< Microwave Oven Usability Report >
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Introduction
Microwave ovens are appliances used to cook food. They utilize microwave electromagnetic energy (EME) in their operations (Lee 2010). Many modern microwave ovens are automatic and programmable. The ovens, therefore, enable individuals to cook different types of meals by letting them input the desired cooking time and power.
Microwaves ovens have a user interface that allows users to instruct the artifact on what to do with the food. The ovens usually have a door with a knob to enable easy opening of the panel. The panel contains an LCD and several buttons. Many ovens are controlled primarily from the panel. Inside the oven is a turntable plate and a bulb which turns on automatically once the door is opened. One opens the door of the oven using the knob and then places food on the turntable plate. The food must be placed in a microwavable vessel first. After placing the food on the turntable and closing the door, one sets the cooking time and cooking power through the buttons on the panel. The ovens also have an interface to inform the users when the food is ready. Mainly, they display a message on the LCD screen and produce a continuous beeping sound (Tone 2005).
Almost all household have adopted the use of microwave ovens. This is because they complement the process of preparing meals. There are different models of these ovens in the market to meet the needs of different users. For instance, one can get a small or big microwave oven depending on whether it is for personal or family use. An old person would prefer an oven that has the simplest available user interface. Microwave ovens can also be used at domestic or commercial levels. Commercial microwaves tend to be larger and complex to use than the domestic ones (Lee 2010). This is because the commercial ones normally have more advanced cooking features. Ovens designed for family use usually contain easy-to-read preprogrammed settings. The differentiation is important since family ovens are operated by anyone, including old people who might experience difficulties interacting with complex interfaces. Commercial microwaves also have a higher rating that ranges from 1000W to 2000W (Lee 2010). The higher rating helps in achieving faster cooking speeds in the commercial setting. The three personas to illustrate the oven user types are John, Jake, and Jane. John is a bachelor, Jake is a fast food business owner, and Mary is a mother of two.
Persona Setting
John does not know how to cook and uses the microwave a lot. He consumes, at least, one frozen meal a day and he uses a microwave oven to defrost. John values the +30 seconds because it is a few steps faster. He uses the button even if he requires only 10 seconds, then stops it early. John does not like it when the number of settings offered are so much and not customizable. Jake, on the other hand, uses a microwave in his fast food business. He uses a commercial oven which heats food more quickly and efficiently. He wants a microwave that is fast so that he can save time and attend to more customers. Jake requires an oven whose user interface is straightforward to avoid time wastage.
Mary uses the microwave in a family setting. This means that the microwave is also used by various users. She would desire one that is not complex regarding user interactions so that even the kids can operate it. She would also want one that has a self-cleaning mechanism to make sure the insides are always clean. She also wished that the microwave would know automatically when the food is cooked so that when she puts food in it, she can continue with her other activities. She needed one whose beeps are customizable. She dislikes the beeping noise and would like an option to turn it off.
Examples of Functions
The microwave oven is usually used for heating and express cooking. Mostly the time used is less than five minutes. The express cooking buttons on the panel are very useful since they start the oven and heat the food for the preconfigured time. This can be very helpful to Jake for his business. He can use the feature to heat food without spending a lot of time trying to configure the settings. The feedback or response in the microwaves is another good function. The continuous beep informs someone when the food is cooked. It can be helpful to Mary, who dislikes having to stay by the oven all through so as to check if the food is cooked. When Mary puts food in the microwave, she goes on with her other duties while waiting for the beep indicating that food is ready. The light in the microwave is a good feature. This can be helpful in keeping the Microwave clean. Mary likes it when it is clean, and with the light, it is easier to wash.
One bad feature of microwaves is that most of them provide multiple functionalities for a single button. Sometimes you find that the button used to set the time is the same used to scroll. This can inconvenience Jake, who need a straightforward interface. The design of the light to function when the door is open can lead to inconvenience. Jake, due to the pressure at work, can accidentally leave the door open. This will lead to wastage of power and money. Microwaves also have a lot of buttons, some of which are unnecessary. This can inconvenience John, who needs a straightforward interface since he uses the microwave only for basic needs. Microwaves are not designed for use by children and can cause serious damage. Mary’s kid can unknowingly or knowingly put food in the oven with a steel spoon in the plate. These can produce sparks in the oven and even lead to serious damage.
