Usability Report 

Prepared for:  Grooveshark Music 
Prepared by:   Rachel Salabes & Meaghan Jordan 
Date: 4 May 2010   
Report #:  1 
 
Table of Contents

Executive Summary ............................................................................... 3 

Project Description ............................................................................... 3 

Methodology ........................................................................................ 5 

Results ............................................................................................... 6 

Recommendations................................................................................. 9 

Appendix A ....................................................................................... 12 

Appendix B........................................................................................ 13 

Appendix C........................................................................................ 15 

2
Executive Summary
The purpose of this usability test is to guarantee that the features of the free music
website Grooveshark.com are user friendly for both new and returning consumers. This will
guarantee that users will want to return to the website instead of moving to a competitor's
product. The data gathered in this usability test resulted in essential recommendations to
Grooveshark, in terms of making improvements to the most frequently used section of the site,
My Music.

A validation test was performed in order to certify the site's usability. The test consisted
of a thinking aloud portion, as well as a post-test survey, resulting in both quantitative and
qualitative data. By evaluating the data that resulted from these portions of the test, we were able
to examine both the emotional and verbal reactions of the participants, as well as the numeric
data from the timed section of the test and survey.

Through the validation test and post-test survey data it is our belief that overall,
Grooveshark.com is a user friendly website. After testing both new and returning users, it is
evident that prior experience is not essential for a person to understand the variety of features the
website offers. Although there are easily understood sections of the website, the tests did indicate
mechanical and aesthetic features can be redesigned to increase the My Music section's usability.

Project Description
Grooveshark, founded in 2006, is a multi-national, music website that enables individuals to
upload, search for, and share music, all free of charge. Along with the option to download or
simply listen to tunes, the user can listen to the radio and suggest music to friends. The purpose
of this usability test is to ensure that Grooveshark is user friendly for new and regular visitors to
make certain that users will want to return to the site instead of moving to a competitor's
product. We want to guarantee that users can easily navigate the site, make full use of the
features, and will want to return in the future, as well as recommend the website to others.

The participation in our usability test will only further the company's mission to make music
accessible to the general public. In order to ensure the continued success of Grooveshark, we aim
to test the current features of the predominantly utilized "My Music" section of the site. Focusing
on the "My Music" section, which allows users to manage their own library, favorites, and
playlists, is a good benchmark for other features of the website, as it is the feature most first time
visitors integrate into their music life.

This test will be essential for understanding both new and returning users. A new user is
specifically defined as a test subject, who has visited Grooveshark.com no more than five times
prior to participating in our usability test. A returning user is specifically defined as a test
subject, who has visited Grooveshark.com on a consistent basis for an extended period of time

3
prior to participating in our usability test. If users can complete the tasks quickly and easily, it
will show that they have acclimated to the site's basic features. If these users continually make
incorrect choices or have long hesitations, it indicates that some of Grooveshark's features or
navigation items should be adjusted. The results of this usability test will allow us to make
essential recommendations to Grooveshark in terms of making improvements to their most
popular section of the site. By using a timed session, we will determine the average time it takes
the Grooveshark user to navigate and complete specific tasks within the "My Music" section.
These tasks are based on the common activities of a user who would be visiting the music
website.

The following are the objectives for the Grooveshark usability test:

Navigation: Is the navigation on the website clear and simple for the user to understand? Will
the user easily be able to visit various parts of the website, as well as easily move from one task
to the next? Is there a clear starting point for users?

Design: Is the layout of the website intuitive for new users? Does the user find the various parts
of the website to be aesthetically pleasing?

Satisfaction: How satisfied are users compared to other music websites they have used in the
past? If they have not used other music websites, were they satisfied with their overall
experience on Grooveshark?

Ease of use: Overall, can the user experience the multiple features of the My Music section with
minimal effort? Can the user easily use the multiple features of the site without making multiple
incorrect choices?

Reliability: Does the user feel the website performed music searches quickly and accurately?
Did the site have older and more obscure music available, as well as new, popular music? Did
the user find the songs to be labeled accurately?

