Playlist Usability: Spotify vs. Apple Music
UX Maturity:
Level 4 (Structured)
Timeline:
November - December 2021
Role:
Semester Project for "Evaluation Methods in HCI"
Problem
This project focused on evaluating the usability of Spotify and Apple Music for creating playlists. The goal was to identify usability issues, compare user satisfaction, and assess which platform offered a more intuitive experience for users.
Design Process
Test Session Instructions for the Participants
Pilot Testing: Conducted a pilot study to refine the usability test setup and identify potential issues in task execution or data collection methods.
Participant Recruitment: Designed a within-group study where participants interacted with both Spotify and Apple Music, completing identical playlist-related tasks.
Data Collection: Recorded sessions while encouraging participants to think aloud during tasks. Gathered quantitative data such as error rates and task completion times, along with qualitative feedback from observations. Additionally, administered System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaires after each platform's tasks to assess and compare user satisfaction.
Data Analysis: Analyzed the results to extract insights on usability performance, identifying strengths and weaknesses of each platform.
Testing Sessions
Solution
Usability Testing Setup: Conducted a within-group usability study where participants performed identical playlist creation tasks on Spotify and Apple Music, including creating playlists, adding songs, reordering tracks, and deleting playlists. Participants were encouraged to think out loud during tasks to capture qualitative insights.
Data Collection: Gathered a mix of quantitative and qualitative data, such as task completion times, error rates, and participant feedback.
User Satisfaction Assessment: Administered System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaires for each platform post-task to evaluate user satisfaction and compare usability metrics.
Quantitative Study Data
Outcome
Improved Usability: Spotify emerged as the more efficient platform, requiring fewer actions and less time, while receiving higher SUS scores that reflected superior usability and user satisfaction.
Key Issues Identified: Both platforms faced challenges with the discoverability of native chart top-lists, and Apple Music added unnecessary steps by requiring users to search for a song before creating a playlist.
Valuable Learnings: The study offered insights into conducting within-group usability tests, analyzing mixed data, and understanding how small interface differences significantly impact user experience.