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CRITIQUE #5
Indoor/Out Door Grill

Below are the pictures of an Indoor/Outdoor Grill:

I came across this product when I was looking at design of some daily use appliances in Wal-Mart.
It is called Indoor/Outdoor Grill costing $79.99
Here are a few evaluations from usability perspective as I used this product a few times:
Visibility of System Status:
Poor. The only way to determine if the food is done is to open the lid and check the food temperature using a meat thermometer may be. Also as the lid is opaque, there is no way to guess if the food is ready and for a novice cook who does not know what is the approximate time to grill chicken or any food item may end up opening the grill several times.
Flexibility and efficiency:

• The stand to hold the grill is not an efficient one as it provides only minimal support to the grill vessel above it.
• Even though the handles are cool-touch and heat safe, the handles are so close to the grill that the chances of minor burn are high
• There is a plate below the grill which collects the oil or grease used for cooking. Most of the time one ends up dripping the oil on the floor as the fitting of this plate is such that it is not easy to remove and one has to take a guess in which direction(clock wise or counter clockwise) to move the plate in order to remove it
• The good thing is the temperatures are adjustable and so different foods can be cooked at different temperatures.
• The size of the grill is limited to cook food for more than 2 people and renders it useless for a party
• The good point about this grill is that the stand is detachable but if one is using the stand while cooking, he or she has to be careful when turning the food items over the grill with tongs as the grill may trip down loosing the balance due to not so good support of the stand to the grill vessel.
• The Grill does not provide the facility to add charcoal or wood so when used outdoor one need to have a charging point somewhere.
• While cleaning the grill, one has to be careful with the electric part. Better design would have been to separate the electric part completely from the grill vessel or make them detachable.

Aesthetic and Minimalist Design:
Over all look of the product is soothing to the eyes and the piece looks attractive in the kitchen or when used outdoors.