OVERVIEW

UX/UI redesign of progressive web app that allows users to share and compare Spotify music listening data.

METHODS

Agile Framework | Stakeholder Interview | Heuristic Evaluation Competitive/Comparative Analysis | Screener Survey | User Interviews
Affinity Mapping | Persona Development MoSCoW Prioritization | Design Studio Sketching | Wireframing | Rapid Prototyping | Usability Testing

TOOLS

Trello | G Suite
Miro | Illustrator
Sketch | Figma
Zeplin | Keynote

ROLE

UX/UI Designer
UX Researcher | Product Designer

TEAM

Sam Colonna | Christine Idrovo
Matt Zlotnick | Jeremy Coleman

TIMEFRAME

Full-time, 20 Days

The Problem

This project’s focus was to evaluate and redesign progressive web app Soundpruf’s music data visualization UI, as well as enhance user engagement, while facilitating music’s powerful ability to forge community building connections.

The Opportunity

Music is a language we all share. Though everyone has different tastes and preferences, from the moment we’re born music has a powerful ability to communicate both emotion and experience, across generations, cultures, and political divides.

Discover

Stakeholder Interveiw
Heuristic Evaluation
Competitive Analysis
Screener Survey
User Interviews

Define

Affinity Mapping
“I” Statements & Insights
Persona Development
Problem Statement
Areas of Opportunity

Design

Feature Prioritization
Design Studio
Mid-Fi Wireframes
Mid-Fi Prototype
Usability Testing

Deliver

High-Fi Wireframes
High-Fi Prototype
Usability Testing
Stakeholder Presentation
Next Steps

Heuristic Evaluation

Evaluating the existing web app, three main issues stood out: 1) The app’s navigation, 2) the way in which the app visually communicated information, and, 3) the app’s behavior when users encountered system errors.

Competitive Analysis

Looking at the competition, we evaluated features offered by both leading streaming platforms (Spotify & Apple Music), as well as small start-ups (Festify & musictaste.space), which were dabbling creative ways to visualize and interpret users’ music listening data.

Talking to Users

Through a screener survey we learned that 88.2% of users streamed music via Spotify, 55.9% were interested in their listening habits, and 55.9% that’d they compared their music listening habits with friends.

Synthesizing Research

After interviewing 13 people (9 screener survey respondents, and 4 stakeholder-provided volunteers) it became clear that two groups of users were present: 1) current or would-be early Soundpruf adopters, and 2) new and would-be late Soundpruf adopters.

Identifying Users

However, the two groups overlapped in three key areas. Both groups: 1) believed their music tastes reflected their identity 2) connected with others by creating and sharing playlists, and 3) compared music with friends to find out the kind of people they were.

Articulating Insights

To convey our research insights in an emotionally useful form, we crafted two personas: a music aficionado named Joaquin, and a casual music listener named Jocelyn.

INSIGHTS

Opportunities

Three key areas of opportunity stood out to us:

1) View & Interpret: enhance users’ ability to view and interpret their listening data in meaningful ways.

2) Connect & Compare: allow users to connect and compare their listening data more easily and intuitively.

3) Celebrate & Discover: rethink Soundpruf’s existing badge system, and provide users with a dedicated music exploration page.

The Features

Entering the design phase, there were five features we prioritized that correlated to our key opportunity areas:

1) filter functionality, 2), a user profile page, 3) a compare feature, 4) a badge showcase, and 5) an explore page.

The Priority

But because Joaquin and Jocelyn’s primary goals were to gain more meaningful insights into their own listening habits, as well as share and compare music with friends, we prioritized both the insights and user profile pages, in order to most effectively address those needs.

The Test

Though Joaquin’s and Jocelyn’s specific needs were different, they both needed to share and compare music with their friends more easily & intuitively.

Wanting to test that functionality with users, we conducted usability tests, finding that:

• 3/3 users were successfully able to compare their listening data with another friend also using the
 Soundpruf platform
  

• 2/3 users were successfully able to both
 locate a new friend’s profile page, compare their
 listening data to them to look for common
 ground, and request them as a friend

The Verdict

Overall, users rated the app’s ease of use as 3.2 out of 5, and their satisfaction level as 3.7 out of 5.

Though these scores represented lower numbers than what we were hoping for, users commented that the app offered both a great deal of features and functionality.

So What?

By carefully listening to both our stakeholder’s goals, and our research participant’s responses, my team and I enhanced both Soundpruf’s UI experience, as well as its ability to facilitate connection and community amongst users.

And our stakeholders agreed, expressing gratitude both for our insights & fresh viewpoint, as well as a strong interest in working with us again when implementing our design!

What’s Next?

Though my team and I were very happy with the results of our 20 day design sprint, there were several areas of opportunity we identified for future exploration:

• Designing and building out a settings page to provide user more privacy and control over their Soundpruf experience.

• Expanding Soundpruf’s social media presence, as well as building a sharing feature into the app, allowing users access to their favorite social media platforms.

• Designing a mobile experience to increase Soundpruf’s user base, as well as further its goals of fostering relationships and building community through music.