AURAL
The fix for all your leisure listening- a UX case study
Context: America leads the world in many sectors including but not limited to Military spending, Olympic sports, Aviation, Media and the home of the highest number of billionaires. However studies have also shown that the average American reads well below the global average, which is just over 5 hours a week, ranking in the 22nd position of all the nations worldwide. One could say that the increase in activities on the internet has diverted our attention away from what used to be the sole medium of information. We might not be able to come up with one specific reason as what could be the key reason for such behavior, but we are definitely keen on finding an alternative.
My Design process included:
Research and Research Synthesis, Design, Prototyping, Testing & Iteration
Research
User Interviews:
I reached out to my community network on slack. I interviewed 5 people. Among the 5 were 3 millennials and 2 Generation Z. The 2 Generation Z participants identified as she/her/hers and the 3 millennials identified as he/him/his.
Duration: 10 days
Research Synthesis:
Whilst organizing the information observed from the interview, I made an affinity mapping to group the data by key similarities and pain points. Some of the key quotes from the users were:
“I am always out and busy doing errands. I would love to multitask listening to the current news so that I can have a grasp of the key words”
“I would like to listen to my favorite magazines with a non-robotic voice”
“Transcripts cannot hurt. I would like to have the option so that I can look at it for a quick glance should I choose to read it”
Secondary Research
In addition to the user interview, I also studied the popular applications in the audio listening experience. Measuring by their popularity, applications such as ibooks, Audible and Kindle were able to successfully encourage users to read books.
Problem Statement
While the avid reader may have moved from a physical book reading experience to a digital reader and/or listener, the applications failed to serve the masses. There is a large group of people that don’t have the attention span and/or interest to read through the book but would like to be updated with the current progress in their interested field. There’s also the short story reader, the attention deficit reader and many in between that these apps fail to serve.
Solution:
Aural is a one stop shop application that connects you to all your leisure reads.
- This app helps you organize and download all your reads/ listens in a library, so that you can listen to it while you are multitasking.
- It’s designed just like the music; play, pause & shuffle.
- While the music is for the soul, the read is for the head and heart, allowing users to be a well-rounded intellectual person.
Design
I started off the design with a basic user flow that was easy to understand for the average user. It walks through the process from log in to the selection of article to finally playing that chosen article.
Wire Flows & Paper Prototype
I was able to sketch wire flows using the user flow as a guide. Next, I used each screen of the wire flow and began to make paper prototype.
Feedback & Iteration
Upon further testing of the paper prototype, some of the additional features the user asked for was :
- The option to choose accents, as a user mentioned that she was used to a default British male accent while transitioning to the audio technology.
- The option to share an article should they find it interesting.
- The user also wanted the option to download the reading list, so that they don’t have to rely on wifi.
Balsamiq: Clickable Prototype
I converted the paper prototype into a low- fidelity clickable prototype in Balsamiq. Some of the features that I updated based on the user feedback above was:
- Added popular accents, that would give the user the option to pick the voice and tone they preferred.
- Added a download option for those having difficulty accessing to a stable wifi.
- Added a cursor bookmark that moves along with the reader, aiding visual reader and audio listeners.
- Taking a step further to the above feature, I was also able to show a couple of lines on the unlock home page, for someone who wanted to quickly glance on the lock screen to capture a specific word.
Next Steps:
Should I continue to further my research, I would like to work more on:
- Conducting further user testing with the Balsamiq prototype
- Use user research to develop app specifics
- Developing high fidelity mockups