I took an undergraduate interaction design practice class the fall semester of my sophomore year where we were given the opportunity to work on UX design prompts from real companies as a way to apply concepts we've learned in previous human-interaction design classes. One of the companies we were able to work with was Whirlpool. Our class was given the task from Whirlpool to improve the user's home experience through the internet of things and a home appliance.

1. SMART SLOW
COOKER
Your New Friend in the Kitchen

2. COLE DALY
Senior, Comprehensive Design
ROSIE MAHARJAN
Senior, Information Systems
LUCAS MILLER
Junior, Informatics
MEET THE TEAM
DESIGNERS OF TOMORROW'S KITCHEN TODAY
MAGGIE BUI
Sophomore, Informatics

3. OVERVIEW
PROBLEM
SCOPE
01
INSIGHTS
02
DESIGN
03
CONSIDERATIONS
04
APPENDIX
05

4. 01Our team has decided to focus on improving the
user's kitchen experience as the kitchen now
has become such an important part of the user's
home experience. By focusing on the kitchen,
we will be able to maximize the value of their
user experience. To further provide the user a
richer experience in the kitchen, we looked to
Whirlpool's brand persona.
PROBLEM SCOPE

5. THE KITCHEN TODAY "THE NEW LIVING ROOM"
Kitchens within the past 20 years are now being thought
of as a living and entertainment space as opposed to
being just a place to cook.
BRINGS TOGETHER FAMILY AND
FRIENDS
With the shift in kitchen dynamics, homes are starting to
make their kitchens a more supportive and congregative
space.
SETS TONE FOR THE REST OF HOME
Completes the home experience. An inspiring kitchen
space can turn your experience in the home from being
mediocre to being great. The amount in which the
kitchen reflects in one's home resale value reflects this
sentiment.
MAXIMIZING VALUE TO THE USER EXPERIENCE THROUGH
"THE HEART OF THE HOME"
See Appendix for more details

6. WHAT MAKES A CARING FRIEND?
We want to ensure that our solution embodies
qualities that reflect on Whirlpool's brand persona
1. Helps you achieve your goals
2. Takes time to get to know you
3. Thoughtful of your time
5. Knows your life has other distractions
and does not want to add to it
4. Fun to be around
6. Knows you're not a machine

7. 02
We interviewed several different types of users
to get a gauge of their current pain points in the
kitchen. While our target users are busy parents,
we also wanted to interview other users such as
dieters and not-so-confident cookers. The use of
these secondary target users are meant to help
us cater to parents who share a similar lifestyle
as our secondary users.
INSIGHTS

8. Mueller Architects and Associates | 2020
I wished I had a mentor... It's
hard for someone to do [a diet]
alone without someone to
guide them through it
Streamlined succinct,
step-by-step instructions
with the pot scale to
minimize user mistakes
and room for error during
the cooking process
PAIN POINT SOLUTION

9. Mueller Architects and Associates | 2020
Cleaning is my least favorite
part about cooking.
Decrease amount of
dishes and measuring
cups to be used in the
cooking process by
pouring directly into the
pot scale.
PAIN POINT SOLUTIONPAIN POINT SOLUTION

10. Mueller Architects and Associates | 2020
Time keeps me away from the
kitchen. I am normally thinking
about what is the quickest way
to make a long-lasting meal.
Reduce the amount of
time it takes to measure
ingredients by pouring
them directly into
cooking vessel.
PAIN POINT SOLUTIONPAIN POINT SOLUTION

11. Mueller Architects and Associates | 2020
It's easy to just make the
same, familiar meal over and
over again instead of trying a
new recipe.
Connect the slow cooker
with the Yummly app,
which caters the user to
nearly limitless recipe
options.
PAIN POINT SOLUTIONPAIN POINT SOLUTION

12. USER SELECTS
RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
ORDERED VIA APP
FOR DELIVERY
USER STARTS
COOKING AFTER
WORK
USER GETS
DISTRACTED
DURING COOKING
OUR USER'S JOURNEY
USER RETURNS TO
COOKING AND
FINISHES
See Appendix for more details

13. 03
DESIGN

14. YOUR NEW FRIEND IN THE KITCHEN
WHIRLPOOL SMART SLOW COOKER

15. YOUR NEW FRIEND IN THE KITCHEN
WHIRLPOOL SMART SLOW COOKER
Easy-to-wash pot
EASILY DETACHABLE SINGLE POT INCLUDED IN SLOW
COOKER
LED Smart Screen
4.5” X 7” LED SCREEN TO WALK USER THROUGH COOK
PROCESS
Built-in scale
SMART SCALE BUILT INSIDE SLOW COOKER TO
ACCURATELY MEASURE WEIGHT OF INGREDIENTS AS YOU
PUT THEM IN
Sleek design
EASILY REMOVABLE AND MINIMALISTIC PARTS
All-in-one design
KEEP IT MINIMAL WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO COOK
IN ONE PLACE

16. CLICK HERE TO
INTERACT WITH
SMART SLOW
COOKER SCREENS

17. SENDING YOUR YUMMLY RECIPE TO THE SMART SCREEN
OPTION 1: SEND OPTION 2: SHAREYUMMLY SCREEN

18. 04Our team created a user journey map to visualize
the user's experience. During one of our classes,
we presented our user journey map to our peers.
After the brief presentation, everyone gave us
critiques and asked questions about our design
which we have addressed in the following slides.
CONSIDERATIONS

19. We have included an "Add custom ingredient" feature in our
smart screen. When users click this button, they are able to
use the scale to add whatever amount of whichever
ingredient they chose. This gives the user the freedom to
add their custom ingredient to the Yummly recipe that they
have chosen.
HOW WOULD YOU ADD CUSTOM INGREDIENTS OR
MODIFY THE RECIPE?
CONSIDERATION #1

20. CONSIDERATION #2
When the food cooking in the smart slow cooker is done, a
notification is sent to the user's phone through the Yummly
app. User can set the smart cooker to a "Keep Warm" mode
so that food will still be hot and ready when the user arrives
home.
WHAT IF MY FOOD IS DONE BUT I'M NOT HOME?

21. CONSIDERATION #3
When sending the recipe to the smart slow cooker, users
will be asked to enter the amount of people that they are
cooking for. You would then be able to either cut recipes in
half or double or triple them.
IS THERE A FEATURE THAT ADJUSTS THE RECIPE
TO X NUMBER OF PORTION SIZES?

22. Thank You

23. 05
APPENDIX

24. User journey map that depicts our target user (Tony) as he tries to prep a meal for his family in between
work and his son's soccer practice. There's two alternate experiences for Tony, one with a regular
Crockpot and another with the Smart Slow Cooker. We also presented this journey map to our class had
were given critiques by Marty and our fellow classmates about potential issues throughout Tony's journey

25. FLOW CHART

26. https://freshome.com/2013/10/24/is-the-kitchen-the-
most-important-room-of-the-home/
WHY HAVE WE CHOSE TO FOCUS ON THE
KITCHEN?
The Kitchen is the New Living Room
"Over the course of the past 20 years or so,
kitchens started to become living spaces with
more time spent in these spaces and where
more was done than just cooking. Newer homes
were designed with kitchens as living spaces in
mind and so these rooms became larger to
better accommodate family and friends as an
additional space for entertaining."
Today’s Kitchen is Much More Than a Kitchen
"Newer kitchens, while called kitchens, are really
so much more. Today’s kitchen is today’s family
living space."