5.1 Concept Testing
My Gap: One line Design problem: “in what way might I enjoy the cooking process by reducing/removing heat around stove while cooking
The gap is specifically relevant in my country (India) where cuisines involve elaborate cooking with multiple sub processes at times. The hot weather (and some places humid) results in high temperatures around the cooking stove which take away the joy of cooking.
As per the course I developed 10 concepts in week 3 and shortlisted 3 based on my scoring matrix in week 4. Based on some of the user feedback in week 5 I have finalised on the following concept.
HEAT SEPARATOR:
The heat separator consists of 2 parts - a heat retention base unit that directs the heat of flames to the vessel more efficiently, and an air curtain mechanism which isolates the user from the heat.
Refinements:
One of the requirements that came from user feedback was to ensure that the air pump for creating the air curtain is not very large and not expensive. Based on this feedback I have extensively searched online and found a very small size and cheap pressurised air pump that will be used for creating the air curtain. The dimesions for this are 90.4mm x 60.2mm x 36.7 mm
I am now searching for a similar product in the local market
Pressurised Air Pump
Task 2: Process for testing concepts
I wanted to practice both methods – Pick preferred alternative and purchase intent. Hence I have tried both of these with the 3 concepts that I chose from my scoring matrix.
Given the nature of the gap for safety reasons i have not made any paper/cardboard prototypes and still havent found someone who can make this in metal ... the search is on. So for the concept testing i used the digital prototypes from week 4 and explained the concepts to the users in more detail as to how the experience would be. Then I measured the feedback basis this explaination.
Below are the results based on both testing methods:
Pick preferred alternative:
When I shared the 3 alternatives with the users and asked them to choose one of them, 4 out of 5 users picked the above concept. They understood the air curtain concept as it exists in many shop entrances in warm weather countries like India to ensure that the air cooling inside the shop is retained even when doors are opened multiple times. They correlated this to their cooking area and realized that similarly the heat could get isolated within the cooking area if there was an air curtain surrounding the stove.
The heat retention ring also clicked very well with them. Many of them voiced a concern that they always saw the flame moving beyond the utensil base and saw this as ineffective- infact they saw this as a waste of energy. So in addition to directing heat to the vessel they also see such a unit reducing their fuel costs due to better utilization of the energy.
Purchase Intent:
|
Concepts -> |
Heat Separator |
User Cooler Time Manager |
Center Intensity Burn retain |
|
User 1 |
Definitely Buy |
Might or might not buy |
Probably Buy |
|
User 2 |
Probably Buy |
Probably would not buy |
Might or might not buy |
|
User 3 |
Definitely Buy |
Might or might not buy |
Might or might not buy |
|
User 4 |
Definitely Buy |
Probably Buy |
Probably Buy |
|
User 5 |
Probably Buy |
Might or might not buy |
Might or might not buy |
Even on a purchase intent score users rated the heat separator very highly. They rated it high due to two reasons
1. They think it will be more effective & efficient
2. They see this as an add on (attachment) for the current stove and hence no structural changes and hence low on investment