Deciding how much help a cooking appliance should give

The question

The company wanted its cooking products to do more for the people using them, in ways those people would value.

For a connected appliance, that meant its user experience, its proposition and the kinds of assistance it should offer. For a second appliance, it meant how features for more sustainable cooking could add value to the experience, across several markets.

Our approach

We treated each appliance as its own question, with a method built for it.

For the connected appliance, we looked at how people want to cook, from everyday meals to more ambitious cooking, and explored the kinds of help they would welcome. The interactions and the proposition were refined as the work went on.

For the second, the company’s feature ideas became stimulus in several markets, so people’s responses could be compared from one market to the next.

That work also looked past the features in front of people, to wider opportunities for the product.

What the team came away with

For the connected appliance, the product team had a refined user experience and proposition, shaped around the kinds of assistance people would value.

For the second, it had consumer evidence from several markets on its sustainability features, and directions for the product beyond them.