Starbucks Tyler Avenue Initiative: UX Strategy & Operational Analysis.
Role: UX Design, Visual & Data Design
Team: Marcus Moya (Store Manager)
Timeline: 03/11/2026 - Present
Project Overview.
The Tyler Avenue Starbucks location was experiencing operational inefficiencies, fragmented financial visibility, and infrastructure challenges affecting both employee satisfaction and store performance.
Working directly with the store manager, I conducted a UX strategy engagement by combining firsthand observation, stakeholder interviews, and data analysis to identify pain points and develop a set of human-centered operational recommendations.
The Challenge.
Tyler Avenue was hindered by:
Fragmented financial data: Upper management lacked a clear picture of revenue streams, labor costs, and inventory patterns.
Operational inefficiencies: Broken systems, inadequate staffing, and outdated processes caused waste, bottlenecks, and delays.
Employee dissatisfaction: Unclear workflows and insufficient resources led to stress, burnout, and decreased performance.
Renovation advocacy: The store needed a comprehensive renovation to meet both operational and customer experience standards, but lacked clear, data-backed justification.
Objective: Provide clarity on financial performance, streamline operations, improve employee experience, and advocate for physical store improvements.
My Role.
I owned this project end-to-end as an independent UX strategy engagement. My responsibilities included:
Firsthand observation of store operations to identify workflow bottlenecks
Stakeholder interviews with store partners to surface pain points
Analysis of financial and operational data provided by store management
Development of paper-based data visualizations to communicate findings clearly to store leadership
Delivery of a structured recommendations report to the store manager
Process & Approach.
Discovery & Research
Observed store operations firsthand to identify workflow bottlenecks and inefficiencies in real time
Interviewed store partners to surface pain points in daily workflows, staffing, and tools
Analyzed financial and operational data provided by store management, including revenue, labor, inventory, and shrink patterns
Analysis & Synthesis
Mapped findings to identify the highest-impact operational pain points
Applied UX thinking to translate raw data into clear, human-centered problem statements
Developed paper-based visualizations to communicate complex financial patterns in a format accessible to store leadership
Recommendation Development
Prioritized recommendations based on feasibility, impact, and alignment with store leadership's goals
Structured findings into a clear report for the store manager, covering workflow improvements, staffing efficiency, and renovation justification
Framed renovation needs with data-backed rationale to support escalation to district management
Next Steps
Recommendations submitted to store leadership in March 2026 and currently awaiting adoption
Prepared to support implementation and measure outcomes if recommendations are approved
Impact & Status.
Recommendations were submitted to store leadership in March 2026 and are currently awaiting adoption. Key findings included:
Identified labor, inventory, and process inefficiencies with potential for significant operational cost savings if recommendations are adopted
Surfaced renovation needs with data-backed rationale to support store leadership's case to district management
Delivered clear visual summaries of complex financial data, enabling faster and more confident decision-making by store leadership
Reflection.
This project demonstrated that UX thinking extends beyond digital products. Observation, interviews, and data visualization are equally powerful tools for improving internal systems and operations. Translating complex operational data into clear, actionable insights for non-technical stakeholders is a core UX skill and one this project reinforced directly.