06 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

6.1 PROJECT APPROACH

As is mentioned in section 02, that the main goal of my FMP project is to design projects that can reach the commercial standard, the entire design process will be guided by the commercial-oriented Design Thinking method proposed by IDEO [30]. The world of streaming media is becoming increasingly interconnected and complex as dematerialization allows information to flow more freely through physical barriers [9]. In this environment, the Design Thinking approach can help us better understand and respond to the complex behaviour of users and changes in the environment.

The planned FMP design process mainly draws on the five-stage design framework provided by the Design Thinking method:

1. Empathize, 2. Define, 3. Ideate, 4. Prototype 5. Test. This is a process of iteration and refinement rather than a linear progression [4]. In conjunction with the research work that has been completed in the M2.1 project that will contribute to the FMP, the tasks for each phase have been slightly adapted, and the process has been extended to six stages. The overall design direction is still based on Design Thinking's human-centered design philosophy and iterative design approach.

In particular, much of the work in the first phase, Empathize, will be based on the findings of the two user studies in the M2.1 project, with some additional research and analysis. The subsequent focus of the project will be on the three phases of define, ideate and prototype. Ultimately, it is expected that a commercially viable design output will be produced and evaluated through user testing.

The specific plans for each phase and the design and research methods that may be applied are presented in Project Planning section.

6.2 ENVISIONED OUTCOMES

In terms of the design goals of this project and the design challenges that were focused on during the final design phase, there were two main design outputs that were hoped to be achieved.

1) A complete design of the music sharing experience, including a physical product that meets market standards for mass production, an app and web interface design for Spotify's music sharing functionality, and an integrated commercial value canvas.

The physical model should be at least 3D-modeled and rendered, and a 1:1 physical model should be created, using intended materials or similar alternative materials. On a technical level, the model should implement most of the expected functionality for better presentation and user testing.

The design of the app and web interface should be completed with at least a highfidelity model, with the expectation that some of the interactions can be displayed for user testing with the physical model.

2) Through reflecting on the design iteration process and the final analysis of the user testing of the prototype, general insights should be obtained that can contribute to the future design and research of music sharing experiences.

6.3 PROJECT PLANNING

I will complete the FMP project from six phases, the detailed information is provided in the following 4 pages.

PHASE 1-EMPATHIZE

Spotify. The three main areas of brand analysis are: 1) general knowledge about Spotify's business and product development; 2) the projects Spotify has done and is still experimenting with in terms of social aspects of music;

Phase 1

Empathsize: User study (interviews)

Phase 2

Define: Brand analysis (online research& interviews)

Phase 3

Phase 4 Prototype: Low-Fi prototypes, redesign through sketching

Deliverables

Phase

1) The results of the user research will help me to create a user journey map of Spotify music users' social behaviour in music, which summarises the needs Spotify users expect to meet in terms of social aspects of music and the barriers they currently encounter.

PHASE 2-BRAND ANALYSIS & DEFINE

Given that Business & Entrepreneurship will be one of my areas of expertise this semester and that the product will hopefully be commercialized in conjunction with the streaming music platforms represented by Spotify, I will conduct a detailed brand analysis of

3) analysis of Encore, Spotify's new design approach to design systems. Based on this, I will try to contact two UX designers and researchers within Spotify via social media platforms to book an in-depth focus interview in order to: 1) gain deeper insights into Spotify's business model, interaction design concepts, and future trends in social listening exploration; 2) gain insights from two internal UX practitioners on Music Linker and possible design directions that would allow Music Linker to be integrated with Spotify. However, the implementability of this session will depend on the negotiations with the two designers once a formal engagement has been secured.

These works will help me refine the scope of the project, based on the FMP proposal and the degree of completion of the M2.1 design project, as well as obtain contextual support for the commercial and marketing direction.

Deliverables

1) Define specific design goals and design directions based on the results of the brand analysis, combined with insights from the previous phase of user analysis.

