Add Chapters to a Podcast Episode
Design a chapter editor that helps a producer mark, name, validate, and publish navigable sections for one podcast episode.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
Podcast chapters make long episodes easier to navigate, but precise timestamps are difficult to manage in a text-only form. Edits to the master audio can also shift markers after a producer has finished them.
User context
Elise is preparing a 74-minute interview with a short intro, three topic changes, an advertisement, and closing credits. She wants chapters that work in players with different metadata support.
Product problem
A producer needs an efficient way to place accurate markers, write useful titles, catch overlaps, and understand what listeners will receive.
Objective
Create a desktop chapter editor for drafting, validating, previewing, and publishing one episode's navigation.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Play or scrub the episode while adding a chapter marker
- Edit titles and timestamps with keyboard precision
- Resolve invalid, duplicate, or shifted markers
- Preview and publish supported chapter metadata
Screens and states
- Episode timeline
- Chapter detail editor
- Validation review
- Listener preview
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Elise opens the mastered episode and imports rough markers from her notes
- 02
She plays around each timestamp and adjusts the marker to the start of speech
- 03
Validation flags a duplicate marker and an empty chapter title
- 04
She resolves both issues and previews the list as a listener would see it
- 05
She publishes the chapter metadata to supported podcast feeds
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Keep the waveform or timeline synchronized with the ordered chapter list
- Support direct timestamp entry and fine keyboard adjustment
- Validate chronological order, minimum spacing, titles, and episode duration
- Show which destinations support titles, artwork, and links
- Warn when a replacement audio file changes duration or fingerprint
Constraints
- The exercise does not include multitrack audio editing
- Chapter metadata support differs across listening platforms
- The editor must remain usable without relying on waveform color alone
Reality check
States worth considering
Ready-to-use content
Mock data
Use this content to test hierarchy and realistic data states. You can expand it when the concept needs more depth.
Rough chapters
- 00:00 Welcome
- 03:42 Building the first prototype
- 27:18 Funding tradeoffs
- 51:06 Hiring the early team
- 71:40 Closing notes
Finish line
What to deliver
- Four desktop screens covering chapter entry, validation, and listener preview
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.
Alfa Slab One & Gentium Book Basic
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.
Alfa Slab One & Gentium Book Basic
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.