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anghami
new app feature

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0. overview.

the brief

Anghami is the first legal music streaming platform and digital distribution company in the Arab world. It launched in November 2011 in Lebanon, providing unlimited Arabic and international music to stream and download in offline mode.

By 2017, Anghami reached 30 million listeners, with 75% of users being in the Arab region. Today, its catalog comprises more than 30 million songs available for over 70 million users. 

Anghami is looking to add a feature to their mobile app to increase usership - by converting existing listeners to subscribed users, and attracting new users. Anghami's new feature will introduce a new way to make the most out of the app, in any event or circumstance. 

problems

  • The number of users joining the application has slowly stalled over the last year

  • The percentage of users converting to a paid subscription from a free account also decreased

  • The users prefer to have all features included within an app rather than use a third party app

proposed solutions

  • Adding a feature that will attract new users to the app

  • Adding a feature that will convert existing users to get a subscription to the app

  • The new feature - the Automix - will make the user experience better by ridding the need of third party apps

my role

For this project, I was working on my own.
I fulfilled the following roles while conducting research, developing the brand, and designing the app:

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  • User Experience (UX) Researcher

  • User Experience (UX) Designer

  • User Interface (UI) Designer

  • Interaction (IxD) Designer

  • Visual Designer

deliverables

  • Surveys

  • Competitive Research / Design Patterns

  • How Might We?

  • Persona

  • Project Goals

  • User & Task Flows

  • Wireframes

  • Hi-Fi Prototypes

  • Usability Test & Analysis

project specs

  • date: July 2022

  • duration: 2 weeks

  • tools: Figma, Figjam, Illustrator, Whimsical

0. overview

1. empathizing.

1. empathizing

methodologies

Primary Research | Surveys

Participants:

  • users who listen to music and/or

  • users who host parties where music is present and/or

  • users who are familiar with Dj/mixing apps

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Secondary Research | Market Research

Market research to find data and numbers about existing tools

 

Secondary Research | Competitor Analysis

Competitor analysis of music apps and mixing/DJ apps

Apps:

  • Cross DJ

  • djay

  • DJ Mixer Studio

  • Edjing Mix

research goals

& objectives

  • Learn about users’ music listening habits

  • Learn about pain points within music streaming apps

  • Find out what works and leverage that into the new feature

  • Investigate how mixing and Dj-ing works within apps/online

  • Confirm that the music mixing feature is valuable 

risks & assumptions

  • We assume that individuals use music streaming apps

  • We assume that users prefer to only play parts of songs during events

  • We assume that users will be willing to pay for the new feature

  • We risk not having enough time to figure out the technical details and the feasibility of the solution

research summary

There were 14 participants in this research effort. The main shared characteristic of any of the participants is that they enjoy listening to music, regardless of the app or platform that they use to do so.

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(14/14) - listen to music daily
(13/14) - have a paid subscription with a music streaming platform
(12/14) - use a music app to listen to music

(2/14) - use YouTube

When asked about how they would handle music playing at a house party that they are hosting:
(10/14) - play existing playlists recommended by the platform they use
(8/14) - create playlists within the platform/music app
(5/14) - find that creating playlists that will fit everyone’s taste is a pain point
(5/14) - find that ads that play are annoying and distracting
(3/14) - mentioned that searching and finding quality playlists takes too much time
(3/14) - mentioned that creating a collaboration playlist is a good way to go
(3/14) - find that issues with wifi connection or bluetooth can be annoying
(2/14) - would have some sort of DJ app playing their playlists during a party
 

findings

Shared goals:

  • Ability to play music uninterrupted music

  • Having available and finding quality playlists easily

  • Have an easy way to play music at events without constant monitoring

  • Having a playlist that fits everyone’s taste


Shared pains:

  • Ads that interrupt the music that is playing

  • Reliance on wifi or data connection to play the music

  • Bluetooth connection can sometimes be iffy and disconnect

  • Playlists do not always please everyone present

  • Finding pre-made playlists takes time, but so does creating playlists


Shared needs:

  • A way to manage the music effortlessly

  • Relying on the music streaming platform to handle the task

  • Pre-made playlists that are easy to find with clear naming conventions

  • A tool to create mashups of the playlists without being distracting

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meet our persona, mario

  • age: 28

  • occupation: physics professor

  • location: beirut, lebanon

  • status: single

  • archetype: the musical social butterfly

motivations

musical

social

cultural

growth

financial

identity

personality

extrovert

sensing

thinking

judging

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▪

▪

▪

introvert

intuition

feeling

perceiving

goals

  • Host house parties that everyone enjoys

  • Discover new music and playlists easily

  • Create playlists collaboratively

  • Effortlessly play music at his events

tech knowledge

internet

software

apps

socials

▪

▪

▪

▪

frustrations

  • The entire songs playing during a dance party

  • Having to actively handle changing tracks

  • Ads that play mid-song

  • Spotty wifi and bluetooth connections

needs

  • A tool that would help him play music at his events

  • A way to find music that would please everyone

  • Pre-made playlists that are easy to identify and find

  • A way to create mashups to get the party going

2. defining.

2. defining

project goals

As a result of analyzing Business Goals, User Goals, and Technical Considerations, I came to the conclusion that the shared goals are:

  • a user-friendly feature

  • security of data within the app

  • no bugs

  • a collaborative feature

how might we?

After gathering data from the research and discovery phase, I use the How Might We tool to expand on some of the insights gathered, in order to narrow down the solution path. 

product roadmap

Based on the interviews, the research, and the project goals, I put together a Feature Roadmap to outline what the MVP (minimum viable product) would look like.

user flow

The user flow below depicts the journey of Mario through the app, with the final goal of playing an Automixed playlist. For a closer look, access the flow here.

3. ideating.

3. ideating

sketching

wireframing

The wireframes were built off of existing UI within the Anghami app. The UI was amended to include the new feature, and new pages were added where necessary. For a closer look, you can check out the wireframes here. 

4. prototyping

4. prototyping.

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5. testing.

5. testing

testing goals & objectives

  • Test and validate the value of the Automix feature

  • Observe how testers interact with the feature

  • Make note of any confusion that may arise during the test

  • Collect feedback regarding the flow and usability of the feature

parameters

  • Seven (7) testers for this prototype.

  • Three points of entry to access and activate the Automix feature: from one's own playlist, from a curated playlist within Anghami, and from the currently playing song view

  • Tests were done remotely and were unmonitored

  • Useberry.com was the tool used, with questions asked after each flow to collect feedback or questions

  • All testers recorded their screen as well as their audio and video while testing

suggestions

& considerations

  • Make the help bubble text larger

  • Will the feature work offline?

  • Would the users need a subscription to use it? 

  • Would the user be able to add songs to Automix and make changes to the queue while the Automix is playing?

  • Would the Automix playlist be shareable?

  • Can the user save their Automix preferences?

  • Can the user save their Automixed playlists?

summary

The majority of the users had an easy time navigating and figuring out the flow and the new Automix feature. Users who were familiar with Anghami as well as Spotify users were more confident and found it easier to complete the tasks. Changes that were made after the testing:

  • The help text in the bubbles is now bigger

  • The help bubbles are now gray and not white

  • Buttons are now the same size (Edit was smaller)

  • When help bubbles are active, the section being explained is highlighted and the rest of the page is muted

6. planning.

6. planning

future considerations

  • Will the feature work offline?

  • Would the users need a subscription to use it? 

  • Would the user be able to add songs to Automix and make changes to the queue while the Automix is playing?

  • Would the Automix playlist be shareable?

  • Can the user save their Automix preferences?

  • Can the user save their Automixed playlists?

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