Grooveshark is a relatively new site with many competitors; therefore, it is important

to understand how well the site is meeting the needs of its users. By obtaining these objectives,
we will recommend improvements that will help to ensure Grooveshark's longevity in the
competitive online music market.

4
Methodology

We will be conducting a validation test. A validation test is performed in order to certify

usability. The user will go through and evaluate predetermined benchmarks that will assist with
determining what aspects of the site require improvement. The website, having been recently
released, has become increasingly popular amongst young adults, which in itself indicates that
has the potential to become widespread in mainstream culture. Our test will certify the ease of
usability for the "My Music" section of Grooveshark for both new and returning clientele. The
"My Music" section, the most commonly visited portion of the site, has been created for the use
of uploading, sharing and organizing playlists, which can be saved for future listening. With
initially established benchmark tasks, we are looking to determine the ease of accessibility and
usability based on individual experiences. To facilitate the data collection, we will have
participants use the Thinking Aloud procedure and we will employ a Post-Test Survey. Thinking
aloud is a technique that requires the subjects to verbalize their thoughts as they attempt to
complete the various tasks. The use of this technique, will allow us to obtain a first hand account
of frustrations, expectations and triumphs. Although this method can feel unnatural to the
subject, it will help gauge the emotional reactions of the participants in relation to the numeric
data. The Post-Test Survey will link the in-the-moment emotional and physical responses of the
subject during testing with their more complete thoughts regarding the process in an untimed
environment.

The initial projection of test participants, as outlined in our test plan, was based on the general
demographics of Grooveshark users. It was our intention to test High School Students, College
Students and Young Professionals, as the demographics indicated the majority of Grooveshark
users were young in age. These testing groups were specifically defined as:

High School Student:

o 14-18 years of age

o Enrolled in an accredited high school
o Understanding of online music

College Student:

o 18-22 years of age

o Enrolled in an accredited College or University
o Understanding of online music

Young Professional:
o 23-30 years of age
o Employed (No income requirement)
o Understanding of online music

However, as we began conducting the test for Grooveshark.com, the age of our subjects

5
pulled heavily from the College Student and Young Profesisonal demographics. With the
alteration to our testing demographic now weighing heavily in the 21 to 30-age range, we chose
to incorporate an older age group. The 50+ Professional group was specifically defined as:

50+ Professional:

o 50+ years of age

o Employed (No income requirement)
o Basic understanding of online music

The introduction of an older testing group allowed for a demographic not known for
using Grooveshark to weigh in on the website’s ease of adaptability. In all, 8 participants were
tested - one college student, five young professionals, and two 50+ professionals. Four were new
users and four were returning.

Results
The results of our test, compiled from eight participants, required each subject to complete ten
tasks, as provided in the testing materials. The lower the time to complete each task indicated the
ease of using the particular feature. Hence, the faster the completion of the test, the easier it is for
the user to navigate the My Music section of Grooveshark.com. The overall mean for completing
the usability test was 381.25 seconds (6 minutes and 21 seconds). The shortest test time was 242
seconds (4 minutes and 2 seconds), while the longest test time was 541 seconds (9 minutes and 1
second). The average time for all of the participants to complete the test was shorter than
originally projected. The development of the brevity to complete the test, for both new and
returning users, indicated that prior experience was not necessary for an individual to easily
adapt to using Grooveshark.com.

The usability test was broken down into ten tasks. The tasks consisted of logging in, searching
for songs, saving a playlist, adding songs to a playlist, changing the order of the playlist, delete,
shuffle, adding songs to favorites, emailing the playlist, and logging out. The higher the average
time to complete each task was indicative of which areas of the website require the most
improvement. Tasks that resulted in a lower mean represent areas where users did not experience
confusion. The task with the highest average time of completion was searching for the five
provided songs, with a mean of 137 seconds. This is partly due to the fact that searching for
several songs naturally takes time; however, some users did experience difficulty with the search
feature. The next task with the highest average time was the emailing task with a mean of 61.88
seconds. During testing, this proved to be the section where users experienced the most
frustration and confusion, resulting in a high testing time. The shuffling task had a mean of 41.25
seconds, the next highest average. This is indicative of the difficulties users experienced locating
the shuffling icon. Saving the playlist also took some time, with a mean of 31.25 seconds. This
was followed by changing the order of songs, which took an average of 30.75 seconds.
Beginning the test with the login resulted in a mean of 16.63 seconds. The following tasks users
found easy to complete, resulting in extremely low means: Adding songs to favorites had a mean

6
of 13.88 seconds, deleting songs took an average of 11.25 seconds, and the mean time it took to
log out was 6.38 seconds.

