After performing research, the team considered the various design constraints related to their goal of developing a single-serve coffee system that is less wasteful. These can be seen in the matrix below, which organizes the constraints into the five categories: usage, cultural, technological, market, and physical.
It was noted that there were some competing constraints. Designing a coffee system to be more sustainable could conflict with the constraints of developing a product that is low-effort to dispose of and low in cost for materials and manufacturing to allow it to be affordable to the consumers.
| Constraint | Usage | Cultural | Technological | Market | Physical |
| Sustainability | It must be easy (low physical effort, low mental effort) for consumers to properly dispose of the product. | The concern towards reducing environmental footprint varies among different consumers. | Sustainable materials with properties for maintaining coffee quality must be available to construct the product | People may or may not be willing to spend more money and/or time for a product that is sustainable. | The size and materials of the design must allow for recycling at material recovery facilities. |
| Low-effort method of disposal for single-serving coffee machines | Cognitive Ergonomics: simple and straightforward method that does not involve a lot of thinking | The amount of effort that people are willing to put into sustainable pod usage varies depending on the person. | The new design must be compatible with the existing recycling systems (ex. recycling bins, material recovery facilities, etc.) | Design must comply with existing regulations, be composed of technology that can be implemented and manufactured, not violate existing patents | The size and materials of the design must allow for an easy user experience with recycling. |
| New product must be affordable so that consumers want to purchase it. | The consumer must feel that the new product performs at a high-enough level for him/her to spend money on it instead of existing coffee products. | Many Americans drink coffee frequently, so it does not make sense for them to spend a lot of money per serving of coffee. | Manufacturing process must allow for the products to have consistent quality and low cost. | The product should have a low cost in order to compete with competitor brands. | The product must be designed so that its material and manufacturing costs are low; that way, the product can be affordable to the consumer. |
| Safety | The way the the user interacts with the product needs to have user safety within mind | N/A | Safety Devices need to interact with current Keurig Systems and remain compatible | There are standards set by the FDA when creating products for human consumption | Any new designs or systems needs to fit within the current design in terms of safety |
| Ergonomics | Cognitive Ergonomics considers how the user will be interacting with the product | N/A | N/A | N/A | Physical Ergonomics will need to make sure that the product will be able to fit within the human hand and accommodate average human strength |
| Aesthetics | The feel of the product while using gives a sense of quality | Different Groups find different colors and feels pleasing | N/A | The look of the product is an important factor before users will buy said product | N/A |
| Different Brands/ Third Party Vendors | N/A | Some groups really care about what type of coffee that they are drinking and from what brand | N/A | Different brands would not want to damage their product image with inferior cup | Different companies have different types of coffee and colors of foil and quality requirements |