Optimized Usability
Completed at Radius Innovation & DEVELOPMENT 2016
Project Goal
The goal of this project was to redesign and optimize a user interface for the next generation of ovens for a name brand appliance company. This effort would be applied to multiple SKUs in the product line, and set the standard for upcoming products. The end result would be applied to single-range, mid-range, and double-range ovens.
On this project I acted as a lead UX designer. The final product of this effort was a detailed user interface specification that was transferred to the client for development.
Predicate Interface
Common issues that were encountered during our preliminary heuristic analysis were improper use of primary functions, excessive cognitive load, and too many hidden functions.
Problem Statement
“How might we create an interface that allows main functions to be readily available, guides the user, and provides expected transitions and intuitive inputs?”
Enhanced Usability
Preliminary concepts focused on optimizing usability by organizing user inputs with corresponding information. This aimed to minimize user error and over all cognitive load. Below is an example of a selected concept.
Refinement and Iteration
Multiple rounds of iteration and refinement took place to ensure that maximum usability could be applied to multiple use cases and user types.
User Testing & Down Selection
The concepts were put through robust testing to ensure that the layout, semantics of the user inputs and displayed information was easy to operate and understand.
Findings
During our testing we found some problem areas and were able to course correct, avoiding the potential user error.
Anticipated Interaction
Actual Interaction
Problem Area
In this case the users ended up missing the set temperature as a button to initiate the oven, and accidentally turned it off by hitting the oven on/off twice.
VFD/LED Exploration
Multiple ways of visualizing temperature (target and actual) and status were explored and tested for optimal readbility. VFD and LED lighting were also considered for the dynamic portion of the interface.
