Strategy & Design with your business in mind

Friday is almost here, what do you have on your mind?

Well, the geek that I am, I am thinking about User Experience and User Interface/Interaction Design as I drive up to the office this morning with the top down and Pandora/Last.fm blaring through the speakers via my iPhone!

I am a gadget freak, I soooo love technology! But I digress…

Anyhow, the top is down in the convertible, I have my 45 SPF sunscreen, which comforts me, the California sun is warming my skin (not burning it) and the wind is blowing through my hair. Needless to say, but I will anyway, it’s a gorgeous sunny day in San Diego driving up the 5 freeway. Even in traffic, or being behind that “gosh darn” cop at 65mph for the first 15miles, I am at peace. I am driving in great weather with the top down and great music bumping through speakers; to say the least it WAS a Zen experience.

Alas, as I am trying to navigate within my last.fm iPhone app, I get frustrated! I hit the “heart icon”, letting last.fm know to keep these kinds of songs coming… after I click the “I love this” Icon, I am not sure if when I click it and it fades out if that means that I have selected that I actually do not “Love” The Vonstroke “mix” that I am jamming out to.  Is it defaulting to a bright-lit heart Icon indicating that I love all songs that play on Last.fm until I click it to say “I don’t love it” and that is why it fades out when I click it?

PANDORA vs Last.fm

It got me thinking… about dating and relationships… makes sense right… <3 icon = love?  But what about relationships, when I communicate with the person I’m dating and I am not sure if they understood me, or if they even heard me for that matter… it irritates me… just like this was irritating me! I am a patient person and so I have kept “dating” my last.fm iPhone app. I was settling! Maybe, I thought to myself, I just don’t need to understand that feature; maybe I could live with this flaw, this communication issue.

But after the past month, I realize I am having a bad user experience and I don’t have to settle. I think it’s time I start “dating” other apps. Yes folks, I am considering using another app for my streaming music, even to the point that I am willing to pay money for an app even though there is a free app, like last.fm.

I switch to Pandora, (safely of course) I am behind a cop after all!

I notice the user experience is sooo much better.  “Thumbs Up”, I love it, “Thumbs Down” I don’t, and a really nice glow effect takes place when I select either icon.  We have great communication and I could see this relationship going somewhere. Pandora is letting me know they “Hear” me, and I am understood. I think I just may take my date out again. I like the simplicity and intuitiveness of their web interface and I like their iPhone app as well!

I am having a great user experience!!

Just like in any relationship, COMMUNICATION is key.

A great User Experience involves a wholistic approach, an all inclusive and symbiotic integration of Interaction Design and Interface Design. In that same vein, in order to have a great relationship you must have great communication with all parties involved!

For those of you who want to create a great user experience for your “users” customers, clients etc…Mary what do I need to do so I can ensure a great uer experience? I want this “wholistic” approach thingy your talking about! Well I have included some insights below.

Necessary Considerations:

• Site Analysis (usability study of existing assets, there is always room for improvement)
• Work flow and Navigation Maps (User needs to know where they are and where they can go)
• User stories or Scenarios (Who is using it, and how? In My Car with the Top Down from my iPhone)
• Personas (Fictitious users to act out the scenarios)
• Site Maps and Content Inventory
• Wireframes (screen blueprints or storyboards)
• Prototypes (For interactive or in-the-mind simulation)
• Written specifications (describing the behavior or design)
• Graphic mockups (Precise visual of the expected end result)

With all considered, I still like the unique songs that are matched as part of my last.fm user experience, however if I want to build on the user logic that last.fm uses in order to ensure I hear more of the type of songs and music that I like, it seems that I really am reconsidering dating last.FM, they also have connectivity issues which effect my user experience.

They are often late and rarely follow through! There website is also lacking in my opinion I have a hard time navigating through and default to my library because that is the only thing that makes sense. I have tried navigating throughout there site and it just does not “flow”.

It seems that you do get what you pay for and I am considering starting a relationship with Pandora… even if it is 99cents /month OR $36/year

I am currently trying out Pandora One: http://www.pandora.com/desktop_app

Make sure you get Adobe Air http://get.adobe.com/air/

So far soooooo goood!!!

Posted On 13 May in User Experience | 8 Comments