Out of the eight participants, four were returning users and four were new users. The average
time it took new users to complete the entire test was 460.75 seconds (7 minutes and 40
seconds), while the average time it took returning users to complete the test was 301.75 seconds
(5 minutes and 1 second). Overall, new users had higher average completion times for each task,
with the exception of deleting songs.

The average time it took for returning users to complete the entire test was 301.75 second (5
minutes and 1 second). Despite frequent visits to Grooveshark, returning users also had trouble
with specific tasks, which they were not accustomed to using. Task 6, deleting a song from the
playlist, took 4 seconds longer for returning users to complete. This is not a large gap in time but
enough to indicate that returning users may not understand or be aware of features that would
stand out to a new user. The emailing task also proved troublesome for the returning users.
Although the returning users had a shorter time for task 9 than the new users, the difference
between the two is only 6.25 seconds. The closeness of task 9's average completion indicates,
similar to task 6, that returning users are not always aware of the functions of all the site’s
features.

The data collected during our usability test indicates new users had higher averages than
originally anticipated, but still completed tasks fairly quickly. There truly is not much of a
difference when compared to the overall averages of the returning users. It is our belief that with
more visits the new user will gain more experience, resulting in the decrease of the time to
complete tasks in the My Music section of Grooveshark.com.

After completing the usability test, participants completed a post-test survey. The survey
consisted of four open-ended questions as well as five likert scale questions to measure users'
feelings on certain aspects of the Grooveshark website including navigation, organization,
attractiveness, reliability and satisfaction. The survey was conducted on a 7-point likert scale,
with one being the lowest mark and 7 being the highest. Organization had the lowest mean score
with 5.75. This lower score was attributed to several issues that the user experienced throughout
the usability test. Users experienced problems locating some of the icons, such as "shuffle" and
"save". This could have been because of the disorganized nature of the icons, as they are
currently located in several different areas. This was followed by attractiveness with a mean of
5.63. Throughout the usability test, several users made comments about aesthetic qualities, such
as the color scheme. The lower score with attractiveness could also be due to the lack of contrast
with certain icons, such as "save" which tends to blend into the background. Reliability and
navigation both had a mean of 6.13. Reliability received a high score; however, some deductions
by users were most likely due to issues they experienced during the test, such as mislabeled
songs and songs being clips rather than the full length. Overall satisfaction had the highest mean
of 6.38. This mean seems to reflect the overall usability test very well. From the test and post-test
survey, it appeared that all of the participants had an overall positive experience with the
website, and some indicated that they would start using it in the future. Therefore, overall
satisfaction was relatively high with only small deductions for minor issues experienced during
testing.

7
 In addition to using quantitative measures, qualitative measures were also employed to
determine Grooveshark's usability. These measures included the assessment of both verbal and
facial expressions. Many of the participants verbally expressed confusion related to song
selection. With Grooveshark, an unlimited amount of people can upload songs. This results in
multiple choices of the same song, all with slightly different titles. When asked to select songs
for the "search" portion of the test, users were faced with these multiple options. Several users
asked, "Does it matter which one I choose?” or "Which one do I pick?" During one test,
participant 5 experienced difficulties with the song she selected and discovered it was a short clip
rather than the full song. She expressed that it was "annoying" that songs were mislabeled.

