Are smart products actually smart? And if not, how can we make them smart?
A case study of researching how value can be added to data enabled products in the context of the kitchen.
Since the trend of the Internet of Things (IoT), an endless amount of smart products has been brought to market. But is smart technology actually smart or are we just adding another gadget to our household when we purchase such a product?
Hike One wanted to explore how data enabled products can add value to our daily lives. As premium Dutch kitchen brand ATAG is doing research in the same field, we teamed up to create a graduation project. The project was conducted by Joric Koghee, graduation student from the Design for Interaction Master programme at the Delft University of Technology.
The case study
Understanding the user
In order to design something valuable, it is necessary to understand who to design for and what the requirements for the product are. Together with ATAG an initial persona was created. The target audience was defined as a 30-year-old cooking enthusiast with a family. But who is that cooking enthusiast and what does he want while cooking?
Why not ask people to cook for you to figure out the real insights?
Insights on daily cooking
After spending a lot of time in strangers’ kitchens, Joric was able to summarize what is important for people and what they struggle with.
Having food done at the same time as well as a nice end result is crucial for cooking enthusiasts.
“Cooking is about the end result, about the taste and the fun.”
The biggest struggle is precision in temperature and timing, especially when cooking multiple things at the same time.
“Timing is the biggest challenge in cooking.”
But in the end, cooking is all about sharing a culinary experience with friends and family.
“If things would increase the quality of the food, I would buy it, but not because of speed.”
Implementing insights into a concept
Translating the insights into ideas and narrowing those down to a concept which suited both the users and the stakeholders, led to Sjef. A product that consists of a digital interface and sensors which can be attached to pans and pots. During cooking Sjef assists the user by providing helpful notifications at the right time. The sensors collect data to give advice on the cooking process.
How does Sjef, the smart cooking assistant, add value to the daily life of cooking enthusiasts?
Through easy selection and recipe creation, Sjef knows what the user is making. First the user selects what ingredients are used for the recipe, how big the pieces are, and what the end result should look like. In the end Sjef shows a timeline with all ingredients and steps along the way.
Sjef assists the user to cook recipes and to achieve the best results. It does this by notifying the user e.g. when to add ingredients or when to turn the salmon. Sjef gives guidance in temperature and time planning of activities.
Sjef’s sensors consists of an LED indicator which helps to make a visual connection between pan and interface, a wireless module, a vibration sensor which senses interactions with a pan, a battery for power, and a temperature sensor. When you are cooking, Sjef will look after your meal. It helps you reach higher quality meals but also allows you to be distracted and focus on what is really important, sharing a culinary experience with the ones you love.
Validating and optimizing the design
To make sure the concept was not yet another gadget, a prototype was made with which the impact of the concept could be tested with actual users. The prototype was presented on an iPad. This allowed the user to cook a recipe with the assistance of Sjef.
Assisting users with real-time advice helps with timing.
“I liked that it helped me start with the right thing at the right time in the right order.”
Users see value especially for unknown and complex recipes as well as in clear instructions and notifications.
“I would use Sjef the first time when I am completely new to the recipe.”
“Notifications that remind you to pour off the vegetables,or adjusted instructions that adjust a recipe to your taste, are very helpful.”
What should be improved?
Paticipants saw room for improvement in the visualization of upcoming steps as well as the database of recipes.
“Just like a TOMTOM I expect to see what is coming up.
“When connected to a service like HelloFresh or other recipe sources, it would be much more meaningful.”
Optimizing the design based on the insights
In general, participants were enthusiastic about Sjef. They could see how it would help them to achieve better results during cooking. They also liked the possibility of being more precise in temperature and receiving assistance in that. Overall they were confident that Sjef gives them more control over the cooking process. And they liked that the smart sensors (right image below), can be attached to any pot or pan. This means that Sjef can assist anyone in cooking, as long as they have the basic equipment and a kitchen.
To make the product more affordable for users, Sjef was transformed to an app which users could download on their phone or tablet. The concept was further developed to show a possibility to partner with recipe databases or grocery services. Possible partners for ATAG could be Albert Heijn, HelloFresh or Jamie Oliver (see implemented in the concept design below).
To guide the users without blocking the screen, the interaction of notifications was changed to a sidebar (left image below). This allows for a better use of the screen by showing current and next actions, while also making it possible to scroll through all actions and look ahead during cooking.
What we learned from the case study
Back to the question “Are smart products actually smart? And if not, how can we make them smart?”
1. Design for people.
When designing products, it is important to focus on the people. Though designing smart products seems technology driven, it is still about designing products for people.
2.Get as close as possible.
Try to get as close to your users as possible and understand their context. Get to know what they do and how they do it. Observe what they are doing and discover things they do not notice themselves. You will be surprised how open and willing people often are to invite you to their homes to help you design user centered products.
3. Focusing on impact, not on technology.
In the end you know how you can impact your users, and your solutions might not need any technology after all. Remember that smart products are only smart if they actually add value to our daily life.
4. Partner up.
Often a sensor in itself doesn’t add a lot of value to improve processes. Combining the strength of different services and the know-how and specialisation of other companies will make a product stronger.
5. Design a system, not a product.
Technology has changed how we see products and what we expect of them. Nowadays product design often entails more than the physical product. As designers we have to think further and consider the entire system even when we’re designing only a small part of it.
