Poor interaction design for back button

[doherty]

Consider the following two interactions, which:

• Should be equivalent, but are not; and
• Could both be improved.

Interaction 1

1. Open Apollo
2. Select an artist
3. Swipe to view albums instead of songs
4. Select an album
5. Oops, wrong album, hit the device's back button
6. Why am I not at the list of albums again?

In this case, you're taken all the way back to the list of artists. Instead, you should be taken back one level only -- to the list of albums for that artist.

There is another, different interaction design flaw if you use the soft back button at the top-left of Apollo's UI (the Apollo icon):

Interaction 2

1. Open Apollo
2. Select an artist
3. Swipe to view albums instead of songs
4. Select an album
5. Oops, wrong album, hit the Apollo icon/back button at the top left of the UI
6. Why am I not at the list of albums again?

In this case, you're taken to a different incorrect location -- the list of all songs for the artist you selected. Instead, Apollo should remember that you swiped over to the album list, and you should be shown the albums.

These two should take you back to the same place, and that place should be the albums list.

There is probably an analogous interaction design flaw when navigating in other ways through the music library. For example:

Interaction 3

1. Open Apollo
2. Swipe over to the album list
3. Pick an album
4. Wrong album, hit the soft back button
5. I should be at the list of all artists' albums, but instead I am at the list of songs for the artist of the album I was at when I hit the back button.