GOODREADS
PROBLEM:
Despite Goodreads' intentions to create the ultimate tool for readers, there has been a surge of recent complaints regarding its user interface being difficult to utilize; Customers are demanding an update
OBJECTIVE:
Improve Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
Currently Goodreads has a 73 CSAT rating, and the purpose of this research is to propose new solutions to help increase customer’s satisfaction with the app to keep them more engaged.
HERE’S HOW:
Based off of a HEURISTIC EVALUATION using Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics we identified the top usability issues in the current app experience that make it difficult for people to use. The most prominent usability issues were:
Most buttons do not provide the user with adequate cues to indicate a completed action.
Visibility of System Status
SHORT TERM
Adopt Mood Ratings into the current system since it performed well in the quantitative usability test.
Some interactions in the user flow are irreversible, making errors difficult to resolve/undo.
Error Prevention
Based off of a COMPETITIVE EVALUTION measured against 8 selected brands, we gained insights into the competitive landscape and Goodreads’ place within the market to improve its positioning. Here are the top 3 areas for growth amongst competitors and next steps to achieve this:
Goodreads ranks average in assisting customers with discovering new books.
Prioritize new discovery features
50% of users ranked
Mood Ratings as Extremely Beneficial
Mood Ratings allow users to see public ratings of a book based user-reported emotions the book provokes
Goodreads lags behind its competitors in customization and unique feature offerings.
Add more unique features
Based off of a CLOSED CARD SORT showcasing potential features identified from the Competitive Analysis, we determined which features users prioritize as the most beneficial for integration with the app. 34 respondents produced the following results:
47% of users ranked
AI Recommendations as Extremely Beneficial
AI Recommendations use artificial intelligence to provide personalize book recommendations in response to conversational prompts
To identify the primary usability challenges in the initial prototype to guide iterative enhancements, a QUALITATIVE USABILITY TEST was conducted for three key tasks:
Leave a joyful mood rating
Receive a book recommendation
Users like the concept of the AI Librarian but the purpose of the function is unclear
Iterate the AI Librarian icon.
Use consistent language.
Mood Ratings are helpful but the existing flow is too lengthy and creates cognitive overload
Separate flows for star ratings, mood ratings and comments.
Create shortcut for advanced users.
This flow was rated high in ease of use, low in average time spent per screen and mis-click rate and thus high in success rate!
This iteration has yielded improvements! Measure CSAT to confirm findings.
Find a recommendation for a specific type of book
Despite an increase in promotion for the AI Librarian feature, 52% of participants initially clicked the search bar instead
A shift in user mental models is required in order for users to expect recommendations to be generated by artificial intelligence
IMPACT:
Customer satisfaction has improved by 17% from 73% to 90% based on the latest updated prototype!
NEXT STEPS:
MID TERM
Run another study on AI Reccs to see how we to provide further onboarding for this feature.
Create a new private shelf
LONG TERM
Revisit other potential feature offerings from the Competitive Evaluation and conduct further concept testing.
Often times, visual language and vocabulary was inconsistently used.
Consistency of System Standards
There are 10 additional features that Goodreads could offer to stand out
Explore which new feature would be more beneficial to implement
The Private Bookshelf task was completed with ease; ranked the least beneficial feature
Deprioritize this function.
Remove from scope.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the new features after the first round of iterations, a QUANTITATIVE USABILITY TEST was conducted for two key tasks:
Leave a general mood rating
41% of users ranked
Private Book Lists as Extremely Beneficial
Private Book Lists allow users to create a collection of books that will not be shown on their public profile