Sample Workflow

Silas clicks on the Musical Sketches® icon on his Android home and pulls up the splash (loading) page, which immediately transitions to the Musical Sketches homepage.

From the homepage, Silas has the option to look at his existing library of compositions, or to create a new composition.  Here he selects the "New" button, and is directed to the "New Composition" page. 

Musical Sketches supports composing music through transcription of audio.  Since Silas is already whistling this tune, he is able to select "Record" and is directed to the "New Recording" page.

 , or in landscape: 

Here Silas is presented with a split screen, where on one half he controls the recording mode and on the other half he can view and edit the notes as they are recorded.

While recording, a counter at the top shows the length of time that has been recorded and the "record" button is split into a "pause" button (which allows additions afterward) and a "stop" button that completes the recording.  Below we should both the stop and pause pages:

At the pause page, Silas can select a note and edit its pitch and length easily by sliding a finger up or across the screen, and then he can continue or finish the recording.  When he finishes the recording, he is brought to a page that allows him to name the recording (or delete it).  When he saves the recording, he is brought to his "Compositions" library, which is the same page that he would be shown by clicking "Compositions" on the home page.

From the "Compositions" page, Silas can select any composition he has created (sorted by name), and he is directed to a new page displaying his options.

Both "Play" and "Edit" pages are shown below:


Playback occurs through the native speakers or headphones on the Android device, and the sliding dashed bar indicates where in the score is being played.  In the "edit" page, Silas has the same options as when editing occurs during the recording phase.

Workflow Design Analysis:

+ indicates a good point of the design
- indicates a bad point in the design

Learnability:

+ The interface is extremely simplified (not cluttered), giving the user very few options and making paths obvious.

+ Buttons are familiar (Play, Pause, Seek, Record)

+ Succinct instructions for adjusting note length and pitch make otherwise hidden actions appear more obvious.

- No way to delete a recording.

- Not obvious to user how to switch from synthesized notes to actual recording of the user (if composition was created by recording).

Efficiency:

+ Large buttons with clear, non-ambiguous meanings.

+ "Home" button always remains in same location

- Editing while recording can be cumbersome to switch between actively recording and editing, and then back.

Safety:

+ No composition is "static" (it can always be edited later).

+ User can always leave the application and it will save the current state.

- No composition is "static".  Perhaps a "lock" button can be instituted later.

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