UX Research Apprentice
within a UXR team of 6
Collabtrax is an innovative construction endeavor led by Tech Fleet. Its primary objective is to develop a shared Digital Audio Workstation(DAW) that enables users to collaborative in real-time on music production.
We conducted both qualitative and quantitative research to gain insights into the product and user interactions. Qualitative research involved contextual inquiries, emphasizing the simplification of the Digital Audio Workstation(DAW) and real-time user interactions. The quantitative aspect comprised a survey, seeking user perspectives on utilizing the DAW in a collaborative setting. Following the completion of a user journey focusing on music creation using a DAW, two users were interviewed to validate the journey undertaken by the team.
Understanding users and their challenges, validating assumptions, and gaining a comprehensive grasp of the problem context, along with outlining the subsequent actions to be taken.
Despite it being Phase 2, prior research focused on NFTs rather than DAWs, forcing the team to start from scratch due to differing user bases. The client has assumptions about whether users wanted collaborations within a DA, and the team needed to validate or disprove these claims. The UXR team conducted desk research, competitive analysis, and explored DAW platforms, with me personally downloading BandCamp and reviewing YouTube videos to understand the user flow of music creation. Research goals were shaped by the Collabtrax team, and we decided that contextual inquiries would best uncover user pain points. Afterward, a survey was conducted to address collaboration and simplifying the DAW, which aligned with the client’s goals.
The objectives of the contextual inquiry were to understand:
The objective of the survey was to assess the overall needs and pain points of DAW users (with the goal of collaboration) within music creation.
As a UXR team, we prioritize user requirements early, knowing it would be time-consuming due to project restraints. Online DAW communities presented challenges with strict posting rules, making it more difficult to engage users. After encountering obstacles in Facebook and Discord groups, I pivoted to unconventional methods such as in-person outreach and leveraging my connections in education and coding boot camps. I created a flyer with a QR code to gather user data and build a Discord server for user collaboration which took about 20 hours to set up. Although I faced set backs like no-shows, I conducted two of the seven planned contextual inquires, focusing on simplifying DAW usage and exploring collaboration opportunities.
(Left to Right) I spend a scorching day at 100 degrees in Tucson, visiting local bookstores and music shops to engage with users in person. A Google map of East Tucson, with some of the local stores and businesses logos that I visited on top.
The Screener survey's demographic data about the users captured.
Sample page of the Discord server's channel 'Your Music' under the category of 'Music Appreciation' along with stats about the Discord Server.
We conducted interviews with a partner, during which I performed a contextual inquiry while my partner documented the findings.
Sample of user's screen, displaying Ableton's software and how he organizes his files.
The Research and Design teams collaborated to organize data from contextual inquiries, prioritizing key insights that align with research goals. The user journey was finalized through a series of workshops, with the first leg conducted as a team workshop and the remaining legs completed both asynchronously and synchronously by the Research team. Afterward, two validation interviews were conducted to ensure the accuracy of the user journey, where participants narrated their thoughts and emotions throughout the music creation process. In the final sprint, we crafted a survey focusing on collaboration challenges, including a section for non-collaborators, which maximized data collection and deepened our understanding of users’ habits and behaviors for product refinement.
The user data obtained from the contextual inquires in which I participated with my teammates provided valuable insights. Engaging in this research method for the first time, I gained significant knowledge through the experience.
The user journey was undertaken as a collaborative workshop with the Collabtrax team, and the process extended to nearly six hours for sorting and organizing the data. The chart below has been revised following the completion of the user journey validation.
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During the user journey validation interview I conducted alongside a teammate, we constructed columns with user-friendly labels. We then prompted the user to articulate, in their words, the rationale behind each step in the process.
The survey had open rolling recruitment and we were initially promised incentives for participants, but that was difficult to get follow through. Nevertheless, we did get 54 participants in a week.
Conduct another qualitative survey focusing on:
Gain further insight into the music creation cycles(not a linear process)
Explore further pain points in more depth:
Create a user journey map for users who collaborate to tap into their current experience.
Create a user persona that represents users who do not want to collaborate.
Explore why people are generally satisfied with current DAWs for collaboration.
A deeper round of competitive analysis could help validate the survey results conducted in Phase 2.
