“Goodbye Kitchen Mess!” 👋🏻
SparkleClean — The Ultimate Tool for Effortless Cleaning
A UX Case Study on enhancing kitchen user experiences using Design Thinking.
“Not enough time to read?” 🏃🏻♂️
Then watch the 2-minute video presentation of this case study on LinkedIn.
TL;DR:
- Empathised with users to understand their needs and challenges in kitchen.
- Range of problems were identified.
- Through ideation process, three potential solutions were generated.
- Prototype was developed based on the selected idea.
- The prototype was tested with peers, and their valuable feedback was used to refine the design.
- Prioritising the most impactful usability issues, modifications were made to enhance stability, hygiene, portability, and ease of use.
Let’s begin with the climax 😎
Here is a final prototype of a product which can be used to clean and dry the utensils and edible items in the kitchen
“Hey hey wait, ✋🏻 how did I start this project?, the steps, the process I followed and how did I test it? 🤔”
“Okay, let’s start from the beginning.”
Outline of this article
Understand users’ needs and challenges
Getting insights from users and documenting them
Insights served as the foundation to identify users’ pain points
Using the idea as a foundation, creating a basic prototype
Testing to validate the product and its features
Story behind the project,
Beginning of our design project, we were presented with various topic areas to choose from, such as the living room, bathroom, kitchen, balcony, utility space, and parking area. We were tasked with convincing our team members why we deserved to work on a particular topic. After discussing our unfair advantages, I successfully persuaded my team members that the kitchen room was the ideal choice for me.
“Our goal was to empathise users and come up with a product which can solve their pain points.”
To better understand users’ needs and challenges in the kitchen, I began empathizing.
Initially prepared a set of questions for reference, but after interviewing three participants, I realised that some questions were repetitive. Therefore, I merged and refined the question list to make it more concise and effective. In the starting of each interview, I requested participants to draw a simple single-line layout of their kitchen and list the appliances and products they use. This quick exercise provided valuable information about their kitchen setup and the specific appliances and products they use regularly. This task also helped users in remembering things about their kitchen. Then I started asking questions I prepared, with some follow up and some on time improvised questions based on the users input, The prepared questions helped me to ask the user about their experiences, problems, concerns etc., in the kitchen in different aspects and these questions also helped me to be on track to empathise with the user.
Getting insights from users and documenting them.
Through these interviews, I gained a lot of insights about users’ kitchen experiences and identified various pain points and concerns. The insights are,
These insights served as the foundation to identify users’ pain points
Going beyond the obvious problems and finding the root cause, I identified as many problems as possible. These problems cover various aspects of the kitchen experience, including organisation, functionality, cleanliness, and efficiency. Below are the problems identified,
Lots of problems? Ideation requires time? “Okay, how about crazy 8!”
Even though there were a lot of problems listed, I wanted to come up with more ideas to avoid more obvious solutions in less time. I thought crazy 8 would be the best choice for this as it takes less time to come up with more ideas.
Using the “Crazy 8” technique, I generated numerous ideas to address the identified problems. But due to feasibility, potential impact on users and business, and time constraints, I narrowed down these ideas to three promising in solving the users’ problems.
Among these three ideas, I chose the third idea to develop a prototype as this idea is focused on creating a product that could both wash and dry utensils and edible items so I thought it is more practically possible and solves most problems for users.
Using the idea as a foundation, I created a basic prototype.
I created a basic prototype in the form of sketches to visualise how the product could potentially function in practice.
- The product features a gun-shaped design, providing a comfortable grip for users. It incorporates a rotatable scrubber and an air blower, allowing for efficient washing and drying of both utensils and edible items. To maintain hygiene, the product includes two separate containers, each with a cap, enabling the storage and dispensing of different liquids such as disinfectant and dishwashing solutions. The two buttons control the dispensing of these liquids through the scrubber.
- With adjustable speed settings, users can customise the washing and drying process according to their preferences. Additionally, the product offers separate buttons for scrubber rotation and air blowing functions, enhancing usability. A rubber grip ensures a secure hold during operation, promoting user comfort and control.
