UI & IxD Blog

Experience Audit: Spotify

What is my goal?

Access and listen to all of my music, discover new music

How long will my goal take?

I could be listening music for either 10 minutes or multiple hours. The duration is dependent on what activity I am engaging in.

What is my attitude going into this experience?

Eager. I have a desire to listen to music, which I find to be an enjoyable experience.

Will the process be easy or hard?

It will be very easy. Spotify is a straight forward music listening platform.

What prior knowledge do I have that is relevant to this experience?

I already know what is in my music library. I also will have a specific song that I want to listen to, sometimes. I also know how to work the platform. I have used the program many times and have familiarized myself with the environment.

What is the context of this experience?

I could be in any location at any given time, when I desire to play music. I have the Spotify mobile application, therefore I am able to use the program wherever I take my phone with me. Whenever I go to the gym I always use Spotify to listen to music. When I’m not in class, during a school day, I will usually be conducting my homework while using Spotify either on my computer or on my phone. Personally, I’m usually by myself when I’m using the Spotify application, unless I’m with a group of friends and I am in charge of playing music.

What are the limitations?

I must be connected to internet in order to listen to music, if I do not have the songs already downloaded.

Is the service free?

It costs a monthly fee.

Experience Steps:

Example process of listening to shuffled music library.

1. Open the Spotify application on my computer.

2. I am presented with the 'Overview' page where I can see and access Spotify's music suggestions/recommendations.

3. I can also access all of my own music libraries and playlists from the left hand menu.

4. Sometimes, I select the 'Discover' option when I am in desire of finding new music from Spotify's suggested playlist.

5. Select the 'Songs' button from the left-side menu.

6. Select the desired song from my 'Songs' library, presented on the page.

7. Listen to selected song.

8. Turn on shuffle, by pressing the shuffle button on the bottom menu bar.

9. Press the 'Next' button to proceed to the next, random song in my library.

Overall, Spotify presents the user with a clean and concise interface, which puts the user in control of a catered music listening experience. The navigation is easy to use, and it easy to familiarize with.

The experience, in total, is quick and responsive. In a matter of seconds, the song in which you desire will be playing on either a phone, computer, console, etc.

Throughout my experience, I felt very in control and satisfied with my listening experience. Not only did I enjoy listening to the song itself, but I also found the process to be pleasant, as it was straightforward and easy to manage.

One downside to the experience is that the user interface can sometimes feel slightly overwhelming. The options and pathways the user can choose are plentiful, which can lead to some confusion or frustration.

Overall, I found Spotify's user experience to allow the user to feel in control and satisfied with their listening experience. I find the application to be fun to use, efficient, customizable, and very user friendly. The experience is kept neat and organized. Everything within the app is where it needs to be; for example, the left-side menu, the bottom control center, the search bar in the top left corner, etc. Listening to music, especially when using the radio, is also rewarding with Spotify, as it allows users to discover new music, which the user will most likely enjoy. There is a like/dislike feature to Spotify's radio which learns about the user's music taste and presents the user with relevant choices. The application is not restraining, allowing the user to go off in any direction they please, but provides enough structure to keep things simple and accessible.