A lot of verbal frustration was also expressed with the emailing task. Almost immediately,
users were confused where to begin with this task. Several users said "I'm not sure where to
look". They would also continue to talk themselves through the task, since it involved a lot of
clicking around and not being able to figure out exactly where the email option was located.
Participants also made several comments regarding the search task. Users typically had a good
start with the search task, since they began on the homepage, which has a large, centrally located
search bar. However, when it came to the second song, some of the participants experienced
difficultly. For example, participants 4 and 5 kept returning to the home page to search for each
song, rather than using the more conveniently located smaller search bar at the top left of the
page. After the test, the smaller search bar was pointed out to participant 5, to which she replied,
"Oh, I thought that was for help." This comment was found to be particularly helpful, and a
recommendation will be made based off of the difficulty users experienced with the smaller
search bar.

Other simple comments were found to be useful, as well. For example, it took a returning user
(participant 6) an extended amount of time to locate the save button. After locating it, he said, "It
was right in front of me." This helped in determining that several icons do not stand out due to
lack of contrast. Another returning user, participant 8, had difficulty locating the shuffle icon.
She commented that despite visiting the site regularly, she had never actually used the shuffle
icon. Instead, she would typically drag the songs to change the order. Comments like this helped
in determining that the icon chosen for shuffle might not be indicative of the function. Several
users also started to chat about off-topic subjects or other features of the website that they wanted
to check out. It was essential to keep everyone focused and on task in order to assess accurate
times for task completion.

In addition to verbal comments, facial expressions were also taken into account. Overall, all of
the participants seemed relatively relaxed. However, expressions of slight confusion or
frustration were present during certain tasks, such as the emailing of the playlist.

8
Recommendations
The usability test conducted for Grooveshark.com yielded both quantitative and qualitative
data. Although the overall feedback for the My Music section of the website was positive, there
are specific mechanical and aesthetic features that can be altered to make the users' future
experiences with the website optimal.

Email/Share Feature
The participants completed 10 tasks related to the most commonly used applications in the My
Music section of the website. Each of the test subjects completed the majority of the tasks with
relative ease. However, task 9, emailing the playlist to a friend, presented some degree of
difficulty for every participant. This task had the longest average completion time of 61.88
seconds. The participants could not determine where to begin with this task and would typically
just start clicking the different areas of the web page. In addition, participant 6 clicked on the
export button thinking it would prompt the email feature because the term “export” seems to
indicate a sharing function. In actuality, the email application is located at the top of the playlist
screen in “Options” or becomes visible by right clicking on playlist name. Overall, this feature is
difficult to find. We believe the feature could be more popular if users are able to easily locate
it.

In order to make the email feature more accessible, we are suggesting the drop down
"Options" menu be removed. It should be replaced with an envelope shaped icon, which is the
universal symbol for an email and is already used on other sections of the website to indicate
sharing. If an icon is not desirable, a task bar with words would also be an acceptable
replacement. Implementing either an icon or worded button would make the feature more
recognizable and prominent on the playlist page.

Search Bar
The second task each participant was asked to complete involved searching the music site for
five specific songs, which were to be added to the playlist and then edited. It was found that
when asked to search for multiple songs, the participants became confused with the location of
the search bar. On the homepage, the search bar appears in the center of the page; however, on
every other page the search bar is situated in the top left corner of the screen. The design of the
search bars on the two pages is also different. Participant 5 could not locate the search bar at first
because she thought the small search bar at the top left hand corner of the page was for help.
Whereas, participant 4 kept going back to the homepage to search instead of using the smaller
search bar. During one test, a participant initially kept going back to the homepage to search, but
eventually discovered the smaller search bar and began using it. In an effort to reduce confusion
between the two methods of searching for music, we recommend the search bar on the homepage
and at the top left corner of the page are designed to be identical. If the two search bars look the
same, it will make one synonymous with the other.

Icon Improvements
The Grooveshark website features rely on a number of icons to guide the user through
different tasks. Participants, when asked to complete tasks during the usability test that required

9
the use of icons, encountered obstacles. The shuffle and save icons gave the participants the
hardest time. The participants would click around before finding the shuffle icon. When they
found it, it was due to the pop-up text indicating that it was for shuffling. Therefore, it was
determined that the icon is not representative of the function. A task that should take only a few
seconds had an average of 41 seconds due to the confusing nature of the icon. The save icon also
proved to be difficult for the participants during the usability test. Participants 4 and 6 had a
difficult time locating the save icon, partly because it blends into the background and is not
grouped with the other icons.

