Add a Feature: Goodreads Mobile App

Timeline

Role

UX/UI Designer & Researcher

Project

Add a Feature

Tools

Figma, Zoom, Figjam, Photoshop

Introduction

What is Goodreads?

Founded in 2007 and acquired by Amazon in 2013, it is one of the most popular reading platforms for readers to discover, rate, review, and share books.

Context

The Initial Curiosity

I’ve had a Goodreads account since I was in high school and actively used it while I was in university, but I learned there was a lot of dissatisfaction and new competition for new reading platforms. I wanted to know how to redesign and update Goodreads and thought maybe one of the problems was their logging system, but I was shocked by another reason.

The Problem

Community

The absence of a prominent and visible community feature in Goodreads hinders bookworms ability to easily engage and connect with other readers, diminishing the social experience of the platform.

The Solution

A Community Menu

Introducing a visible and prominent community feature in Goodreads' navigation menu enhances user engagement and makes it easier for readers to connect with fellow bookworms causing a stronger sense of community while enriching their overall experience.

Yet where did it all begin?

The Process

Researching

Competitive Analysis

User Interviews

2.Findings

Affinity Map

Customer Journey

User Persona

3.Preparing

HMW

Feature Roadmapping

User Flow

4.Exploring

Lo-Fi Wireframes

Mid-Fidelity

High Fidelity

Revising

Usability Testing

Design Decisions

6.Concluding

Final Screens

Next Steps

Reflection

1

Researching

The Competition

Competitive Analysis

Literal.club

Storygraph

Librarything

Analyzing the competitive landscape of Literal Club, StoryGraph, and LibraryThing reveals that robust community features enhance user engagement and satisfaction. These platforms excel in fostering reader interactions through social networking capabilities.

I also learned from our

User Interviews

The Questions

What I asked

What are you looking for in a reading platform/app?

How do you find what books to read?

How do you find other users?

How and why are you using Goodreads?

The Responses

What I heard

"I want a place where I can read reviews from other readers."

"I follow book influencers on social media."

"I look for users with similar reading tastes."

"I like to connect with other readers."

2

Findings

Afterwards I compiled the data into a

Synthesizing the Research

Affinity Map

Identifying patterns was challenging at first, but after mapping out the responses there was more clarity. This approach helped me understand the common behaviors and streamline the process to figuring out ideas and solutions.

After analyzing the responses, I organized the data into smaller, focused clusters. This breakdown helped me pinpoint key issues and recognize growth opportunities.

In additional to the affinity map I supplemented my understanding of the bookworm through a

Understanding the User

Customer Journey Map

The customer journey map helped to visualize the reader's experience highlighting key touchpoints and emotions. This approach helped me identify pain points and opportunities for improvement.

As a result 4 insights emerged from the affinity mapping and customer journey mapping.

What I learned

The Insights

The data was compiled to make the bookworm. The framework of the bookworm was made by an in-depth analysis of the user interviews, affinity mapping, and customer journey mapping. By analyzing the repetition of behaviors and responses, the bookworm can represent the typical user's needs and motivations.

User Persona

Forming the typical user's needs and motivations helped in the process of evalulating a crucial question.

The Problem Statement

Community

The bookworm needs to make new friends because it helps them to learn new insights, feel motivated, and have a bigger sense of belonging and purpose.

3

Preparing

Brainstorming Session

HMW

I brainstormed several HMW questions and landed on a central question...

The HMW

How might we connect with fellow readers in meaningful relationship building?

The HMW statement acted as a key reference for improving concepts and creating answers. Through experimentation and various methods, concepts were assessed based on growth potential, influence, and user relevance. This cyclic approach of brainstorming and ranking was crucial in crafting successful solutions.

Feature Roadmap

The results of the feature roadmap provided a clear direction for development. And to illustrate the process the bookworm follows to achieve their goal, I diagrammed the chronological actions and choices required from the starting point to the end result. This led me to create a

User Flow

Visualizing the flow led me to identify potential pain points, optimizing navigation paths, and guide design decisions. Which led me towards the next step.

4

Exploring

Low-Fi Wireframes

By testing the low-fidelity prototypes, I gathered insights on required enhancements, which guided the next iterations.

High-Fi Wireframes

5

Revising

What I tested

Usability Testing

The participants were prompted to add a new friend through the suggested user feature

Success Metrics

100 % task completion rate

3 minute task time

Few errors or misclicks

4 out of 5 star rating for satsifaction and understanding

Results

100 % task completion rate

All participants finished under 3 minutes

All users had few errors or misclicks

4.6 star rating for satsifaction and understanding

Iterations

Design Decisions

I observed participants having a harder time noticing the communities feature so I swapped the placement of the communities feature to be on the left side and more towards the home button. I implemented other UX text changes and alterations in language and with UI elements.

6

Concluding

Prototype

Final Screen

Next Steps

Flesh out other features mentioned in the roadmap

Solicit beta reviewers to test out the changes

Implement their feedback

Reflection

I learned about the importance of having a diverse set of interview participants and why I should aim for a broad data sample

I struggled with balancing simplicity with functionality and worrying about whether or not I was doing enough, but I learned that sometimes less is more

Having multiple tools to understand the user’s needs and motivations is valuable and knowing which tools to use is a indispensable