This is #help

Affinity Diagram

Before other group's feedback:

The other group's feedback:

What we decided upon after their feedback:

The main change was creating one landing page for registration and login for users, DJs and bars. We also decided to create an About Us section and are considering a mobile application.

Pandora Analysis

Visibility of system status
The pandora site is very visibility appealing and very clear where everything is use it makes it easy to use.

Match between system and the real world

Pandora has everything set up that it could be useful for a first time user. Such as a search bar to find your favorite artist, genre, or song. Based on what you search the site plays music related to what you put into the search bar. I believe everything on site everyone has seen everything or has heard of everything that is on the pandora site.

User control and freedom

The pandora player is very easy to use with the play and the next buttons to pause the song that you are listening to, or to skip the song and listen to another song. Also on the site you can give songs ratings with a thumbs up or thumbs down.

Consistency and standards

Very easy

Error prevention

I did not run into any problems while on the site, but you do need to have an account to listen to certain music for a long period of time. To prevent error messages is to make sure that there is no way to find an error on the site, which there was none.

Recognition rather than recall

When on the first page you recognize everything and most things do not change at all so it is very east to remember and to use.

Flexibility and efficiency of use

You can sign up for pandora and it would remember what you search and make those searches into your "stations". If you upgrade your account to actually paying money you can skip songs with no ads, but if you do not you have commercial ads breaking up songs and what not, just like you are listening to the radio in your car.

Aesthetic and minimalist design

All of the dialogues and information were important to what I was doing and there was not much excess that I felt overwhelmed or annoyed by. The relative visibility was perfect for me, and would be very easy to use for a first time user, to understand everything as needed. The design is very simple and basic, so it has a minimalist design.

Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors

I did not receive any error messages from the website. It all functioned properly. The system made it easy for me to recognize what would cause errors and my abilities on the site. I imagine, based off the dependability of the site, they would have an easily understood error message.

Help and documentation

The help tab would be very useful for someone that had no idea go how to use the site. It described everything out step by step on how to use the site properly.

When first getting on the site it is very appealing to the eye and you can see everything clearly and you can see how easy everything is going to be used. Overall I think the site would be very easy to use for first time users and it is very user friendly.

FratBeats.com Analysis

Visibility of system status

They have a simple, self-explanatory navigation system that makes it very easy to find what you're looking for. To keep users informed, it has a paragraph on the main page with information about the radio and how to do a few things. When you click on playlists but do not select one, it takes you to an informational page about how to select a playlist. However, most websites would have taken you to a list of those playlists instead of instructions.

Match between system and the real world

Parts of the website use simple language that most users would understand, such as "playlists" and "artists" to navigate. There are a few parts that were confusing to a first time user, however. One tab says FB radio. When you click on it, it has the same music feature that you find on the homepage. I didn't even know what to find under the FB tab and then I was confused as to how it was different. Another system-oriented feature was the requests tab. When I clicked on it, there was some unfamiliar language and it was overwhelming. It also took me to a completely different website, which confused me as to the relationship between the two sites. Lastly, there were two places to submit requests. It explained the difference, but I did not understand the terms they used. This part could have been more user-friendly.

User control and freedom

The simplicity of music players makes it easy to undo your actions. By clicking the tabs, you can escape where you are. If you are in a playlist, it is easy to pause the music, select new songs or pick another playlist. Users can navigate freely and without any major consequences of accidental clicks.

Consistency and standards

It was easy to follow platform conventions. There was a time where I couldn't tell if two different pages held the same content because one was no labeled. This confused the consistency. There were also two different places to request mixes with different formats. It used system-oriented terms that I was unfamiliar with, so I am not sure what the difference is between those.

Error prevention

I did not run into any problems on the website. Even better than good error messages is a careful design which prevents a problem from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action.

Recognition rather than recall

When trying to find playlists, if a specific one was not selected, it would take you to directions on how to select one. I did not feel like I needed to remember things as I went, because each page explained things as needed or it was self explanatory. All of my options were visible and instructions were easy to find if needed.

Flexibility and efficiency of use

I could not find any accelerators. There was nowhere for me to log in, make playlists or save preferences to tailor my experience. Each time I went back to the site, I would go through the same process for selection, so nothing was speeding up the interaction.

