Product Redesign Although, there could be many design modifications in the currently prevalent designs of a vacuum cleaner, I had to zero in on two major modifications for the assignment that could improve the overall user experience.
Cord Handling Mechanism The heavy-duty vacuum cleaners utilized for large scale cleaning operations, have cords which keep dangling alongside. Even the cleaners present in the graduate housings have such cords which need to manually retracted and rolled back again after use. However, this is very inconvenient for the user because, cord handling needs to be done simultaneously while cleaning. I have personally tripped over these wires quite a few times. In my opinion, a simple mechanism that could retract the cord on the basis of the force exerted to pull/push the vacuum would prove quite handy. It could be very similar to the mechanism that is used in measuring tapes to retract it upon use. It could also have a manual lever to collect the wire without causing any strain to the user. It could potentially provide the following benefits: Safety: Loose wires can be dangerous, although necessary but the extra length could be automatically retracted Efficient Use: If the time required to untangle the wire and, then putting it back to the vacuum is accounted for, it could save some precious minutes during each usage cycle

One of the users, Oumaima, shared the picture of her vacuum cleaner and explained that the wires always get entangled while in use.

Cord Wheel designed to hold the unused cord which can be easily extracted. Built in rollers make the process more convenient.

No wire mess because the cord leaves the cover at a threshold tension calculated after studying the pull exerted by users. And, it goes back inside if there is a slack. Manual lever could be used to collect the cord.

Ergonomic Handle Although difficult to implement, it is a pain point shared by most users. They cited that they didn't like the overall experience of moving their vacuum cleaners with the handles. Some of them even complained of strain in after short usage. For users of commercial vacuum cleaners, this is more serious. These cleaners are exposed to this strain for a prolonged duration. I had a word with a cleaner on campus. He complained of the overall handle design and usage. In my opinion, the handle could be redesigned to improve the user experience. For instance, the gripping region could be modified for better grip. The inclination of the handle could be modified such that it requires minimal user effort to move it. Adding to all of this, there still exist vacuum cleaners which have inaccessible controls. The handle could include these controls using a simple wire harness.

Modified Handle for double/single handed usage. Power button shifted to the handle. And, better grip due to special shape adapted for hands.

Thank you for reading!
Analysis by Rushil Batra