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Copy of SoundCloud - Heuristics Eval (1).png
Copy of SoundCloud - Heuristics Eval (1).jpg
Copy of SoundCloud - Heuristics Eval (1).png

heuristic 

evaluation & 

redesign

role

UX/UI Designer

skills

Figma, UI Design, Communication,  Collaboration, Usability Heuristics Knowledge, Critical Thinking, Interaction Design Knowledge, Data Analysis,

team

(UX Designers) Kery Mauvais, Jesus Garcia, Naomi Lioy

time span

October 2023

task flow

Current State Task Flow.png

current state

HEURISTIC OBSERVATION

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USABILITY ISSUES

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Lack of clarity

Missing Upload & Progress Indicators

Song Location Issue

User Profile Accessibility Challenges

Content Placement Overload

SEVERITY DETERMINATION

2. Match Between System & the Real World

Lack of clarity

When on the homepage, there is a lack of clarity on where exactly the user can go to upload a song. 

It is placed very small in the top right corner using an icon that does not provide a concise indication to add new song or upload. 

Copy of SoundCloud - Heuristics Eval (3).png

We’d like to add a “plus” icon / button in the nav bar so user’s can identify easily where to upload songs. 

Suggested Solution

1.Visibility of System Status

Missing Upload & Progress Indicators

A quick message shows saying “Processing your track. It will be ready in a few minutes” But it doesn’t show you any indication of how far along it is in it’s upload progress nor does it indicate when the upload is complete. 

Copy of SoundCloud - Heuristics Eval (4).png

We suggest a progress bar at the top of the screen and confirmation that confirms upload of a song. 

Suggested Solution

4. Consistency and Standards

There is no “My Songs” or “ Songs” to indicate or show where your songs go. There are other options, but nothing for single songs. User has to visit their profile in order to find their songs

Copy of SoundCloud - Heuristics Eval (5).png

Song Location Issue

Adding another line item with Songs would be helpful. Not all artist have playlists or albums when uploading a song.

Suggested Solution

7. Flexibility and Efficiency of use

​User Profile Accessibility Challenges

he user seeks their profile to find newly uploaded song but faces difficulty finding it, so they backtrack to the home screen. 

The absence of a profile picture leads them to explore other tabs until they finally spot it in the top-right corner of the screen of the “library” tab.

Suggested Solution

Perhaps another line item indicating where the user profile is, or placing the profile photo icon someplace more visible and a bit larger.

Copy of SoundCloud - Heuristics Eval (6).png
Copy of SoundCloud - Heuristics Eval (7).png

8. Aesthetic and Minimalist Design

Finding participants who would fit the criteria to test our revisions. 

Content Placement Overload

We suggest implementing a design with greater utilization of spacing. By creating a more condensed and organized layout, you can arrange content more effectively, allowing users to quickly locate and interact with the elements they need.

Suggested Solution

PRIORITIZATION MATRIX

1

2

Lack of clarity on where exactly the user can go to upload a song.

Missing Upload & Progress Indicators

3

4

Song Location Issue

User Profile Accessibility Challenges

5

Content Placement Overload

Prioritization Matrix Unit 4 (1).jpg

revised state of design

7. Flexibility and Efficiency of Use

Changes Made to User Profile Accessibility Challenges

e user seeks their profile to find newly uploaded song but faces difficulty finding it, so they backtrack to the home screen. 

The absence of a profile picture leads them to explore other tabs until they finally spot it in the top-right corner of the screen of the “library” tab.

Copy of SoundCloud - Heuristics Eval (6).png

Old Screen

Copy of Unit 4 Pt 2 SoundCloud (3).png

New Screen

4. Consistency and Standards

Changes Made to Song Location Issue

We added an additional line item labeled “My Songs” so artist are able to find the songs they upload.

Copy of SoundCloud - Heuristics Eval (5).png

Old Screen

Copy of Unit 4 Pt 2 SoundCloud (4).png

New Screen

1.Visibility of System Status

Changes Made to Missing Upload & Progress Indicators

We added a progress bar and confirmation of song upload so the user is able to see a live and visible update.

Copy of SoundCloud - Heuristics Eval (4).png

Old Screen

Copy of Unit 4 Pt 2 SoundCloud (5).png
Copy of Unit 4 Pt 2 SoundCloud (6).png

New Screen(s)

4. Consistency and Standards

Changes Made to  Lack of Clarity

There is no “My Songs” or “ Songs” to indicate or show where your songs go. There are other options, but nothing for single songs. User has to visit their profile in order to find their songs

Copy of SoundCloud - Heuristics Eval (3).png

Old Screen

Copy of Unit 4 Pt 2 SoundCloud (7).png

New Screen

8. Aesthetic and Minimalist Design

No Changes Made for Content Placement Overload

We decided to not move forward with making any changes to this screen due to the low rating on the severity scale and we felt that maybe Artists and Listeners may like the app having the many explorations of genre and music on the homepage. 

Copy of SoundCloud - Heuristics Eval (7).png

key learnings 

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Implementing improvements from Heuristic Evaluation 

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Efficient workflow in redesigning 

Copy of Unit 4 Pt 2 SoundCloud .png

Getting familiar with Heuristics in depth

next steps

Testing 

Finding participants who would fit the criteria to test our revisions. 

Feedback

Collecting valuable feedback from testing to assist with any additional revisions. 

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