As a PM, we are in an organization which wants us to design a washing machine which caters to the millenial segment.

Here we need to define what a washing machine is and who millenials are. Then we need to understand what are the delighters and pain points for the persona.

Washing machine: A machine which washes, dries clothes. It has certain ways to wash clothes depending on the size, weight, type and timers to switch on and off.

Millenials: Young adults generally working 9 to 5 jobs, usually either recently married or single. They usually own smartphones, well versed in technology, have short attention span, are attracted by options which conserve energy (or are efficient), etc.

Pain points: Hate to segregate clothes based on types, size, whites(non whites), etc. Do not like finding themselves out of detergents. Do not appreciate lint on clothes. Are doing multiple things so can forget taking clothes out of the dryer.

Now let us identify the delighters for millenials and spell out features

1.No need to segregate: Machine can have another compartment where all dirty clothes are thrown and machine has a smart recognizer which can recognize and wash clothes based on weight, sensitivity, color, etc.

2. Smart detergent ordering mechanism: Machines could have detrgent intake compartment which can take a lot of detergent and use it optimally in each wash. Once it is close to finish, you get a reminder on your phone to reorder it. Another great step is if you set the notification to auto reorder, your detergents are automatically reordered from an online store.

3. Remove lint: Machines can automatically clean themselves to remove lint after few washes.

4. Auto ironing: Lot of millenials are multi taskers and have short attention span. In this regard, we need final solution once we put our clothes for washing. Hence, after drying, there can a mechanism to auto iron the clothes. There could be press which can identify the sensitivity of the cloth and press it with steam generated from wasted waster (after filtering) from washing. This will be efficient and save time.

Clarifying questions:

1)  Any specific geography to consider?

2) Millenials mean people in age range 20-30 now?

3) Any business goal to consider?

4) Is this for home? school? public place? hotel?

5) Any other users in the family to be considered?

Metrics to chase:  Customer experience

User groups

1) Millenials living in home  ( couples or singles) 

2)  Millenials living together in a hostel or dorm (common washing machine) 

User persona: Millenials living in home ( individual washing machine)

1) Tech savvy

2) Price sensitive maybe

3) Influnced by reviews

4) A little short on time. Expect convenience.

Pain points with existing machines:

1)  Occupy large space. Movement is not easy. Millenials tend to change places frequently.

2) Take long time to clean. You have to preplan for your next wear.

3) Does not iron clothes.

4) Energy and water inefficient

5) Accumulate clothes and then wash. Batching – not realtime.

Pain point to build a feature on :  Takes long time to clean.

Solution.

1)  Realtime washing plus ironing machine that sits somewhere in a corner in the bathroom. Clothes get cleaned by nano technology and iron by robotic mini machines

2) Air sprays which cleans clothes instantaneously

What are the objectives?

• Increase usage/ adoption

• Increase customer satisfaction

• Meet the personal/ environmental goals

User persona

• Tech savvy

• Constrained on time

• Things like separating types of  clothes, setting by type etc are not appealing

• Tend to forget chores

• Not very organized

Use journey

1. Use clothes, and put them in a hamper

2. Hamper is full, then put them in the washing machine

   1. More evolved, separate the types of clothes

3. Then select the settings based on the type of clothes

4. Put appropriate amount of powder

5. Select an appropriate setting

6. Switch on

7. Know when to unload and put it in dryer once the clothes are washed

Pain points

1. Knowing the right settings for the type of clothes

2. Knowing how much of powder to use

3. Drying the clothes after they are washed

Solutions

1. Auto-detect the setting based on the type of clothes and amount.

Success metrics

1. % of people who use the setting

2. % of repeat usage

3. NPS/ CSAT score

4. # sales

5. #revenue

There could be other benefits like increasing the longevity of clothes and reducing the water usage based on selecting the right settings.

Risks/ considerations

1. Can these smart modules be retrofitted to existing washing machines to increase adoption vs only available in new machines?