Kenekt
November 2017 • Team Project for Prototyping & Implementation
Objective: Create a prototype that allows users to conveniently control their at home appliances
Method: Brainstorm Sessions, User Testing, & Create Lo-Fi, Mid-Fi & Hi-Fi Prototypes
Tools: Adobe Photoshop, PowerPoint, Paper & Pencil, Axure & Reflector
Prototype Links:
Mid-Fi Kenekt App: http://55jqqr.axshare.com
Hi-Fi Kenekt App: http://9k0ijc.axshare.com
Mid-Fi Oven: http://v60gup.axshare.com
Hi-Fi Oven: http://452162.axshare.com
—Brand—
—Beginning Stages—
Ideation
Kenekt is an application developed to allow users to easily access and control their at home appliances, birthed from a brainstorming collaboration. With an idea in place, the group went off to ideate and envision what the application could be. Each, very much so similar, but unique in its own way. Each member sketched the proposed topic. And from there, bits and pieces were selected to create the mid-fi prototype.
Persona
Next steps in our process was to create personas, the ideal user(s) for this application. To truly create a useful application, we needed to not only identify our target market, but also understand their needs. Our main focus was on Karen, a working mother who was struggling to find time in her day.
—Mid-FI Prototype—
After gaining an understanding of our target user, we moved on to development of a mid-fi prototype. Axure was our method of choice when developing both prototypes, mid-fi and hi-fi prototypes.
—User Testing—
3 participants & 5 Tasks
The objective
How easy is it to sync an appliance with the app?
Can the user understand the navigation?
Is it difficult to complete the assigned tasks?
Is the application intuitive (movements, verbiage)?
The Test Plan
Target Users (Working Mother, Recent Graduate, & Current Student)
Testing Guide - Introduction, tasks, collected qualitative and quantitative data
5 pt confidence scale (1-not confident to 5-very confident)
5 pt ease of use scale (1- very easy to 5-very difficult)
Post-Test Questionnaire
The Tasks
For your first task, imagine you have just purchased a Whirlpool Kenekt Oven and want to start using the Kenekt app. The application is downloaded on your phone and now your first task is to create a new account.
For your second task, you want to sync your newly bought Whirlpool Kenekt Oven to the Kenekt application. Please use the oven to sync to your phone using Bluetooth.
For your third task, you remembered that you need to bake some brownies for a friend’s birthday. Please use the oven to start a timer. The recipe calls for a temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit for a duration of 30 minutes.
For your next task, I want you to pretend that you want to cook dinner but not sure what. You decide on a meat recipe and now need to preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Please use the Kenekt application to do this.
For your last tasks, imagine you are running late for an event and left your house or apartment in a hurry. Upon arrival to the event, you can’t remember if you turned off your oven. For this task, check to see if your oven has been left on and then turn it off.
Results & Findings
One user was unsure if they successfully completed task 2 due to no confirmation from the system.
All 3 users had a difficult time with task 4 - selecting a recipe and then preheating the oven.
For Task 5, one user was confused about which tab to select to turn off their appliance and became frustrated with how long it took to find.
Recommendations & Feedback
The results from testing and various feedback/comments from the three participants led us to the discovery that many changes needed to be made to the Oven and Kenekt prototypes.
Oven prototype:
Functionality for time and temperature controls
Connection status update
More prominent locations for the connection features
Kenekt App Prototype:
Confirmation/feedback for account creation
Creation of a ‘homepage’
Verbiage needs to be changed on menu items
Fix functionality for recipe pages
—HI-Fi Prototype—
Changes to the prototype were made based on the testing results.