soundcloud expert review
TRANSCRIPT
Introduction
Methodology
In my expert review of SoundCloud.com I sought to identify the key usability issues across the site based on my own judgement as a designer as well as a user of the service.
The task called to identify the top 3 usability issues alongside my recommendations on how to address them. In this report, I have identified the top 3 sections that I believe required the most immediate attention, whilst identifying numerous usability issues that fall under distinct themes.
I used the following scale to analyse each element that I came across:
• Critical (high-priority issue; prevents user from completing task; causes significant irritation) • Serious (moderate-priority issue; sometimes prevents user from completing task; causes delays and frustration) • Minor (low-priority issue; causes some hesitation or frustration) • Positive/ Observation (not a usability issue / thought not related to task at hand)
For the purpose of this presentation, I have focused only on those elements which I consider to be critical or serious usability issues within this report.
Please refer to the Appendix for my additional findings and recommendations.
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Summary of Findings
SoundCloud.com offers an incredible music listening and discovery experience across a unique catalogue of tracks, with unique features for artists and music listeners alike. However, users need better guidance and more consistency in navigation in order to fully appreciate and enjoy the wealth of features that are available.
Throughout my exploration of the desktop site several distinct themes of usability issues arose:
• Confusion / Disorientation (where a user is confused / disoriented due to design, labelling or navigation issues) • Lack of findability / discoverability (user has difficulty encountering content or functionality) • Lack of efficiency (where it is possible for a user to complete a task but requiring considerable time to do so)
This report will cover the above themes and their related issues within the Groups, Playlists and Settings sections. I felt that these sections required more immediate attention as they could assist with increasing user engagement and regular usage of the platform.
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Groups
Groups - Current Issues
User is only prompted to “Create a new group” if they not a member of any groups.
Clicking on “Create a new group” opens new tab to “Start a Group” on outdated interface.
DisorientationLack of discoverability
ConfusionDisorientation
Groups tab does not exist within “Collection” page. When accessing Groups page user is taken to a different subnavigation that replicates some content from the “Collection” whilst also including other sections (specifically “Tracks”, “Followers” & “Groups”)
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Groups - Recommendations
Move groups tab to “Collection” page subnavigation. Alternatively, consider reviewing hierarchy of the subnavigation on this page. Hypothesis: users may be more inclined to revisit groups than see their list of followers.
User is only prompted to “Create a new group” if they not a member of any groups.
Clicking on “Create a new group” opens new tab to “Start a Group” on outdated interface.
DisorientationLack of discoverability
Users should be given an option to either create a new group or explore current groups within this “Groups” interface.
ConfusionDisorientation
Groups tab does not exist within “Collection” page. When accessing Groups page user is taken to a different subnavigation that replicates some content from the “Collection” whilst also including other sections (specifically “Tracks”, “Followers” & “Groups”)
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Exploring Groups - Current Issues
There is no effective process to explore groups. It is dependent on the user to either know a specific group name or to browse through seemingly randomly collated groups.
Lack of discoverability
Observation: Seems like the only way to explore groups is to select the Groups dropdown from the top navigation of the “Start a Group” page.
Design of page is outdated and navigation differs significantly from the majority of other pages.
Disorientation
Number of uncategorised group pages are a barrier for people to explore.
Lack of efficiency
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Exploring Groups - Recommendations
There is no effective process to explore groups. It is dependent on the user to either know a specific group name or to browse through seemingly randomly collated groups.
Lack of discoverability
Link initial group recommendations to listening behaviours, liked tracks or followed artists on “Collection” page. This would encourage more active exploration and participation.
Update “Explore Groups” page to mirror design of “Explore” on Home “Stream”.
Design of page is outdated and navigation differs significantly from the majority of other pages.
Disorientation
Number of uncategorised group pages are a barrier for people to explore.
Consider drill-down filtering groups based on categories to better guide users. Link to categories currently selectable from “Explore” on Home “Stream” for consistency.
Lack of efficiency
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Playlists
No Playlists - Current Issues
Observation: When the user is not a member of any “Groups” they are prompted to “Create a new group” immediately instead of being directed to a help page (as is the case in an empty “Playlists” section).
