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Mcdonald’s Engineering

To enable delicious, feel-good moments for everyone through cutting-edge technology that delivers frictionless customer experiences worldwide

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To enable delicious, feel-good moments for everyone through cutting-edge technology that delivers frictionless customer experiences worldwide

Strengths

  • PLATFORM: Global digital ordering platform serving 40K+ restaurants
  • SCALE: Massive transaction volume enables unique data insights
  • ADOPTION: 36% of sales now through digital channels
  • INFRASTRUCTURE: Robust cloud infrastructure with 99.9% uptime
  • TALENT: Strong engineering leadership in key technology hubs

Weaknesses

  • LEGACY: Technical debt from legacy restaurant systems
  • INTEGRATION: Fragmented systems across global franchises
  • VELOCITY: Slow deployment cycles for new technology features
  • TALENT: Difficulty attracting top-tier engineering talent
  • ARCHITECTURE: Monolithic architecture limiting innovation speed

Opportunities

  • PERSONALIZATION: AI-driven menu and offer personalization
  • AUTOMATION: Kitchen automation to increase throughput by 30%
  • LOYALTY: Enhanced mobile app loyalty features to drive retention
  • DATA: Leverage vast customer data for operational improvements
  • DELIVERY: Integrated delivery tech to improve last-mile efficiency

Threats

  • COMPETITION: Digital-first QSR competitors taking market share
  • TALENT: Tech giants offering higher compensation to engineers
  • PRIVACY: Increasing global regulations on customer data usage
  • SECURITY: Growing sophistication of cyberattacks on POS systems
  • FRANCHISEES: Resistance to technology adoption investments

Key Priorities

  • PLATFORM: Modernize digital platform architecture
  • PERSONALIZATION: Deploy AI-driven personalization at scale
  • AUTOMATION: Accelerate restaurant automation technology
  • TALENT: Establish engineering excellence program for retention
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To enable delicious, feel-good moments for everyone through cutting-edge technology that delivers frictionless customer experiences worldwide

MODERNIZE

Build future-proof digital restaurant platform

  • ARCHITECTURE: Complete microservices migration for 80% of digital platform by Q3
  • DEPLOYMENT: Reduce deployment cycle time from 14 days to 3 days for core services
  • PERFORMANCE: Achieve 99.98% uptime and <500ms response time across all digital channels
  • INTEGRATION: Standardize API gateway for 100% of restaurant technology systems
PERSONALIZE

Deliver AI-driven customer experiences

  • RECOMMENDATIONS: Launch AI menu recommendation engine with 20% higher conversion in 25K restaurants
  • DATA: Unify customer data platform capturing 90% of transaction and behavior data
  • TESTING: Implement AI-powered A/B testing framework reducing test cycles by 40%
  • LOYALTY: Deploy personalized rewards increasing program engagement by 30%
AUTOMATE

Accelerate restaurant technology innovation

  • KITCHEN: Deploy AI-powered kitchen management system in 1,000 restaurants reducing waste by 15%
  • VOICE: Expand voice AI ordering to 5,000 drive-thrus increasing throughput by 22%
  • SCHEDULING: Implement AI-optimized staff scheduling in 10,000 locations reducing labor costs by 7%
  • QUALITY: Roll out computer vision quality control to 3,000 restaurants improving accuracy by 30%
ELEVATE

Build world-class engineering organization

  • TALENT: Reduce engineering attrition to <15% through comprehensive career development program
  • SKILLS: Train 90% of engineering staff on AI/ML fundamentals and cloud-native development
  • DIVERSITY: Increase engineering diversity by 25% across gender and underrepresented groups
  • COLLABORATION: Implement engineering excellence program with 85% adoption across global teams
METRICS
  • DIGITAL SALES: 45% of total sales through digital channels
  • DEPLOYMENT FREQUENCY: 50+ production deployments per week
  • ENGINEERING SATISFACTION: 85%+ retention of technical talent
VALUES
  • Customer-obsessed innovation
  • Operational excellence
  • Technical craftsmanship
  • Inclusive collaboration
  • Continuous improvement
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Align the learnings

Mcdonald’s Engineering Retrospective

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To enable delicious, feel-good moments for everyone through cutting-edge technology that delivers frictionless customer experiences worldwide

What Went Well

  • MOBILE: App downloads increased 18% driving digital sales growth
  • LOYALTY: MyMcDonald's Rewards program showing 22% higher frequency
  • PLATFORM: Global digital platform achieved 99.9% uptime during peak
  • EXPERIENCE: Self-service kiosk usage up 15% improving order accuracy
  • DELIVERY: Integrated delivery partnerships now in 30K+ restaurants

Not So Well

  • INTEGRATION: Technology integration issues delayed deployment by 2Q
  • PERFORMANCE: App performance issues during promotional campaigns
  • ADOPTION: Lower than expected franchisee technology adoption rates
  • SECURITY: Three significant security incidents requiring mitigation
  • TALENT: Engineering attrition rate reached concerning 22% annually

Learnings

  • ARCHITECTURE: Microservices approach proves more efficient for scale
  • TESTING: Enhanced load testing critical before major promotions
  • DEPLOYMENT: Phased global rollouts reduce operational disruptions
  • FRANCHISEE: Early franchisee involvement crucial for tech adoption
  • AGILITY: Faster iteration cycles lead to improved customer feedback

Action Items

  • PLATFORM: Complete API modernization to enable faster innovation
  • TALENT: Launch engineering excellence program to reduce attrition
  • AUTOMATION: Accelerate kitchen automation pilots in 500 locations
  • DATA: Establish unified data platform for cross-channel insights
  • SECURITY: Implement enhanced security protocols across all systems
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To enable delicious, feel-good moments for everyone through cutting-edge technology that delivers frictionless customer experiences worldwide

Strengths

  • DATA: Massive customer dataset across billions of transactions
  • SCALE: Global infrastructure to deploy AI solutions at scale
  • ADOPTION: Successful initial AI recommendation engine pilots
  • PARTNERSHIPS: Strategic partnerships with leading AI providers
  • LEADERSHIP: Executive commitment to AI-driven transformation

Weaknesses

  • INTEGRATION: Siloed data limiting comprehensive AI insights
  • TALENT: Limited specialized AI/ML engineering expertise
  • GOVERNANCE: Immature AI governance and ethics frameworks
  • INFRASTRUCTURE: Legacy systems not optimized for AI workloads
  • STRATEGY: Fragmented approach to AI implementation

Opportunities

  • FORECASTING: AI-powered demand forecasting reducing waste 15%
  • EXPERIENCE: Voice AI ordering increasing throughput by 25%
  • OPERATIONS: Computer vision for quality control automation
  • PERSONALIZATION: Hyper-personalized menu recommendations
  • EFFICIENCY: AI-optimized restaurant staffing and scheduling

Threats

  • COMPETITION: Quick-service rivals deploying advanced AI faster
  • REGULATION: Evolving AI regulatory landscape across markets
  • PRIVACY: Customer concerns about AI-driven personalization
  • ADOPTION: Franchisee resistance to AI technology investments
  • TALENT: Fierce competition for limited AI engineering talent

Key Priorities

  • DATA: Unify global data platform for comprehensive AI insights
  • TALENT: Build specialized AI engineering center of excellence
  • EXPERIENCE: Prioritize voice AI and personalization capabilities
  • GOVERNANCE: Establish robust AI ethics and governance framework
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AI Disclosure

This report was created using the Alignment Method—our proprietary process for guiding AI to reveal how it interprets your business and industry. These insights are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, legal, tax, or investment advice.

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