The mechanical recommendations made regarding the email and search bars will make it
easier to redesign the remaining icons in the My Music section of Grooveshark. The aesthetic
features, which are plaguing the shuffle and save icons, should be adjusted along with the others
because they all produced minor confusion during testing. We suggest that all of the icons should
be arranged together and located in one bar. This will reduce the time it takes for the user to
scour the entire page for the multiple icons needed to use the features of the site. The second
aesthetic suggestion is to design all of the icons to be more noticeable by making them standout
on the web page. The distinguishing features, which would set the icons apart from the page, are
color and size. The use of a variety of vibrant colors and a standard size for all of the icons will
make them more noticeable in the My Music section. If the icons are more easily deciphered, the
time to locate and carry out the tasks will ultimately be decreased.

Reliability Team
The fourth recommendation is based on Grooveshark's reliability. After examining the results
from the usability test, we recommend that Grooveshark dedicate a small number of employees
to ensure the reliability of music available on the website. This is based off of several incidents
that occurred throughout the think-aloud protocol. With Grooveshark, users have the ability to
upload songs of their choosing to the website. This results in multiple versions of the same song,
all with slightly different titles. This makes it confusing for users to decide which song to select.
During the test, participant 5 selected a song that turned out to be a clip, rather than the full
version of the song. However, it was not labeled any differently than the other versions. This
confusion with song selection was also pointed out by participant 6 on the post-test survey, who
suggested "finding a particular song version might be difficult since there are usually multiple
songs uploaded, maybe find a way not to have a song uploaded multiple times with slightly
different names." Another user also experienced an issue with a version of the song she selected.
A message appeared saying, "Problem playing song. We will move to the next song selected."

The purpose of the reliability team would be to confirm that songs are labeled correctly. This
would involve several things. The team would guarantee that the title posted by the user is in fact
the official title of the song. This would limit variations on song titles, which would ultimately
reduce confusion for users. In addition, the team would monitor the site to ensure that the song
titles match the song uploaded. This would guarantee that when a user is listening to their
playlist, a song they did not actually select does not start playing. Another possible function of
the team would be to make sure that clips are differentiated from full-length songs. This could be
accomplished by adjusting the song's title or by incorporating song times in search results,
ensuring that the song's length is evident to users.

10
Additional Suggestions
By employing a post-test survey with an open-ended question section, we were able to inquire
if participants had any additional suggestions for the Grooveshark website. Participant 1
suggested that Grooveshark allow for a wider selection of music. This recommendation was
based off of the participant's discovery that Beatles songs were not available on the website.
Participant 2 suggested that the website add a pop-up tutorial. This tutorial would be made
available when users register for the site, and would go over the site's basic features. This would
cut down on the time that users spend attempting to figure out how to complete certain tasks.
This tutorial would also let the viewer know about the features that the "My Music" portion of
the site offers, such as the option of emailing a full playlist. Many of the returning users were not
aware that the site offered this action.

Another recommendation was based off of the search results screen. The results section lists
the title of the song, the artist, and the album if available. Only when scrolling over the song, can
a user see the option to play the song, add the song to a playlist, or to add the song to favorites.
Participant 6 suggested that these icons should be visible at all times, not just when moving the
mouse over a particular song. That way if a user chooses not to scroll over an individual song,
they are still aware of the options available.

Participant 6 also suggested that Grooveshark add customizable skins for the interface. The
website does have a selection of available themes; however, this returning user suggested that the
skins be even more customizable based on individual preferences. For example, instead of
choosing one of the overall themes, users should be able to select their own color scheme or
background for different sections of the site. This option will allow users to have an even more
personal experience on the Grooveshark website, perhaps encouraging them to use it even more.