If user has not created a playlist, link to “Learn about playlists” leads to help page instead of an option to create one (from a users’ likes for example).
There is no intuitive way for a user to create a playlist from the “Playlists” section.
Hypothesis: as an artist or avid music listener, efficiently and intuitively creating playlists is one of the primary user goals.
Lack of efficiency
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No Playlists - Recommendations
Consider giving the option for a user to “Create a playlist from the “Likes” in their Collection straight away.
If user has not created a playlist, link to “Learn about playlists” leads to help page instead of an option to create one (from a users’ likes for example).
There is no intuitive way for a user to create a playlist from the “Playlists” section.
Hypothesis: as an artist or avid music listener, efficiently and intuitively creating playlists is one of the primary user goals.
Lack of efficiency
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Creating Playlists - Current Issues
User is prompted to add more tracks from their “Likes” but not from their existing playlists.
Lack of efficiency
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Creating Playlists - Recommendations
User is prompted to add more tracks from their “Likes” but not from their existing playlists.
Lack of efficiency
Consider giving the option for users to add tracks from either their “Likes” or “Playlists” using a tabbed interface to switch between the two.
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Editing Playlists - Current Issues
Clicking on pencil icon opens new tab to edit playlist on outdated interface.
Disorientation
Positive: It’s possible to add tags and reorder tracks within a playlist without leaving the Playlist page.
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Editing Playlists - Current Issues
Design of page is outdated and navigation differs significantly from the majority of other pages.
ConfusionDisorientation
“Add new tracks” button opens browser dialog to upload tracks from your local library. Labelling is confusing for users and doesn’t produce the expected result of being able to choose new tracks from “Your likes”.
Additionally, no information provided on supported formats.
ConfusionLack of efficiency
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Editing Playlists - Recommendations
“Add new tracks” button opens browser dialog to upload tracks from your local library. Labelling is confusing for users and doesn’t produce the expected result of being able to choose new tracks from “Your likes”.
Additionally, no information provided on supported formats.
Design of page is outdated and navigation differs significantly from the majority of other pages.
ConfusionDisorientation
ConfusionLack of efficiency
Consider allowing for users to edit their playlist within the Playlist page rather than opening a new tab. Integrate edit fields for Title, Image, Description, Type, Genre, More options and Advanced Settings to pre-existing ability in Playlist page to add tags and reorder tracks.
Change labelling from “Add new tracks” to “Upload tracks” with a clear list of supported formats below or within a tooltip. Also consider allowing users to add new tracks from their “Likes” as well.16
Editing Playlists - Current Issues
Auto-completed tag suggestions don’t appear within “Edit playlist” page despite functioning correctly on the individual playlist page.
ConfusionLack of efficiency
Labelling on advanced settings is confusing.
Confusion
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Editing Playlists - Recommendations
Auto-completed tag suggestions don’t appear within “Edit playlist” page despite functioning correctly on the individual playlist page. Labelling on advanced
settings is confusing.
ConfusionLack of efficiency
Confusion
Consider replicating auto-completed tag functionality from playlist page for consistency.
Alternatively see previous point on page 16 on integrating edit functionality into Playlist page.
Consider using one distinct phrase along with a light switch to go between on/off states.
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Settings
Settings - Current Issues
It’s difficult to find “Settings” nested amongst the variety of options underneath the ellipses icon.
Clicking on different sections within the subnavigation yields different and disorienting results. “Profile” and “Content” pages function as tabs, “Account”, “Connections”, “Email” and “Privacy” open new tabs in the outdated interface.
Clicking on the question mark icon next to “Pro Plan” opens a tooltip which points users to the “Subscription” page which lives outside of “Settings”. Labelling is unclear (although there is an embedded link to the page) and navigation to page is disorienting.
Lack of findability
ConfusionDisorientation
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Clicking on the question mark icon next to “Pro Plan” opens a tooltip which points users to the “Subscription” page which lives outside of “Settings”. Labelling is unclear (although there is an embedded link to the page) and navigation to page is disorienting.
