Research & approach
Why we built QWise, and how it decides.
Problem statement
Long waits make even simple visits frustrating, whether at events, universities or service centres. Poorly managed queues waste time and cause congestion. A common pattern is one overflowing line beside an idle desk, while visitors have no idea how long they'll be standing there. Staff usually find out a queue is too long by looking at it, which is already too late.
Our approach
We started from that single, common problem and designed QWise as a simple web-based tool. It needs no hardware and no app install. We put the essential features first so the tool stays practical for staff on a busy day:
| 01 | Track queue length Digital tickets give an exact, live count per service with no manual head-counting. | Built |
| 02 | Estimate waiting time Each visitor sees a personal estimate that updates as the line moves. | Built |
| 03 | Suggest redistribution Rule-based advice tells managers which desk to move and how many minutes it saves. | Built |
| 04 | Staff tools One-tap call-next, no-show handling and open, close or reassign for every desk. | Built |
| 05 | Remote waiting A personal ticket link lets visitors wait anywhere instead of standing in line. | Built |
| 06 | Appointments & SMS alerts Booked time slots and text messages for visitors without a smartphone. | Next |
How waiting time is estimated
QWise borrows from queueing theory but keeps the maths simple enough to explain at a front desk. For a visitor at position p in a queue covered by c desks, with an average service time of s minutes:
wait ≈ ((p − 1) + ½ · busy desks) / c × s
- Service time learns. s starts at a configured value and moves towards the real average once a few visits have been served (70% observed, 30% configured).
- General desks are shared. A desk that serves any queue counts as a fraction of a desk for each queue with people waiting.
- No desk, no promise. If no desk covers a service, the estimate reads “pending” rather than showing a misleading number.
How redistribution works
The insights engine scores each queue by its expected wait, then works through a short list of rules, from most to least urgent:
- A queue with visitors but no desk gets the first available desk.
- A queue whose wait passes 12 minutes (critical at 20) borrows an idle desk from an empty queue, a desk from a lightly loaded queue, or a closed desk.
- If arrivals in the last 30 minutes outpace service by 30% or more, managers are warned that every queue is about to grow.
- Idle dedicated desks are suggested as general desks so they can absorb overflow.
Each suggestion states its impact (for example, “cuts the line from ~18 min to ~12 min”) and is never applied without a click.
User-experience principles
One decision per screen
The kiosk asks a single question: “What do you need today?”
Show the number that matters
Visitors see how many people are ahead and their wait. Managers see where the pressure is.
Advice, not autopilot
Desk moves are suggestions with a stated impact, and staff stay in control.
Colour carries meaning
Each service has one colour, used everywhere: kiosk, ticket, board and charts.
What we measure
The dashboard tracks the indicators that show whether QWise is working: average and longest wait, arrivals compared with visitors served, no-show rate, and desk utilisation by hour. Little's Law (people waiting = arrival rate × average wait) links these together. If arrivals hold steady and waits fall, the queue visibly shrinks.