- Versatility is provided through the option of using the product with either a charging mechanism or direct current. Furthermore, its foldable design allows for compact storage and easy use in various locations. These features combine to create a practical and user-friendly solution for kitchen-related tasks.
The prototype featured additional features such as adjustable scrubber speed, the option to use the product through charging or direct connection to a power source, and addressing other observed user problems, such as cleaning non-veg items, time-consuming vegetable washing, battery issues, and challenging tile cleaning.
Are these additional features really useful? First of all, does this product’s concept work? Well, let’s verify!
I wanted to validate that the prototype will really solve the user’s problems in washing and drying the utensils and edible items etc., so I thought of conducting a usability test with my peers. I conducted the test and feedback received during these tests provided valuable insights. Some key points raised included concerns about,
- There might be some stability issue, as it is gun shaped which might cause shaking while using it by holding it in hand.
- Using this product for both washing utensils and eatable items may cause hygiene issues.
- The hard scrubber might harm the surface of edible items which are sensitive.
- Holding the button continuously to wash and dry may cause more effort on fingers.
- Using it for both blowing and washing might be confusing.
- How much liquid can it contain?
- Due to heavy weight, users might not be able to hold it in hand for a long time.
- Since it is electrical, it might be hazardous when it comes in contact with water.
- The liquid pouring cap is big enough to pour liquid?
- Products in open container washing may spill water.
- Length of the cable problem.
“Upon receiving this feedback, I recognised the need to approach the design problem from different perspectives.” 🧐
It became apparent that there were numerous usability issues that required significant improvement and additional time to address. However, as a designer working within time constraints, it was crucial to prioritise the issues that would have the most significant impact on both the user experience and the business. This approach allowed me to allocate my resources and efforts more effectively, ensuring that I could create a solution that would make a substantial difference within the given time frame.
Utilising feedback to improve product usability
- I refined the design by transitioning from a gun-shaped form to a cylindrical shape, which provides users with a comfortable grip. Additionally, I introduced a flexible arm with a locking system that allows users to attach the product to a wall. This eliminates the need to constantly hold the device, ensuring stability. The flexible arm enables users to wash items at the bottom and dry them at the top. With the ability to adjust the height, move the product in all directions, and rotate it as needed, users have greater flexibility to clean items in various ways, such as drying heavy objects or vegetables or even drying the sink.
- Furthermore, I addressed hygiene concerns by incorporating interchangeable scrubbers with different surfaces, sizes, and shapes. This enables users to use the product for various purposes, including washing utensils, tiles, vegetables, fruits, and non-vegetarian items, using the appropriate scrubbers. The interchangeable scrubbers also solve the problem of worn-out or torn scrubbers, as users can easily purchase and replace specific scrubbers.
- To prevent the mixing of liquids and maintain hygiene, I incorporated separate outlets for two different liquids through the scrubber, reducing the likelihood of contamination.
- To tackle the issue of water spillage from the scrubber, I introduced standard speed settings suitable for different kitchen tasks. The speed ranges from low (80 RPM) to medium (100 RPM) to high (120 RPM), each with different torques. This design choice minimises the chances of spillage, as higher speeds result in lower torque, preventing the splashing of foam or water.
- Lastly, I improved the user interface by replacing multiple buttons for washing and drying with a slider button featuring three states: wash, dry, and off. Users only need to slide the button once to initiate the wash or dry mode, eliminating the need to continuously press and hold buttons. The selected state remains active until the user changes it to another state.
“Through these design enhancements, I aimed to create a more user-friendly and hygienic product that addresses the identified usability issues.” ✌︎
This project has been a great experience for me
“I explored the process of identifying and addressing usability issues in the kitchen through empathising with users, ideation, prototyping, and feedback iteration.”
While there is always room for improvement, the proposed solution aims to provide a good user experience by addressing the identified problems. By considering user feedback, the design was iterated upon, resulting in a more user-friendly and practical product. However, it is important to recognize that there may be further opportunities to refine and enhance the product’s design and functionality in the future, ensuring an even better experience for users. By remaining open to feedback and embracing a mindset of continuous improvement, the product can evolve to meet the evolving needs and expectations of its users.
I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to UX Anudeep for his exceptional mentoring, Thank you. 😍
I appreciate you taking the time to read it!
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