Project overview & goals
Soundcharts aims at becoming a leader in SaaS analytics solutions for music professionals. When I joined the company, some research work had already been conducted. Users interviews and a first analysis were able to define some early Jobs-to-be-Done. Analytics and user feedback demonstrated that a lot of features were not used and the product was not adapted to the needs of all our audience.
In order to answer all these questions, it became critical to have a better understanding of our user needs, how they work with data (use cases) but most importantly figuring out what people want to accomplish (the “root task”). My role in this research was to refine Jobs to be Done and personas, identify usability issues and spot new product opportunities by learning how users use Soundcharts in their natural environment.
I led a round of research to understand in more details needs, pain-points, mental models and current workarounds people use while discovering and managing artists. It also helped to understand what are the differences and similarities between the different Jobs to be Done. Also, I wanted to learn about the motivations, triggers and selling points that convinced users to subscribe to Premium and what made them stay as such.
Methods
120 min contextual on-site or conf-call interviews, cognitive walkthrough
19 participants
Jobs to be Done framework
Research Plan & Script
Usability test
Research Process
Research kick-off
I started gathering and analyzing information from different sources and the previous research work. Before every research, it is important to talk to users in a structured way and validate what is going to be the scope of the research with the stakeholders.
I led multiple CJM workshops with the Product team to map the journey of our different audiences. It is a very good exercice to understand the end-to-end user experience and a good base for the research as well. I organized 3 workshops. One focused on A&R and two focused on Artist’s managers.
Once CJM workshops were done, I established a research plan and validate it with the Product team and stakeholders. The research plan contains every details about how the research is going to be conducted. It contains the background, the goals, what group of people will be interviewed, what methodology will be used. I also use the research plan to document all the process with interviews scripts and links to reports, recordings and analysis.
Recruiting participants
Once the research plan is validated and we know what group of users we are going to talk to, start the long and tedious task of recruiting participants. For the purpose of the study, it was important to contact participants who have recently switched to Soundcharts. Interviewing people who recently switched helped to understand what they didn’t like about the old solutions. Also Interviewing people takes time, so it is important to recruit people who have a story to tell. If they bought or signed up for a product too long ago, it will be hard for them to recollect their switching journey. So I decided to contact people who subscribed in the last 2 months. Interviewing people who are highly engaged with the product is another important criteria to take into account.
Interview scripts
I prepared different scripts according to the different group of people I was going to talk to. I designed questions in a way that it makes it easy for users to remember events and details from the past. Asking how and when questions is easier and encouraging them to give information in a narrative way.
Conducting interviews
It was split over 3 weeks time. It was not always easy to meet people face to face and in a contextual way as some were based in the US and Canada. Some interviews took place in people’s environment otherwise I used video conference calls. I involved the Product team in the interview process and at the end of every session, we shared notes and debriefed about the interview. I was always the one leading the interview as more experimented with interview techniques. Here are a few exemples of questions:
When did you first thought about a tool like Soundcharts?
Tell me about the last time you discovered a new talent?
Could you describe a typical day at work?
Imagine you’d have a magic wand, and you could wish for everything. What would you wish for?
Modelling interview data
I synthesise interview data into a workable format and use Miro. I grouped notes by topics and identify themes and broader issues. I re-listened and rewatched videos and recordings. This stage of the process can take a while, spotting patterns, cognitive models and behaviours.
AFFINITY DIAGRAM ANALYSIS
Deliverables
Report
One of the most important moment of that process is presenting insights and finding of the research in the most convincing way to stakeholders. After finishing up with the analysis, I built up a report. I split the report into most important topics highlighting recommendations and new opportunities for Soundcharts. To gain more buy-in from the different stakeholders, I made sure to illustrate my points with pictures, videos and quotes from the interviews.
Presentation
Customer Journey Maps
Follow up & Outcome
Validate outcome with quantitative data through a survey
Organize design sprints