User Experience To understand the pain-points and find possible alternatives, I interacted with a few users and asked them the following questions: How frequently do you use a vacuum cleaner? What do you think is good about it? What would you want to improve? Listed below are a few excerpts from my user interviews. I want to thank all of them for being patient and discussing their user experience. These excerpts are followed by a summary of what appeals and doesn't appeal to the users.

"I don't use very frequently, probably once in a month. But, cleaning it is a pain whenever I do. Also, it doesn't clean properly till the last speck of dust. I would want it to be less noisy and friendly for every surface." - Anupam Jena

"I use it every week. I didn't like the vacuum cleaner in my dorm because it was too bulky. I bought a smaller one of my own but, it doesn't do its job well. It leaves behind dust and needs to be cleaned quite frequently." - Oumaima Makhlouk

"My parents have this vacuum and it has 2 very important design flaws, the stupid ball thing rotates too much so when youre pushing it around, you have to apply force for it to remain upright, straining your wrists. Also, sucky nozzle is also the handle -- kinda a pain to use. It requires you to release all of the cord first" - Rachel Deghuee

"I use it weekly but face difficulties in steering it. It is also a pain when required reaching out to narrow spaces and is too bulky to handle. I would desire something wireless and autonomous to save my time and effort." - Abhimanyu Singh Bhakuni

"I hardly ever use it. But, cleaning it is a mess and I avoid it. It would be awesome if there was a way to attach a plastic bag for example and that the dust is thrown there instead of having to clean the filter and empty the filter manually." - Nicolas Beltrame

User Experience Summary What works? Minimal Human Effort
Most users noted that the part they liked the best about using a vacuum cleaner is its reduction of human effort. A typical vacuum cleaner user would just push around a machine rather than bend, clean, sweep and collect dust manually. What doesn't work? Couldn’t understand how to use in the first go
User experience is largely governed by the ease of use. A simple product like a vacuum cleaner shouldn’t be expected to have a lengthy learning curve for proper use. It should ideally be usable in the first go. Some products like the Dyson series clearly identify the specific handling mechanisms on their products with a different color (usually yellow) to grab user’s attention and make it easy to use in the first time itself.
 Repeated cleaning of the dust bag
It’s very difficult to replace this because, it is one of the essential portions of the vacuum cleaner. The vacuum loses efficiency if left uncleaned for a long duration. 
 Difficult to move/steer
Many users found it hard to push/pull the vacuum cleaner on the floor, especially the carpeted ones. They primarily complained of a certain resistance and the feeling of bulkiness while moving it.
 Bulkiness
Many users complained that there vacuum cleaner seems quite heavy and bulky while use. They would ideally desire something sleeker which could fit their storage areas better.
 Handling the cord
Most users complain of either an inadequate cord length for their cord length for their cleaning needs or a mess of cord lying haywire while cleaning. Some even reported that they have tripped quite a few times during operation. Adding to this, one needs to bend in inconvenient for rolling the wire back.

An excellent study carried out by Harmer L., et al. categorizes the some features on the basis of user desirability.

Join me and a friend on a cleaning expedition!