Team Alarm Clock: Final Report Product Design and Development, December 2, 2007

This presentation will explain… The design process that helped us reach our final design The final design and specifications Our business plan for marketing and selling the alarm clock Our next steps we would take to improve the design of the product in order to take it to market

The Original Concept

Users with uneven schedules –Travellers –College Students –NOT Olin Students

Identifying User Values Packing space Relationship with Roommate Self Expression Saving Money Enough Sleep Reliablity

Pinning Down the Real Problem Waking up Setting interaction Trusting that the alarm will go off

Ideation

Design Evaluation Was it a plausible idea? Were we as designers excited? Did it really fit with user values? How well did it address specifically identified values to both the designer and the user such as ease of implementation, and augmentation of trust between the user and alarm? Evaluating Designs

Idea Down-Selection

Delving into Design Physical Interactions Nap Button Color Coding to show state Modularity Reviewing Main Designs

Physical Interactions

ClockPriceAlarmPowerDisplayUse Advance Alarm Clock $9.93BeepingWall/ 9V Red LEDStandard bed stand ; roll through setting Shake Awake$24Beep/ Vibrate 2xAAReflective LCD For use in pillow case or pocket; travel size Timex Nature Sounds $80CD/ preset sounds/ radio/ beep Wall/ 3xAAA Adjustable light LCD Set multiple alarms with individual sounds Travel Alarm Clock $17Beep1xAAAnalog w/ backlight Small and portable – knob setting Flying Alarm Clock $25Loud beep – flying propeller WallReflective LCD Must return propeller to base Alarm Clock Projector $20Beep/ visualWall/ 9V LCD/ wall projector Few button – cycle through; measures temp; M/D/Y Cell phone$50+Beep/ musicBatteryLCDVaries – difficult to set/operate Clocky$50Beep/ running 4xAAALCD2 button – runs in circles iHome$50iPod/ BeepWallLCD/ iPodClick-wheel setting, radio, weekly alarm Prior Art: snapshot

Final Design and Justifications

Business Plan

Executive Summary We have designed a unique modular alarm clock which changes the way people interact with their alarm and solves the annoyances of other alarm clocks. The alarm clock has been designed expressly to respond to the needs of our main customer group, college students. In testing it has proved to be engaging to use and to fix former problems that are universal to alarm clocks. Our clock consistently outperforms the competition in feature quality. Projected profitability by year 3, with 5-year sales projections of 120,000 clocks and cumulative profits of 3.3 million by year 5. Our four point marketing plan will move our sales from the internet to major customers like Target and WalMart while establishing our brand identity and customer trust.

Business Description Management and Strengths –Andrew Coats: Engineering experience, design skills and business savvy –Connor Riley: Software and user interface design experience –Avery Anderson: Mechanical engineering and multifaceted design skills Goals –Distinguish our alarm clock based on form, interaction, and affordability. –Provide products with the right features rather than the most features. Customers, industry –Main customers are college students and their parents doing back-to-school shopping

Product Description Modular alarm clock –Base module displays time, cube module’s faces display alarm times –When the cube is in the base, the alarm is set. To set the alarm time, pick up the cube and use the sliding switch on each face. To snooze, hit the top of the cube. –Features include: nap timer, multiple alarm sounds, pre-alarm snooze Competitive Advantages –Unique interaction from start to finish –Feature-rich yet simple to use –High-end look and feel without high-end cost

Product Features and Benefits Multiple alarms on individual facesCustomers with irregular schedules are freed from constantly resetting the alarm Nap timerTaking a nap becomes as simple as setting a timer Alarm time and current time simultaneously visible Customer know exactly when alarm will sound and can trust that the alarm is working Wheel mechanism to set timeCustomer can easily scroll backward and forward in time Different sounds for each alarmAlarm variety helps customers awaken fully Tap the cube at any time to snooze for an additional 10 minutes. Adds up to an hour of extra sleep with multiple taps. Users can extend the alarm time before the alarm goes off. Longer snoozes lead to more rest, less annoyance. After tapping Snooze, the new alarm time will display on the cube face. User is always informed of exactly when the alarm will sound. The battery in the cube is used as emergency power for the whole clock. Customer can trust that they will be woken up even in the event of a power outage.

Customers College students –16.5 million people –50% age range, 50% are age 24+ –56% female –Nearly half leave their home state –Diverse backgrounds This is a large market which is frequently moves house and is in need of housewares, including alarm clocks. Back-to-school shopping is an 8.5 billion dollar industry, and our product is ideally placed to appeal to college students and their parents who are spending that money.

Industry Facts Size of potential market: ~2 million incoming freshmen who live out of state Percent market captured: ~5% Trends in Growth: will follow college growth trends Barriers: consumer acceptance/brand recognition, high marketing costs

Competitive Analysis Highly segmented Low brand loyalty Key to success: –Unique features –Packaging/display placement –Promotions

How We Stack Up Price - $25 – more affordable than many specialty or novelty alarms Power – Wall/battery – the cube’s internal battery is used for emergency power for the base in the event that wall power is cut off when the alarm is set Alarm – Various preset sounds – A step up from most budget clocks Display – 5 LED screens

Marketing Strategy Target young tech-savvy customers through ThinkGeek, BoingBoing and internet sales Establish real-world presence at upscale ‘indie’ boutiques Advertise at colleges, sell in college bookstores Target back-to school shopping ($8.5 bn) at Target, WalMart

Year 1: Initial sales online Year 2: Selected roll-out (specialty retail) Year 3: Initial commercial launch Year 4: expansion Year 5: expansion

Next Steps Proceed to design the clock for manufacture while maintaining the important pieces of the interaction Apply for foundry space and funding Deeper analysis of market space Continued prototype and user testing