Micro-Kitchen and User-Experience by Venus Popplewell

5203 PROJECT B:

MICRO-KITCHEN

Lindsey Wilson College Professor, Chris Quinn November 30, 2014

by Venus M. Popplewell

5203 PROJECT B:

MICRO-KITCHEN Design Document

Index Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Concept and Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Interface Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4, 5 User Testing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Modifications and Refinement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7, 8

Introduction 5203 PROJECT B: MICRO-KITCHEN

Problem New York City—it offers everything at your fingertips. But like many metropolitan areas across the globe, those opportunities are also making our world

smaller. Increasing urbanization and population growth are bringing us closer

together—literally. The home size is decreasing while rent and mortgages are

increasing. Even so, that modest space shouldn’t equate to a reduction in functionality, living standards or a reflection of personal style.

Solution My solution begins with the a design of a 7 ft x 25 inch space. The traditional

kitchen layout has been condensed but still uses familiar usability so the experience is intuitive. All appliances connect to a main “counter screen” and provides convenient function and monitoring without a lot of foot traffic.

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Concept and Visualization 5203 PROJECT B: MICRO-KITCHEN Sketch: Top View

Micro-Kitchen Layout The specifications required for the micro-kitchen layout are no more than 7 feet wide x 24 inches deep. The

kitchen needs to be fully functional with the standard appliances such as an oven, stove top, sink, microwave, re-

frigerator and dishwasher. Although there is a great need for smaller appliances, I wanted my small appliances to

Sketch: Front View

look and feel familiar so the usability remains intuitive.

However, there is a fun departure from the ordinary refrigeration and freezer system. The unit is installed in four pieces with the an overhead swinging door and

three drawers that provide chill or freeze temperatures.

Mind Map I began the visualization of the main “counter screen�

with a mind map. The main screen embeds behind the

stove top. It serves as a control panel for operating the

appliances in the kitchen. The mind map represents the flow from home screen to appliance.

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Sketch: Control Panel Mind Map

Interface Solution 5203 PROJECT B: MICRO-KITCHEN

Appliance Control Panel My first sketch for the appliance control panel attempted to use the interface layout from the mind map sketch. I

found usability problems with this sketch design. The left round buttons used too much screen real estate and if

left on every screen as planned it would have confused the important safety feature on the home idle screen.

Sketch: Control Panel based on Mind Map Sketch: Reimagined Control Panel with fingerprint recognition

The fingerprint controls can be defined by user in the ‘settings’ option, I will not be addressing system setup.

The appliance operations menu appears after the fingerprint

controls have successfully allowed entry. A touch of an appliance icon takes the user to the chosen appliance controls.

The following appliance operation screens have been proposed in the following sketches on the next page.

Sketch: Appliance operations menu

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Interface Solution

(continued)

5203 PROJECT B: MICRO-KITCHEN

Sketch: Oven Controls (3 screens)

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Sketch: Dishwasher, Area Lighting, Refrigerator, Stove Top and Google Search -- (each 1 screen)

Sketch: Microwave Oven Controls (3 screens)

Sketch: Idle Screen while appliances are in use show status of operation

User Testing 5203 PROJECT B: MICRO-KITCHEN

User Testing With Paper Prototype PARTICIPANTS:

Stacy, Male, 41 years old

Jonah, Male, 13 years old

Kendra, Female, 30 years old Tim, Male, 40 Years old

Process: I presented the entire sketch sequence to the four

participants. They began at the idle/home screen and worked their way through the features.

Feedback: Kendra and Tim user tested together. Jonah and Stacy did it individually. Everyone understood quickly what to do. Tim

and Jonah separately said the interface needed to be an app on a tablet. Stacy, a father of two repeatedly made note of the safety feature worried it may be overlooked when navigating to home. Jonah (13-years-old) was on the panel because of his unique per-

spective as a user who has never known life without interfaces, touch screens and wifi; and is highly comfortable with video games

and computer software. He was the only one who noted the need for voice activated controls and one touch options on the Google screen. He also mentioned there should be an option to store recipes.

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Modifications and Refinement 5203 PROJECT B: MICRO-KITCHEN User Testing Results: Revisions were minimal but important based on the user feedback received through testing with paper prototype. Displayed are medium-fidelity wireframes which represent user suggestions to the micro-kitchen control panel.

Above: Home screens for idle, operation and status states. Appliances are engaged by tapping the icon area. Test users approved of these screens

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Above: Oven operation screens, test users approved of the function of these screens.

Above: Microwave Oven, users suggested the addition of a keypad and a new, simpler interface for the defrost operation.

Above: Stove top was approved by test users

Above: Dishwasher was approved by test users.

Above: A filter status was added to the refrigerator panel

Above: A dimmer switch was added based on user feedback

Above: A single engagement tap and voice activated controls were added based on feedback.

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