Introduction
The first laundromat was opened in 1934 in Forth Worth, Texas, and was the predecessor of the $3.4 billion industry today. With the invention of coin-operated laundry machines in 1957, the modern style of laundromat machines were made available to the public, and the same basic design is still employed today.The same technology utilized in laundromats around the world are also found in many residential places such as dormitories or apartments, where the lack of personal laundry rooms in many situations leads to the development of communal laundry areas instead.
With technological advances occuring in virutally every industry in modern times, laundry machines have modernized to a certain degree as well, mainly in an attempt to better satisfy consumer preferences in an increasingly cashless world. Laundromats and communal laundry areas around the country have begun to retrofit old coin-operated machines with "smart card" technology, with many claims of this technological advancement being the most advanced system of its time, and representative of significant improvement over more traditional systems. MIT has invested in MacGray laundry machines to be the most efficient by means of cost, time, and environmental impact, and these machines are found in all dorms across campus.
Surveying various users throughout my dorm, Simmons Hall, and other living groups across campus, it is clear that nearly all users are unique in one aspect or another regarding how they go about doing their laundry. Some students follow a rigorous schedule, washing on the same day of every week so that their pile of dirty clothes never builds up. Others wait until they are on their last pair of socks before they even think about doing laundry. Some students separate cold and warm washes, while others prefer to do everything in one load. Some utilize the dryers for all of their clothes, while others have more delicate items that they prefer to hang dry. It is clear that one system must fit the needs of so many, as no two people do a seemingly straightforward task the same way.
User Experience -- Washing
Washing
Drying
Time to do laundry! I found an open machine in the fifth floor laundry room, and begin to load the machine.
All my clothes are now loaded into the machine.
Now to enter detergent. For this load I'm only using regular detergent (no softner or anythign) so I just need to fill up the rightmost container.
Detergent goes in the spot indicated in the previous step. Make sure not to be distracted taking pictures when you do this otherwise your clothes will be extra sudsy!
You can now either pay with coins if you're traditional, or if you feel as though you are technologically advanced enough, you can pay with a smart card as we are going to do today.
This is the payment kiosk located a few steps from the washer. It first asked for you to slide your card.
And so you should slide your card...
which is apparently a more difficult task than you first imagined. These readers are actually a bit finicky, and only the correct speed of swipe will yield advancement to the next prompt.
Now you must enter the machine number that you placed your clothes in. This is crucial as to not give someone else a free load of laundry!
Most of the time I forget to initially look what number I used, so I quickly walk back to double check which one is mine.
I enter the number '1' into the machine.
The machine now confirms that you have entered the correct number, and displays the appropriate price for the washer you selected, which in this case, is $1.00.
Shortly thereafter, you have a choice to continue and pay for your load of laundry...
or cancel the entire process and revert back to the beginning.
Wanting clean clothes, I clicked 'Enter' to accept the transaction. A few moments later an approval statement is displayed to confirm the machine is paid for.
The washer beeps a few times, so it's now time to walk back to it to select the details of my wash cycle.
Benefits
No Loose Change
Ease of Use
Universality
Although each washing machine can be operated in a traditional sense with loose change, the ability to make all purchases with a single card avoids the annoyance of both carrying around, and finding loose change. However, this does mean that the account you are withdrawing from has enough funds to purchse a cycle.
The buttons on the front of the machine are well laid out, and minimalistically describe all the options available to the user. Temperature, cycle type, and soil level are grouped well, and easily distinguishable.
Not only do all machines in each dorm use the same technology, but every laundry room on campus use the same design, meaning if for some reason all your dirty laundry as in a dorm across the street, you could do a load just like you were at home! This also allows for users to not have to relearn the nuiances of each machine throughout the building if they would be different, but can instead rely on a distributed standard.
Close Proximity
Environmentally Friendly
Online Availability
The furthest laundry room from any room in Simmons is only three floors away, with the average room being within a floor of an accessible laundry room. Having in-house facilities is a major benefit to residents compared to having to transport laundry to a laundromat across campus.
All washing machines very clearly indicate that they are both high efficiency, and also encourage users to use high efficiency detergent when possible. There are several signs outlining this in most laundry rooms as well, so users can properly use the correct amount of detergent.
All machines are connected through the laundry view website. This website tracks the open washers, time remaining, and usage statistics of all laundry rooms across campus, allowing for users to most efficiently plan their laundry time.
Problems
Flow Sequence
Efficiency
Additional Cycles
The flow sequence is a bit clunky to say the least. As shown in the user-experience section above, there is quite a bit of unnecessary movement between the actual washing machine, and the payment machine.
While the machine is easy to use, it is certainly not the most efficient. The payment machine goes through instructions in series, meaning that one option must be selected before proceding to the next. This requires for users (especially experienced users) to spend an unnecessary amount of time clicking through prompts.
Additional cycles are a useful feature, but is most useful when your clothes are still more wet than desired near the end of the drying cycle. Additional cycles can be added at any point before or during a cycle, but after the cycle has completed, there is no option to add more time. Instead of the 25¢ charge for an additional cycle, you are instead stuck paying the original $1.00 price.
Two Displays
Time Customization
The separate displays (one for the machine, and one for the payment) causes a break in the flow process. Having to move from one to the other to complete the process is cumbersome, and to novel users, creates an unnecessary amount of movement throughout the laundry room for what would otherwise be a relatively stationary process.
There is often the case that the full 60 minute cycle is not needed. For example, some users expressed that in the case of more delicate items, they would prefer to put them in the dryer for only a few minutes, but leave most of the drying to be done by hanging the clothes.
Solutions
Two Displays
Efficiency
Additional Cycles
A major problem with the two separate displays is the distance between them not being as clos as many users desire. This can be solved by either placing the second display very close to the machines, or by simply incorporating all technology into one display. Having payment directly on the washer or dryer would be a modern adaptation of the traditional coin payment methods, but the additional amount of retrofitting may make this solution less than optimal.
The software of the payment kiosk is relatively primative, and is similar to card scanners at grocery stores that often have long-winded dialogs. For the novice user, this is helpful to be guided through the process, but for the experienced user, takes an unbearable amount of time between steps. Implementing a touchscreen with all the options laid out at once can streamline this process, yet keep it just as understandable for all parties.
As the problem arises from the fact that once the dryer door is opened, the usage cycle is considered done, and the system resets for the next user, a simple delay in the software could be applied here. Inacting a short delay after the door is opened such that additional cycles can still be added is a simple, yet elegant fix. This delay would be on the order of 20-30 seconds, providing users just enough time to check if their clothes are dry or not, and to then initiate the additional cycles.
Flow Sequence
Time Customization
The flow process shown to the right is actually clearly described in all laundry rooms throughout Simmons, and supposedly in most other laundry rooms across campus. This sign carefully outlines exactly what the user should do to optimize their experience, but no one really reads these signs. A more intuitive fix would involve the rearrangement of the payment kiosk to be closer to the machines, such that users would not have to move back and forth from one side of the room to the other to reselect options and enter information.
Customizable time can be easily fixed by allowing for more options beyond the traditional settings in the payment kiosk. Effectively, allowing the user to, instead of entering the number of additional cycles, simply enter the number of minutes they wish to use the dryer for could tailor the service to each person a lot better. Alternatively, the full cycle could be purchased, but the user can indicate to the kiosk they are finished prematurely, and receive funds back proportional to the time remaining.