Settings - Recommendations
Clicking on different sections within the subnavigation yields different and disorienting results. “Profile” and “Content” pages function as tabs, “Account”, “Connections”, “Email” and “Privacy” open new tabs in the outdated interface.
Integrate various sections within subnavigation to mirror functionality of “Profile” and “Content” tabs for consistent browsing.
It’s difficult to find “Settings” nested amongst the variety of options underneath the ellipses icon.
Consider adding a separate button for settings that allow users quick and easy access.
Alternatively place settings under profile dropdown menu (with supplementing gear icon) to better facilitate discovery of the “Settings” page.
Lack of findability
ConfusionDisorientation
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Conclusion
Wrap-up
SoundCloud.com is a fantastic platform that encourages music enthusiasts to discover more of the music they love. Compared with Spotify and other music streaming services, SoundCloud’s offers an effortless and ongoing exploration of music that doesn’t just stop at one song or album.
Capitalising on this key benefit is an opportunity for SoundCloud. By streamlining the discoverability and efficiency of how users navigate Groups, Playlists and Settings, SoundCloud can further improve engagement and increase their active user-base.
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Appendix
Search Bar - Current Issues
Search seems to be using a mixture of auto-complete and auto-suggest with instant results. It is unclear how these suggestions are filtered, with some searches returning up to 10 instant results and others fewer.
“Search for” call to action is difficult to see and doesn’t provide users with immediate recognition of receiving a greater pool of results.
Groups are very rarely auto-suggested. A search for “hip-hop” uncovered suggestions for 2 tracks, 3 artists but no groups.
No quick way for user to clear the search bar and start again.
Category iconography (ie. track, artist) may be unclear to users.
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Search Bar - Recommendations
Consider clarifying and organising search suggestions with easy to understand written categories, ie. Trending, Artists, Tracks, Groups.
Change labelling to “View all results” with clear iconography (ie. arrow) that users recognise will take them to a results page.
Consider moving this action to the bottom of the search suggestions to better aid user flow and thought process.
Add “x” button to instantly clear search field.
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Search Results - Current Issues
Searches for identical terms can sometimes yield results in differing orders. Here, searching for “childish gambino” returned the artist as the top hit, yet searching for “childish gambino” again later didn’t return the artist’s profile.
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Pop-Up Notifications - Current Issues
Notification is not very noticeable and often doesn’t appear in the area where the user action is taken.
Design of close button not consistent with other instances across site.
When user “likes” a track the notification reads “___ was saved to “your Collection”. Clicking on this notification takes you to your “Likes”. Inconsistency in lexicon.
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Pop-Up Notifications - Recommendations
Change labelling from “your Collection” to “your Likes”.
Make design of “x” button consistent with other instances on-site.
Increase vertical padding on upper right-hand notification to increase readability.
Consider notifications appearing in the specific area an action has been taken (ie. above “Liked” state) or give more precedence to top right notification.
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Additional FindingsUsability Issues
There were several instances where “Playlists” were referred to as “Sets”, most notably within the navigation of the outdated pages referenced within the report as well as in the URL for “Playlists” within “Collection” (https://soundcloud.com/you/sets).
When browsing the stream and clicking onto an individual song or playlist (without opening a new tab) going back to the stream, soundcloud.com does not return the user to the last tracked position.
Users cannot share playlists or liked tracks from the “Collection” page without clicking into the track or playlist itself.
Users cannot like or share individual tracks within a playlist on their stream. Additionally, users cannot add individual tracks from playlists within the stream to other playlists.
Errors
After linking my Facebook profile, the “Who to follow” page broke and returned no results. Upon refreshing the page I could only see “Who to follow” based on my plays and not on my social connections.
An incorrect number of playlists are being displayed on the sidebar of one of the people I am following. Despite the fact they have created three playlists, “1 playlist” is being displayed.
When sharing a playlist I have created, the thumbnail generated in “Visual embed” is of my profile picture, yet the thumbnail in “Classic embed” is of the title track / first track in the playlist.
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