Prototype A on the left, and Prototype B on the right
We ran unmoderated usability testing in Maze with 20 participants—10 per prototype—all with prior audio player experience. While Maze's desktop-only format and lack of live audio playback posed limitations for our mobile-first design, the test still offered valuable directional feedback, revealing usability trends and user preferences.
Task 1: Table of Contents
Find and start listening to the chapter on how to manage a team.
Can users correctly identify the table of contents (TOC) icon? Do they understand how to navigate within the audiobook?
Since the TOC was the most-used Reader feature, I proposed moving it right for better thumb access and tested its discoverability. We also tracked confusion with the similar-looking 'add to playlist' icon to see if users mis-tapped or chose correctly.
Task 1: The table of contents icon (left screen, bottom right icon) opened the TOC screen on the right through the use of a bottom sheet
Result and Recommendation:
Direct success of 90% for both A and B tests. The heatmap suggested that completing this task was enough for us to keep the icon in the bottom right corner.
Task 2: Chapter Skip
Restart the current chapter from the beginning.
This task aimed to validate whether a chapter skip function was essential. To keep the UI minimal, we tested a version without it and observed whether users struggled, found workarounds, or noted its absence—offering insight into its necessity and intuitiveness.
Task 2: Prototype A (left) demonstrates that a chapter skip was beneficial. Prototype B (right), had users tapping the 15-second back button multiple times to return to the beginning of the chapter. After the test, testers from prototype B mentioned they'd like an easier way to move between chapters.
Results and Recommendation:
Results supported including the chapter skip feature—users navigated more confidently with it, and the interface felt clearer. Three of ten testers without it explicitly asked for an easier way to switch chapters, reinforcing that the feature was both expected and needed.
Task 3: Mini player
You missed the last few seconds of your current audiobook while browsing the app.
Back up to the portion you missed.
Testing the mini-player allowed us to evaluate whether users recognized it as an interactive element or saw it as part of the static interface. We wanted to ensure it felt actionable - users understood they could tap it to return to the full player view, without overwhelming the rest of the screen.
Task 3: Do users know they can interact with the mini-player? This heatmap says yes.
Result and Recommendation:
With a 95% success rate we felt the mini-player was intuitive as designed.
Task 4: Playback speed
Double the current listening speed.
We explored various enhancements for playback speed control but simplified it for the MVP. Prioritizing clarity and ease of use, we delivered a straightforward version that met user expectations, with plans to iterate in the future.
Task 4: Our tap through playback speed cycled through five various speeds by half speed increments from 0.5 through 2.0 and tested extremely well.
Results and Recommendation:
100% success rate. Keep it as-is for now, but continue exploring other ideas that add surprise and delight in the future.
We also tested interactions with the progress bar and the download feature. Our goal for the progress bar was to see if users recognized it as an interactive element and whether they would tap or drag it to navigate within a chapter. The download task focused on icon clarity and recognition. Users were asked to save the book to their device, which helped us evaluate whether the download icon was intuitive and easily discoverable in the context of the audio player.
Left screen tested user awareness of the progress bar being interactive. Right screen tested download icon findability and clarity.
Once testing wrapped up, we used the insights to finalize updates to the interface and overall experience. With the core mobile designs locked in, we shifted our focus to additional screen formats - designing for Android tablets and various iPad views, including regular, compact, and split-screen modes. This ensured a consistent and optimized experience across multiple devices and use cases.