Possible Reasons for designs
The microwaves have some designs which lead to the bad functionality shown above. The design involving multiple buttons for a single task may be because of space. Space on the panel is limited and cannot fit a button for every functionality of the oven. A workaround would be to eliminate unnecessary buttons and include only the crucial ones. This can involve doing away with pre-customized buttons like meat, beverage, and popcorn. The design of the light to light up when the door opens is important since it eliminates the probability of leaving the light on when no cooking is going on. However, the light should be designed in such a way that it turns off when the door is left open for some time to avoid power wastage. The many buttons on the microwave help in making it more customizable and adding functionality (Gudi, Wang and Devabhaktuni 2012, p. 186). However, these can be eliminated to avoid confusing people. They can use knobs instead of buttons. Child safety lock can be incorporated to avoid wrong usage by children. The microwaves can also incorporate a speech input feature in a bid to consider the visually impaired or elderly.
Heuristic Evaluation
Microwaves adhere to most heuristic principles such as visibility, consistency, accuracy, interpretation, and linguistic clarity (Imai et al. 2010, p. 174). However, they fail to meet some standards. Once a button is pressed in a microwave, it is not possible to undo. A good system should offer user control and freedom (Picking et al. 2012, p. 179). They should support that users make mistakes hence incorporate redo and undo. A microwave oven does not tell a user when they put unsupported utensils in them. Microwaves should be in a position to prevent errors. They should have a design that that prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Modern microwave ovens have a complex user interface that is challenging to understand. The interface should not contain irrelevant information or rarely needed. They should have a minimalist design (Picking et al. 2012, p. 179). These ovens are not predictable. A user cannot form a mental model of how the oven will respond to actions. Microwaves are function specific and cannot be customized to meet the need of all users. A good system design should be flexible (Picking et al. 2012, p. 179).
Microwaves in the Future
In the future, microwave ovens can match up with technology so as to adhere to all heuristic principles. Microwaves can be equipped with an up-to-date operating system that is smart. The operating system will be in a position to let users confirm their actions hence giving them full control over the oven. These will play a role in error prevention. When someone puts a utensil that is unsupported in the microwave, it should detect the utensil then warn the user. These operating system will offer the redo and undo functionality. To curb the issue of the minimalist designs lacking in microwaves, a touch screen user interface can be incorporated. With that users will be cruising through the operating system and choosing the actions they desire. This touch screen interface and operating system will aid in the incorporation of features such as a mute option, without the need to add more buttons. The microwaves, in future, should have internet capabilities so that they can receive innovations through updates. These will enable users to learn the new user interface gradually, hence meeting the efficiency of use principle.
Bibliography
Aritoni, O. and Negru, V, 2011. A Methodology for Household Appliances Behavior. In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Autonomic and Autonomous Systems (pp. 175-178).
Gudi, N., Wang, L. and Devabhaktuni, V., 2012. A demand side management based simulation platform incorporating heuristic optimization for management of household appliances. International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, Vol. 43, no. 1, pp.185-193.
Hamel, G. and Prahalad, C.K., 2013. Competing for the Future. Harvard Business Press.
Imai, T., Takeo, H., Yoshimura, M., Sakata, A., Sakakibarai, N. and Sekine, C., 2010. Improving the usability and learnability of a home electric appliance with a long-term usability study. Journal of Engineering Design, vol. 21, no. 3, pp.173-187.
Lee, S.J., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., 2010. Microwave oven. U.S. Patent D607,264.
Picking, R., Grout, V., McGinn, J., Crisp, J. and Grout, H., 2012. Simplicity, Consistency, Universality, Flexibility and Familiarity: The SCUFF Principles for Developing User. Innovative Applications of Ambient Intelligence: Advances in Smart Systems: Advances in Smart Systems, p.179.
Tone, D. L. 2005. User Interface Design and Evaluation. Amsterdam [etc.], Elsevier.