Aesthetic and minimalist design

All of the dialogues and information were important to what I was doing and there was not much excess that I felt overwhelmed or annoyed by. For playlists, there often wouldn't be any information, just the playlist. The relative visibility was perfect for me, a first time user, to understand everything as needed. The design is very simple and basic, so it has a minimalist design.

Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors

I did not receive any error messages from the website. It all functioned properly. The system made it easy for me to recognize what would cause errors and my abilities on the site. I imagine, based off the dependability of the site, they would have an easily understood error message.

Help and documentation

I couldn't find many resources when looking for help to navigate the system. The only instruction was when I clicked on the playlist tab. When you search for help in the bar, an irrelevant blog post comes up. It does not have a Help page, but it does have a page where you can contact them with any questions.

Right from the start, I thought their format was easy to follow and understand. With no experience on the site, I was able to carry out all of the tasks I wanted to. There was some confusion with the different radios and getting to the same radio two different ways. I was able to understand most of the language they used, but there are a lot of things they should clarify for first time users (for example, the difference between the two different kinds of requests you can make). There were some features on this site that I think we will take into consideration when building out website shaped off my user experience. Some features I really liked and understood, but we will explain others more to make sure anyone can understand. FratBeats.com has put together a great website, but there is room for improvement that I hope we can use for our own site.

New Charter

Business Goals

We will offer the website to all bars for a monthly rate at a price that is affordable to them, as well as DJs that may switch venues often. When the site is established, we will sell advertisements to bars and related products (speakers, headphones, etc.) that will not interrupt the music (at the start of the playlist, displayed on screen).

Website Goals
The goal of our website is be an easy to use navigational platform that provides a variety of new, upbeat, fresh music. We ideally would like to provide all useful information that could apply to our audience and draw their attention to new bars and DJs.

User Tasks
This website will be free to users but will cost DJs and bars that are interested in registering. People that use our website are likely to use it to find out information to decide what bars to go to that night based off the entertainment. Our website will answer the basic questions about those bars. Our users will most likely stream live music to their personal devices. This has a high value because it is a never ending stream of music the will blend well together, be advertisement free, and offers new music and mixes to the audience.

Differentiators
Some DJs and performers promote themselves or the bar promotes them, but we would compile all of this information into one place. No one site lists all of the bars and live performances or offers the option to stream the music. The advertisements on our site would not be disruptive of the music and there are no commercials. It will be audience's first choice because they can get more information with less work and new beats.

Audience/Behavior
Our site appeals to male and female students between the ages of 18-25. Demographics and socioeconomic status will vary. Most will exhibit the behavior of going to bars or clubs. Others will be avid music listeners that may stream the music for their own party or just personal enjoyment. They will come to our site to find a lot of information quickly and efficiently or for a change up in their musical selection for the evening.

Business Plan

The Problem
Making your own playlist can be hard: some songs last too long, other people try to change the song, there's a pause between songs, etc. Other websites with music may make you stop for ads or limit your song choices. When you are throwing a party or just looking for a study playlist, wouldn't it be nice to have a DJ right there with you? Also, how do you know where the best DJs or live performers are playing when you're looking for a show?


Our Goals

1. Create a hassle-free site for people to stream music by local DJs and performers.

2. Raise awareness and attendance at bars with live entertainment.

3. Create a platform for DJs to share their music and become more well-known in Columbus.

The Solution

We will offer a site that bars, DJs and live entertainers can register for that lists what Columbus bars will have live entertainment each night along with details for that bar (age restrictions, specials, cover charges, etc.). Users can also stream the live music to their computer or mobile device.

Research:

We will conduct interviews with bar owners/managers, as well as DJs, and administer surveys among students at Ohio State.

How did we agree upon this idea?

Anthony is a promoter for bars in the downtown Columbus area, so he wanted to create a way to encourage students to get away from campus and explore new places. We thought DJs and live performers have a large following and could help raise this awareness. This is also an idea that we haven't seen anywhere else (besides radio).

Potential Competitors

Barspot.TV, Pandora, FratBeats.com

Target Audience

We are targeting Ohio State students, especially those that are plugged in to the music scene and follow local DJs.

Personas

The Partier - OSU student that enjoys going out any night of the week
The Music Junkie - They love listening to music during any activity (study, party, workout, etc.)

The Groupie - Follows DJ’s to whatever bar or show they are at