers and their preferences at the restaurant.

Issues

1. There is no means of keeping track of what customers like to eat.
2. There is no way to keep track of seating preferences of customers.
3. There is no method to provide metrics on when a customer frequents the restaurant.

Objectives

1. Provide a method for wait staff to suggest menu items and specials based on previous customer preferences. Weight = 10
2. Provide a means of displaying seating preferences when a customer arrives at the restaurant. Weight = 9
3. Create a method to provide historical information on customer arrival times. Weight = 7

Requirements

1. Customer data must be kept private.
2. The system must be secure.

Constraints

1. The development cost must not exceed $5,000.