Project Phase 5
Design Revisions
Collaboration Concept
An idea we were planning on having early on in P3 is the concept of Collaboration, where other users can recommend songs to add to the owner’s collection. Unfortunately, wiring the major infrastructures of the more important concepts, like Notes, Sharing and Collection, took longer than we anticipated.
Explore Tab
Originally, we had user, shared, and public collections all under the “collections” tab but moved public collections to a new tab called “Explore.” As collections now only shows user-specific content, we believe this change makes more sense.
Study Tool
We were envisioning the study tool to be something like Quizlet, where the song’s “answers” (or lyrics) can be flipped to understand the underlying notes. The final study tool ended up being a “fill-in-the-blank” assessment that increases frequencies of a note by how often the user gets it wrong.
Edit Buttons
Originally, we wanted users to be able to edit songs but realized that because the option to alter notes/lyrics is given during the song generation step, it is not completely necessary. The lack of editing buttons lets us prioritize the design and routing in the site, rather than spending too much time on forms and API calls.
Create Collection #2
Originally, the “generate song” page only let you make a song and add it to a collection. Our TAs suggested that if a user was not sure which collection to add their new song to, a nice shortcut could be an option to create a collection on that page, as well.
Task List
| Task Number | Title | Instruction | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Task 1 | Creating a new Song Collection | "Navigate to the 'Collections' section and initiate the creation of a new song collection. The collection is initially empty." | This task is designed to evaluate the accessibility and intuitiveness of the process for creating a new song collection within the app's 'Collections' section. By observing how users navigate to this feature and initiate the creation of an empty collection, we aim to uncover any potential hurdles or complexities in the user flow. This hands-on assessment provides valuable insights into the ease with which users can engage with the app's core functionality, offering a perspective that transcends a cognitive walkthrough. Through user interactions, we seek to identify any usability issues or design elements that might hinder the seamless creation of a new collection, aiming to refine the interface for an effortless and enjoyable user experience. |
| Task 2 | Generating a song in a collection | "Access the 'Song Generator' and upload your study notes. Select a tune of your preference and add it to the collection you previously created." | This task evaluates the usability and comprehensibility of the 'Song Generator' feature by assessing users' ability to upload study notes, choose a tune, and integrate the generated song into an existing collection. By observing how users interact with these functionalities, we aim to understand the ease of navigating the 'Song Generator' interface and its integration with the broader functionality of creating song collections. This user-centric approach allows us to identify potential challenges or confusion points users might encounter while using these features, enabling us to refine the interface for seamless integration and enhanced user experience. This empirical assessment complements a cognitive walkthrough by providing insights into the practical application and usability of these key features. |
| Task 3 | Accessing original notes and playing the generated song | "Playback the song you've recently generated and examine your original study notes by clicking on the song's lyrics." | This task aims to evaluate the accessibility and functionality of the playback feature within the app, specifically focusing on the integration between generated songs and user-uploaded study notes. By instructing users to playback the generated song and access their original study notes through the song's lyrics, we aim to gauge the seamlessness and intuitiveness of accessing supplementary content related to the music. Observing how users interact with this feature provides valuable insights into the ease of navigating between music and associated study materials. This user-centered evaluation allows us to pinpoint any potential issues or inefficiencies in accessing supplementary content linked to the generated song, helping us refine the interface for a more cohesive and user-friendly experience. |
| Task 4 | Sharing collections | "Return to the collections tab, locate the collection you've created, and share it specifically with Matthew, ensuring it's set to private access." | This task evaluates the accessibility and user-friendliness of the sharing functionality within the 'Collections' tab. By instructing users to return to the collections section, locate a specific collection, and share it with a designated recipient while adjusting privacy settings, we aim to assess the ease with which users can manage sharing preferences. Observing user interactions in this process helps identify potential complexities or difficulties users might face while sharing collections with specific individuals. This user-centered assessment enables us to uncover any usability issues or ambiguities in the sharing feature, allowing for potential refinements to ensure straightforward and secure sharing experiences tailored to individual preferences. |
| Task 5 | Make a new public collection | "Create a new collection and populate it with more notes. Afterwards, change the collection's privacy settings to 'public,' making it accessible to everyone in the world!" | This task focuses on evaluating the creation and management of collections, specifically emphasizing the process of populating a new collection with additional content and adjusting its privacy settings to 'public.' By guiding users through the creation, content addition, and public accessibility settings of a collection, we aim to assess the ease and clarity of these features. Observing user interactions in this process helps identify potential challenges or ambiguities users might encounter when creating and sharing content publicly. This user-centric evaluation allows us to uncover any usability issues or complexities in managing collection privacy settings, enabling enhancements to ensure straightforward and secure content sharing experiences tailored to diverse user preferences. |
| Task 6 | Log in as Matthew | "Log in as Matthew and access the collection shared with you. Click on the shared collection to view its content." | This task assesses the accessibility and user experience associated with accessing a shared collection after receiving an invitation. By guiding users to log in as a specific user and navigate to the shared collection, we aim to evaluate the clarity and ease of accessing shared content within the app. Observing user interactions in this process helps identify potential hurdles or difficulties users might face while accessing shared collections. This user-centered assessment enables us to uncover any usability issues or complexities in the shared collection access workflow, allowing for improvements that ensure a seamless and intuitive experience for users interacting with shared content. |
| Task 7 | Utilizing Study Tool | "Navigate to the study tool and select the collection you wish to study. Attempt to answer the questions accurately. Then click on 'Finish Studying,' regardless of completion." | This task aims to assess the usability of the study tool feature by guiding users through the process of selecting a specific collection for study and attempting to answer questions accurately within it. By observing user interactions and their engagement with the study tool, we aim to evaluate the intuitiveness and effectiveness of the question-answering process. The instruction to click on 'Finish Studying' regardless of completion allows us to understand how users navigate and conclude their study sessions. This user-centric evaluation provides insights into potential difficulties or uncertainties users might encounter while using the study tool, allowing for refinements to improve the overall user experience and usability of this feature. |
| Task 8 | Exploring Public Collections | "Proceed to the Explore Page and select the collection displayed there." | This task focuses on evaluating the user experience associated with exploring and accessing collections through the Explore Page. By guiding users to navigate to the Explore Page and select a displayed collection, we aim to assess the clarity and ease of discovering content within the app's Explore section. Observing user interactions in this process helps identify potential hurdles or uncertainties users might encounter while exploring and selecting collections from the Explore Page. This user-centric assessment enables us to uncover any usability issues or complexities in navigating and accessing content through the Explore feature, allowing for improvements that enhance the discoverability and accessibility of collections for users. |