11
Appendix A
Task List for Grooveshark.com Usability Test

1) Login to Grooveshark account

• Username: Useproject
• Password: school

2) Search each of the following songs and Add each to “Current Songs”
- “We Didn’t Start the Fire”- Billy Joel
- “Break Your Heart”- Taio Cruz (featuring Ludacris)
- “Empire State of Mind”- Jay-Z (featuring Alicia Keys)
- “Don’t Stop Believin’”- Journey
- “21 Guns”- Green Day

3) Create a Playlist titled “PROJECT”

4) Add each song in “Current Songs” to Playlist

5) Change the order of the songs on Playlist

- “Don’t Stop Believin’”
- “Break Your Heart”
- “21 Guns”
- “Empire State of Mind”
- “ We Didn’t Start the Fire”

6) Delete “We Didn’t’ Start the Fire” from Playlist

7) Shuffle Songs in Playlist

8) Add “Empire State of Mind” to FAVORITES

9) Email Playlist to Meaghan.jordan@gmail.com

10) Logout of Grooveshark.com

12
Appendix B
Usability Participant Questionnaire

I. Participant Information

Name:

Email:

Current Postion:

Your Age: Under 18 18-29 30-39 40-49 50 or Over

II. Your Experience

How long have you used computers?

Under 1 year 1-3 years More than 3 years

How long have you used music websites?

Under 1 year 1-3 years More than 3 years

III. The following questions are about your experiences using the website at
www.grooveshark.com .

How many times have you visited our website prior to this test? ________________

What features do you use on the website?

Please rate your experience with Grooveshark on a scale from 1 to 7:

Ease of Navigation

Very difficult Somewhat difficult Somewhat easy Very easy

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

13
Organization

Very unorganized Somewhat unorganized Somewhat organized Very organized

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Attractiveness

Very unattractive Somewhat unattractive Somewhat attractive Very attractive

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Reliability

Very unreliable Somewhat unreliable Somewhat reliable Very reliable

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Overall satisfaction

Very unsatisfied Somewhat satisfied Somewhat satisfied Very satisfied

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

What is the best attribute of the My Music section of the website?

What is the least effective feature of the My Music section of the website?

Are there any features that you would like to see added for future Grooveshark users?

Please add any other comments you have about the Grooveshark website.

Thank you for participating in our survey for www.Grooveshark.com!

14
 Appendix C

Task Completion Time

Returning  Total  Time in 

Participant User Task 1 Task 2 Task 3  Task 4 Task 5 Task 6  Task 7 Task 8 Task 9 Task 10 Time Minutes
Search  Save  Add to  Change  Favorite
Log‐in songs Playlist playlist order Delete Shuffle s Email Log‐out
Participant 1 Returning 11 102 30 5 22 4 6 2 65 3 250 0:04:10
Participant 2 New 25 167 15 36 67 6 78 14 62 6 476 0:07:56
Participant 3 Returning 16 140 26 28 20 26 6 12 73 8 355 0:05:55
Participant 4 New 24 172 52 47 30 16 63 22 65 11 502 0:08:22
Participant 5 New 18 164 61 56 41 9 84 23 79 6 541 0:09:01
Participant 6 Returning 13 80 22 10 21 7 21 16 49 3 242 0:04:02
Participant 7 New 16 143 26 29 16 6 18 9 54 7 324 0:05:24
Participant 8 Returning 10 128 18 37 29 16 54 13 48 7 360 0:06:00
Average 16.63 137 31.25 31 30.75 11.25 41.25 13.88 61.88 6.38 381.25 0:06:21
Average ‐ New User     20.75   161.50    38.50    42.00    38.50      9.25    60.75    17.00     65.00        7.50 460.75
Average ‐ Returning User     12.50   112.50    24.00    20.00    23.00    13.25    21.75    10.75     58.75        5.25 301.75

Post-Test Survey Results

Post Test Survey                   
User  1  2  3 4 5 6 7  8 Mean
Navigation  5  7  6 7 7 5 6  6 6.13
Organization  4  6  5 7 7 4 7  6 5.75
Attractiveness   4  4  6 6 7 6 7  5 5.63
Reliability  7  7  5 7 5 5 6  7 6.13
Satisfaction  6  6  7 7 6 6 7  6 6.38

15
16
17