The third usability test has been performed. Mockup screens can be found here.

The most important changes are:

• More intuitive navigation
• The user doesn't have to confirm as many actions as before
• The music view now shows a list of songs that are going to be played in the near future
• Neighboring pubs can now be selected on the map view as well
  

Overall, most testers found this version to be a major improvement. There were however still a few remarks, such as:

• Lack of social networking
• Facebook/Twitter messages should be published automatically. Some others don't want this. This could be fixed by allowing the user to configure this behaviour in the settings panel.
• Facebook/Twitter login information should be stored for auto login

The lack of social networking features remains the biggest problem. While at this point it isn't the main purpose of the application, some interesting social features could be:

• An online user profile containing the user's achievements, visited pubs, etc. This could be turned into a facebook application.
  
• The possibility to see other users in the area and invite them for a drink at a certain pub.

Another interesting idea mentioned is to make a study about how much people value their privacy regarding social applications. The social features could be based on this information.

Currently, I'm creating the basic screens of the application. The plan for next week is to implement the possibility to receive a list of pubs together with info about the music they're playing.

A second usability test has been performed based on the new application. The mockup screens can be found here. The most common remarks were:

• Too much navigation (too much clicking on back buttons, etc.)
• There should be a direct link between a pub and its route description, without the need to view the pub info in between.
  
• Whenever an (not incredibly important) information message is required it should pop up and disappear automatically, without the need for the user to manually confirm every message. An example is the message that tells you your achievement was successfully published on Facebook.
• Use icons to indicate sharing on sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
• Show the playlist of a certain pub instead of just the current and the next song.
• While viewing the route directions, show other pubs on the map and allow users to switch to another pub if desired.
• Achievements should have a better purpose. For example, they could be shared with other users.
  

The final topic of the iphone application has been chosen. The application will be partly based on the Stella Artois 'Le Bar Guide' application, but it will focus more on music. The features of the application will be the following:

• Receive a list of pubs in the area. The radius of the area can be configured. The default radius could be up to 2 km. Instead of a list, you can also use a world view (camera view) showing your current environment overlayed with labels showing pubs in the area.
  
• You can select a bar from the list and hear the music that's currently playing in the bar.
  
• You can ask for route directions to the bar. The route will be presented on a map. The music will play in function of the route. When nearing the destination pub, the music volume will grow louder. When moving away, the music fades away. Instead of the map, you can also switch to the 'world view' which will show you an arrow and the remaining distance towards the pub.
• You can filter the pubs shown by the genre of music they are playing or by the similarity with a certain song. You can also rate pubs and order them by rating or by the average amount of visitors they get.
  
• You can indicate your visit to a certain pub and share this on Facebook or Twitter. This way, you can invite your friends over and in turn they'll know where to find you.
• You can gain achievements and share these on Facebook or Twitter as well.

The achievements aren't fully decided upon yet, but some possibilities are:

• City Hopper: Visit pubs in at least 5 different cities.
• Pub Hopper: Visit over 5 pubs in less than 5 hours.
• Restless: Visit more than 10 pubs in a single city.
• Recognized: Visit the same pub over 10 times.
• All the king's men: Visit at least 50 different pubs.
• Home sweet home: Visit the same pub over 50 times.