Cascade Web Portfolio

Vibrant Table

Summary

Vibrant Table Events and Catering is part of Portland's most loved restaurant Salvador Molly's. Cascade has worked with Salvador Molly's for eight years. In 2007, Salvador Molly's spun off Vibrant Table to manage all catering events and a unique private dining facility called Molly's Loft in SE Portland.

First, cascade worked with KG Design and Vibrant Table to build a classy branded website. This piece of the project was a huge accomplishment, but it did not change the way Vibrant Table does business nor did it push the limits of web development.

In 2007, cascade helped Vibrant Table discover the potential for process efficiency using web 2.0 applications. With over 250 part time employees working 2-4 events per day, employee coordination is critical. VT wanted to post upcoming jobs on-line so that servers/bartenders could make themselves available for events. Then, VT would confirm staffers for events while also collecting their ability to drive others, needs for transportation, and availability for other events on a given day. Whitepass, cascade's project management platform, offered the flexibility to innovate on such a concept.

The cascade strategy process was employed to create key screen diagrams (see attachment) and project requirements:

• Create Web 2.0 application with user profiles for 250 catering employees
• Integrate data from “CaterEase,” a financial management application for the catering industry
• Improve management efficiency for scheduling events
• Improve employee communication and brand experience with Vibrant Table
• Find ways to improve carbon footprint by connecting employees for carpooling
• Automate employee confirmation for events
• Electronically distribute all event information to employees prior to event

In the catering business it is important to secure talent as fast as possible. Really great employees are hard to come by. Vibrant Table wanted to make it easy and enjoyable for bartenders/servers to work for VT vs. the competition.

Implementation

The project timeline was condensed given the upcoming summer season. Two months was not enough time, but we had to make it happen!!

The solution uses highly evolved web technology known as AJAX. Much of the work being done is not server side, its client side. So its very fast and intuitive. In many cases you make changes and they are instantly live. Its a Mac approach that took some learning for users that were always looking for a save button. These features were driven by a transition in the cascade business from PC to Mac. All of the code is built on a stable .asp platform, but the user interface is very Mac like. This turned out to be a huge benefit for the youth staff demographic as we see in the results. Much of the code had been evolved from previously created code for projects based on cascade's proprietary evergreen Content Management System and whitePass project management solutions.

Results

For the Vibrant Table operations director, his job has changed dramatically. He now operates with increased efficiency and accountability. Communication with staff is predictable and traceable when questions arise. The demographic of bartenders and servers has proven adoption and utilization of web based tools. Staff members have uploaded photos to their profile which has great benefited the operations staff.

Vibrant Table has quickly secured market share and brand recognition in the Portland area. The combination of the internal events application and new website created a brand thread between employees and consumers.

The build process and first 6 months of use has identified additional features to improve the system. Cascade has continued tracking requests and bugs through the whitepass project management system. Version 1.2 is planned for end of Q1 2008.