Link to the prototype

It is a prototype for just a single platform (Android) given that both teams will be working on either flutter(cross-platform) or kotlin (native) and will be using the Material Design system as a base. This decision was approved by our instructor Vivian.

Value proposal

RestaU looks to provide an innovative solution to a problem that persists due to lacking alternatives. Nowadays, when potential users want to search for new restaurants, they have to rely on generic apps that aren't focused on the problem at hand, leaving a lot to be desired. Popular map applications try to solve the restaurant problem, but end up displaying only a selection of the possibilities, along with unreliable and biased reviews. These reviews have no guarantee they come from a real person and could be easily manipulated by businesses to try to boost sales. Another way to pick a restaurant is to rely on personal recomendations, coming from friends or family, who don't necessarily have the same tastes as the one asking. In the end, a user would prefer to go to a restaurant they already know and like, than to walk around and evaluate each restaurant in order to try something new. All these alternatives take time, leave the user unsatisfied or uncomfortable, get the user lost, and cause unnecessary effort and stress.

We seek to help Uniandes area’s students and staff, so they can avoid having to go through a troubling, time-wasting process to find restaurant that satisfies their specific tastes and preferences. The enormous gastronomic offer around campus, as well as the unfamiliarity of the area for new students, are factors that could add to the strain, as well as not having enough reliable or recent information about restaurants to make an informed decision. We understand that users also have different priorities when it comes to eating out, so we'll allow them to filter by budget, quality, location, menu, or schedule. This will also let users seeking dietary variety to accurately search for new restaurants, with a diminishing risk of disappointment.

Our solution solves all these problems, by providing a unified source of up-to-date information, where users will be able to check relevant details and choose a restaurant based on their personal priorities. The information available will include average pricing, as well as the menu and the restaurant's location with instructions on how to get there. Users will be able to filter by the type of food, budget, diet restrictions, sitting arrangements, mode (pick-up or in site consume), if currently open, among others, to find the restaurant that best fits their needs. Additionally, the app will allow users to get a random restaurant from their "liked" list, avoiding the issue of choosing as a whole. All these benefits will be obtained directly through the app, without having to resort to unreliable, biased information. The solution will be also helping new restaurants grow by highlighting them, and inviting users to introduce variety to their meals.