2) A framework for music sharing experience design based on Spotify's basic functionality, including the interactive aspects of the physical product as well as the interaction flow of the corresponding App and web

PHASE 3- IDEATION

First, invite Industrial Design students and relevant design practitioners to a small-scale workshop to brainstorm large quantities of ideas.The workshop will be divided into three sessions to discuss and exchange ideas on:

1) the analysis of the results of the user testing of the initial model of Music Linker;

2) the user journey map obtained in Phase 1; 3) the design direction and interaction framework derived in Phase 3. Based on the insights gained from the workshop, I will discuss with my coach Joep Frens to select the most suitable ideas to complement and improve the interaction framework for music sharing generated in Phase 2.

During this process, I will also collect images or designs related to music sharing experience to create a Mood board that will serve as inspiration for the next phase of project development

DELIVERABLES

1) A quantity of sketches and storyboards

2) A well-developed interactive framework for music sharing experience based on Spotify

3) Mood board design concepts generated from Phase 2, I will create some low-fidelity prototypes to do some simple user testing and gain insights into size, shape, and interaction, which will be used to improve the design through sketching and building 3D prototypes. In this session, I will repeat the steps of quick user testing, sketching, building low-fi prototypes, and creating renderings to continuously refine the design. For the part of corresponding Application design, I will first refine the interaction flow and create a low-fidelity mock-up of the music social functions. Then I will conduct a simple user test by creating simple interfaces out of cardboard.

In addition to this, I will also be learning and exploring CMF related knowledge. By refining the inspiration gathered from the Mood board, I will choose the right colours and materials to design and test, in order to provide a more comfortable audio product for the user, both visually and tactilely.

DELIVERABLES

1) A quantity of developed sketch concepts and low-fidelity models

2) Iterated final concept sketches and 3D renderings

PHASE 4- PROTOTYPE

This is a period of experimentation and iteration. For the physical end of the product, based on the developed

PHASE 5- REALIZING FINAL DESIGN

In order to gain valuable insights during the user test and to present the model better during the demo day, the final physical model is intended to be as close as possible to the rendered image in terms of visual appearance and to realize as many interactive actions as possible. During the prototyping process, the exact dimensions and structure of the model will be adjusted according to the available electronic components. As far as possible, the models will be made of pre-defined materials or similar alternative materials. For the App side, the first priority is to produce a visually appealing high-fidelity model. With time and energy to spare, I will learn more about Figma and try to create some basic interactive functions. In addition to this, I will be working on a Business Model Canvas after integrating the related marketing, technical, and material requirements.

DELIVERABLES

1) Functionally realized physical prototype.

2) High-fidelity interfaces on the App side

PHASE 6- FINAL DESIGN

EVALUATION & PRESENTATION

The methodology used for the new generation Music Linker user test is a qualitative experiment with a small sample size conducted through Lab. Approximately 6-10 participants will be recruited to test the physical product as well as the app of the new generation Music Linker. The laboratory is going to be set up as a home environment.

The experiment will include several small tasks to imitate the real usage context and will be conducted using the Think Aloud method. Participants will be asked to describe in detail their thoughts and feelings during each action, through which I will record their performance via photographs and audio recordings [5]. This method will give me better insight into the user experience when interacting with the product and is suitable for experiments with a small size of sample [31]. The test will be conducted in strict compliance with the Ethical Review Board (ERB) (Appendix C) from the Industrial Design department. All participants are supposed to read and sign the Consent Form with details of the test procedure, data collection, and privacy protection prior to the test. The data generated from the experiment will be analyzed using Thematic Analysis to summarise people's thoughts, usage, and feelings about the new Music Linker model. These insights will be further discussed and distilled into insights for future design and research into the direction of the social aspects of streaming music.

Ultimately, I will deliver a demo video of the product, prepare and set up for the demo day, and complete the FMP design report.

DELIVERABLES

1) Demo day presentation

2) Design report

3) Portfolio