Ty – Status Post #4 – 11/7

What’s Been Done

Research (2hr)

Collaborated with Christine and Bryant to create the concept testing interview guide. This will be used to test the initial user flow that is envisioned as well as see if users respond to certain design directions. With this information, we can tweak the prototype’s colors, flow, etc, and begin refining it for a high-fidelity prototype. (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q4i419beQ4be3DdumseGoylo7d0v0EICuTgWCP6Y3Ms/edit?usp=sharing)
Completed one concept testing interview. The user was largely on-board with the design direction but gave some excellent feedback. The user suggested that there is always a limited/locked amount of artists visible on the screen at once to prevent an overwhelming amount of content with a “View full network/web” button to zoom out and view all of the links if wanted. Also suggested a “Return to (Initial Searched Artist)” button that would return the user to the initial artist who was searched. Link to notes here: (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bN5BCGnSZ9FzplrzDN3Jg6swSqG7C9jBsgir6wsBTX0/edit?usp=sharing)
Completed individual NUF analysis to discover the most prioritized features for the project. Will tally up the group’s scores early next week. Link to chart analysis here: (https://www.figma.com/file/3b0UPHJb5BIZDMW0CcS4mF/Omni?node-id=364%3A1781)

Design (3 hours)

Dev (3-4hr)

Completed additional development research to hone in on what tools, API, etc. will be needed. Links included in development plan below.
Found a past project that utilizes the Spotify API and d3.js force-directed graphs to create a similar network of artists that Omni is looking to achieve. This can be used as a foundation for our MVP as we look to build upon the feature and functions present in this project. (https://elliotec.com/force-directed-artist-relationship-graph-with-d3-js-and-the-spotify-api/), (https://observablehq.com/@d3/force-directed-graph)
Create a development plan with various routes we can take the development cycle. Option #1 is the original “vision”/plan that uses various API’s and combines and displays the information together (this is the most complicated but would likely produce the highest quality results if developed correctly). Option #2 utilizes the Spotify & Last.fm API’s and removes the use of Allmusic.com (this would also provide quality results due to the accuracy of Last.fm’s similar artist data, but would still be technically challenging). Option #3 utilizes just the Spotify API (this option is possibly the best route to use for an MVP. Uses just one API for data so it would be simpler and easier to manage).
Development Plan + Research Links here (https://www.figma.com/file/3JkuhqzYTEex3GQwJARZkD/Development-Roadmap?node-id=0%3A1)

Research

Still waiting to hear back from Phil, Kyle and I will reach out again this week.
Complete 2-3 concept testing interviews
Refine the concept testing guide based on initial interviews
Compile group’s NUF analysis results to determine general feature-set direction

Design

Continue refining desktop & mobile prototypes based on concept testing interviews

Dev

Continue researching and refining the development plan
Explore more d3.js tutorials/videos to learn more about force-directed graphs and what is possible with them. Looks like this will be our best bet to use versus Neo4j since it is free and has plentiful examples to reference online with. The d3 library is also built to display front-end visuals which will be much easier to work with than Neo4j which is mainly used for backend systems.