Stitcher’s challenge was to improve the overall first-time user experience (FTUX) of the Stitcher iOS application without alienating their existing user base.
As a small startup ready for its second round of funding, Stitcher wasn’t a stranger to numbers and analytics data. However, the team was having trouble understanding what made someone switch from casual to habitual user, and why new user churn numbers seemed a little high. Stitcher enlisted EchoUser’s help to solve this challenge.
Approach
Considering the two distinct user types we were given, we decided to take a multi-pronged approach. The first component was RITE (rapid iterative testing and evaluation) usability testing on the existing iOS application with both entirely new users and a handful of power users. This would highlight usability trends across the two groups to be tackled in the next design sprint, while the iterative nature of the testing would allow for design advances in between sessions.
For the second component, we enlisted six new users in a diary study activity over the course of a month, with the intention of shedding light on why new users might or might not revisit and use the Stitcher app more consistently over time.
Impact
Catering to the needs of two distinct user groups can be tough, but over the four total weeks of testing as well as the diary study, a number of problem areas surfaced that applied to both groups. These issues aren’t unique to Stitcher, and can provide focus when designing for multiple user types, ranging from content discovery to multi-tasking, transit challenges and so on. Ultimately, the EchoUser team helped guide Stitcher to provide users with every possible chance to have their own personal “A-ha!” moment.
