Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

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9A
Summary:
After conducting my interviews, I realized that maybe this is not a problem that a lot of people have. The first person I interviewed was while I was at Target. I had asked a sophomore if she had a problem with the lint in the dryer, causing her to re-run the cycle. She said, “as a sophomore, living on campus, I don’t really have that problem because the dryers have instructions and reminds students to clean the lint before starting the dryer.” However, she did say at home, this used to be a problem that happened to her a lot. She learned to deal with it when her mother came up with a rule in the house to clean the lint before starting the dryer. The next two people that I had interviewed basically said that they thought the LED next to the on/off button on the dryer would be a good idea, but, personally, they have no use for it right now, as that problem doesn’t happen often enough. They did tell me, however, that relatives and friends of theirs do make that mistake pretty often. I interviewed one of my classmates from my advertising strategy class at school. She had said that she thought the LED wasn’t that useful, but the app that I had also mentioned was a good touch and that I should add different drying features to it. The last person I interviewed was my roommate’s boyfriend. He gave me the most feedback. He had said that instead of just an LED indicator, I should have different colors meaning certain things, such as green, indicating that the lint was cleared, and red meaning that the lint needed to be cleaned. For the app, he suggested that the same app control the dryer and the washer. He said, “sometimes, the washer is done before I get home from school or work, which makes my clothes smell not so fresh and moldy.” He thinks a feature should be added on the washer that doesn’t take that much utilities and keeps the washer or dryer running. After conducting my interviews, I noticed that there are still a lot of kinks I need to work out. This assignment has definitely opened my eyes and made me more aware of what other’s unmet needs are.

Inside the boundary
Outside the boundary
Who is In: mostly off-campus college students, busy parents, busy people
 Who is Not: on-campus college students, people who don’t do their laundry, people who remember to take out the lint.
What the Need Is:
An indication for the dryer lint.
What the Need Is Not: remembering to check the lint before running the dryer.
Why the Need Exists:
People forget to check the lint catcher of the dryer machine
Alternative Explanations:
Having an LED indicator for the lint in the cryer may not be necessary, but the app for both the washer and dryer might be.

Comments

  1. Christopher ZislinFebruary 16, 2020 at 4:18 PM

    Hey Deborah,

    I still believe that an LED light would work well on the dryer. I t wouldn't really raise the costs by a lot and would be very handy. I like the one interviewers suggestion of having different colors that tell you if it is clean or needs to be changed out. I really think this idea has a lot of potential to become an addition on every dryer out there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maeghan SolankiFebruary 16, 2020 at 9:13 PM

    Deborah,
    I appreciate how in depth your post is specifically when you mention the individual opinions of your interviewees. I did not do that, but wish I had after you have executed it above quite well.
    I actually think it would be nice to have a lint indicator light in dryers because I would rather do something right the first time. Having to rerun the dryer a few times because I have forgotten to remove the lint is rather tiresome.
    Great Idea!
    Respectfully, Maeghan Solanki

    ReplyDelete
  3. Linnea LindemanFebruary 17, 2020 at 9:53 AM

    Deborah,
    I really appreciate how insightful you were in taking the responses you got and ensuring that you could make the best idea possible by adapting to their feedback. I think that the idea of the light indicating different things is also a great idea, and could make your initial idea stronger. I still think there is a need for something like this, even if it may not apply to everyone. Just the other day, my friend was complaining about how their roommates NEVER changes the lint out when they do wash, and he doesn't even think he knows that he is supposed to. This could help people like that.

    ReplyDelete

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