Barista Vision

Streamlining Barista Training with AI and Simulated Practice

01. OVERVIEW

Curious about café operations, I jumped into a barista role
This case study explores how my hands-on experience as a Starbucks barista led to the creation of a smarter training solution. By blending real-world pain points with design thinking, I created an AI-powered training app that truly meets the needs of new baristas.

Barista Turned Builder
I took on the role of UX researcher, designer, and storyteller. By working on the café floor, I uncovered real issues, ran interviews, tested ideas with peers, and crafted a solution grounded in empathy and usability.

Learning Alone, Under Pressure

New baristas are often overwhelmed with orders, drink customizations, and point-of-sale systems—all while trying to deliver great customer service. I personally experienced this chaos and realized: the current training system wasn’t enough.

The Discovery Sprint Process

Having worked as a barista myself, I experienced many of the training challenges firsthand, trying to learn quickly in a fast-paced environment with little guidance. To deepen my understanding and avoid relying solely on my perspective, I spent four weeks conducting user research with current Starbucks baristas. I interviewed three baristas and surveyed twenty others to explore their onboarding experiences, emotional struggles, and unmet needs. As patterns and insights emerged, I synthesized the findings using an Affinity Diagram and a 2x2 Prioritization Matrix. This led to the definition of long-term user goals, supporting sprint questions, and key opportunity areas—laying a strong foundation for a truly user-centered solution.

The Voice of Baristas

Through a survey of 20 baristas and 3 in-depth interviews, I discovered that the majority struggled with time constraints, inconsistent training quality, and a lack of hands-on practice. Over 85% felt overwhelmed during onboarding, and more than 70% said they didn’t feel fully prepared when starting on the floor. These findings highlighted the need for a more flexible, immersive, and consistent training solution.

📊 Key Findings from the Survey:

• 85% of respondents said they felt overwhelmed during the first week of training.

• 75% mentioned that they didn’t have enough time to practice during work hours.

• 65% said they had to memorize too much information.

• 70% reported that training quality varied depending on the store or trainer.

💬 Interview Insights:

• "I was expected to make drinks while learning, which made me feel rushed and anxious."

• "There was no time to ask questions—I had to learn by watching others."

• "Even after training, I didn’t feel ready for the actual pace of the store."

Baristas wanted something hands-on, visual, and repeatable. Supervisors needed support in training without sacrificing operational flow. Everyone agreed: a better tool could make the first month less stressful and more empowering.

Meet Jane — A Barista Finding Her Way

Jane is a passionate student stepping into the café world for the first time. She wants to do well, but the fast pace, endless drink recipes, and fear of making mistakes often make her anxious. All she needs is a little guidance, a safe space to practice, and the confidence to grow.

I brainstormed multiple solution directions based on user pain points, such as time constraints, lack of practice, and confidence issues.
These ideas were translated into early sketches, focusing on AR simulations, real-time feedback, and gamified learning systems.

Interview Synthesis