Introduction

As an avid reader I use the Goodreads app daily to explore and discover new books, track my reading progress, update the status of my books, and see what my friends are reading.

Throughout years of using the app I have been able to detect areas of improvement. Some of which have also been highlighted in reading groups I belong to. Because of this I went about defining ways to make the Goodreads app more effective and useful for its users, increasing customer satisfaction and retention.

Process

Role

  • UX/UI Designer

Tools

  • Figma
  • OptimalWorkshop (card sorting)
  • Maze (user research)
  • ChatGPT 4.0

Preliminary Research

  • To validate the initial problem hypothesis I collected and analyzed reviews of existing users’ thoughts and feelings, through recent app reviews as well as scouring facebook groups. This gave me a window into opportunities for improvement, as well as what features users find top priority when using the app.
  • A competitive analysis helped to identify what features are key to user retention.

After gathering the reviews and extracting the key takeaways, I organized them and categorized them based on their common themes.

Preliminary Findings

Preliminary research produced the following findings:

  • Find & Interact with Friends:
    • Existing Goodreads users find it challenging to find friends using the app.
    • Users would like to see more of their friend’s activities
    • Profiles could be more engaging.
    • “It’s impossible to search for friends.”
  • Ratings & Reviews:
    • Users would like to rate books with half star ratings.
    • Add tags to reviews to filter by.
    • “Absolutely would benefit from half star rating system, or even 10 star rating system.”
  • Search Function:
    • Finding books by moods
    • Search history
    • Comprehensive filtering options
    • Tags to find books more easily.
  • Updating Lists in Bulk:
    • Users would like to be able to update book lists in bulk
  • Users would also like to be able to mark books as unfinished, as well as track books they are re-reading.

”It’s impossible to search for friends.

”Absolutely would benefit from half star rating system, or even 10 star rating system.

User Personas & User Journeys

Using the data and findings from the preliminary research I was able to distinguish three different user personas:

  • Christa: the book lover
  • Becka: the book critic
  • Rick: the intellectual reader

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Competitor Analysis

I conducted a competitor analysis with two of the most popular book tracking apps to help me determine which features are key to customer retention. In this case they were:

  • Search for friends and friend’s activity
  • Improved profiles.
  • 10-star ratings
  • Tags for reviews

Information Architecture

Given that many user concerns centered around difficulties in finding content within the app, it was relevant to evaluate its information architecture to identify potential navigation improvements.

I conducted a card sorting exercise to define what an improved information architecture would look like.

Original Information Architecture

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Improved Information Architecture

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Use Cases

Based on the research up to this point, improving the following features could greatly impact user engagement and retention:

  • Improved information architecture
  • Enhanced search functionality
  • 10-star ratings
  • Tags for reviews
  • Tags for books and finding books by moods
  • Engaging profiles
  • Friends interactions and finding friends
  • Updating lists in bulk

For the purpose of simplifying this case study, I will focus on redesigning and testing the user stories below, while sprinkling improvements to the remaining ones throughout the design process.

  • As a user I’d like…
    • To find books, friends and authors easily
    • To have comprehensive filtering options when searching for books
    • To bulk add books to my lists

Wireframes

Below you can find the initial wireframes I designed.

Link to live wireframes
Home
Search Results-All
My Books
Search Results-Books
Discover
Filtering Options
Friends
Bulk Actions Dropdown
Profile
Access Contacts
Book Details

I proceeded to test these wireframes using a tool called Maze.

Test takeaways:

  • Users found it difficult to find the bulk action options
    • Takeaway: made the bulk actions button stand out more.
  • Most users couldn’t find the ‘find your friends’ option on the search screen. They thought they would find this option under the ‘Friends’ tab
    • Takeaway: add the ‘find your friends’ option under the ‘Friends’ tab.
  • Most didn’t think of using the filtering options to find a specific book which helped me conclude that it wasn’t easy to find.
    • Takeaway: One possible solution would be to put popular filtering tabs, next to the Filter button.

Prototype

I proceeded to design a prototype of the search functionality that included the feedback gathered during the wireframes’ test.

Due to time constraints and for the purpose of consistency, I reused existing brand standards and did not explore a possible revamp of the apps look and feel.

Link to live prototype
Home
Search – All
My Books
Search – Books
Discover
Filtering Options
Friends
Search – Friends
Profile
Access Contacts
Book Details

I then proceeded to test the Prototype. Below are the takeaways from this study.

  • (In progress…)

The feedback gathered was used to improve the design, which is reflected in the above link.