Book Reading App

Role

UX Researcher / UX Designer

Status

In Progress

Year

2022

Target Audience

🔎

While there are a lot of apps that let you read books used by almost all demography of people, it is important to define a specific target audience for this if I want to create a successful application.

For my first research, I conducted quantitative research by sending out a Google Form I created asking users some questions.

Identifying my target audience was my first goal. However, according to the research data, the primary target audience of the "Reading App" is the Young Millennials to Generation Z. (view data result below)

Target audience age distribution — Target audience: Young Millennials to Generation Z

Discover & Empathise Session

👨‍👧‍👦

As the UX designer, first, I had to validate that there was a real pain point that needed to be solved. Second, I needed to empathise with my target audience and understand their struggles and challenges so as to see the project through their eyes.

Main Goals of Discover & Empathise

Discover user's pain point, struggles and challenges
Understand user's needs and wants
Know user's current way of reading

◦ The apps they use
◦ What frustrates them about the app
◦ What they think should be added or done better

Survey about reading habits — Survey data showing reading habits

My findings from the Quantitative Research (Survey)

📊

According to the quantitative research, 91.1% of people who filled the survey struggle to read.

91.1% struggle to read — 91.1% of survey respondents struggle to read

The main struggles are:

Procrastination
Poor time management skills while reading
Unavailability of study groups
Low Accountability

Identify your struggles — Main struggles: Procrastination, Poor time management, Unavailability of study groups, Low Accountability

💬

I asked them what solution do they think would help tackle the problem they identified so I can know and understand their desired needs and wants. Here is what they said:

User needs and wants gathered from the survey

📱

I asked about the apps they use currently for reading, few were mentioned. Btw, Speechify is a really cool app for Audio reading, it is sleek.

Apps mentioned by users — Apps currently used by readers: Speechify, Goodreads, Wuxiaworld, Audible

😤

Among people who mentioned the above apps, 4 people who cared responded to the question about their frustration with it.

This field on the form was optional, so some people didn't respond to it

What frustrates users about their current reading apps

What could help users — What users think could be added or done better

💭

Out of curiosity, I asked how many minutes or hours they read in a day.

According to the quantitative research, the average reader reads for at least 20–40 minutes per day.

Reading time data — Average reader reads for at least 20–40 minutes per day

Define

Using the quantitative result and data gathered at the discovery and empathise stage, I would be defining what problem needs to be solved through a Point of View Madlib.

Problem Statement

Individuals find it hard to read and acquire knowledge by themselves due to the lack of motivation, unavailability of study groups, absence of accountability partners, and poor time management.

"HMW" Questions

How might we make users feel motivated to successfully complete reading a book?
How might we make availability of study groups to individuals?
How might we make available active accountability partners for individuals?

Ideate

I brainstormed about the how might we question and came up with a list of features and ideas to solve the user's problem.

Brainstormed Features

Backlog Features 7

Readers Social Community
In-App Buying of Books
Group Book Payment
Books Sellers
Reels
Status Update
Kids UI

Ideas/features worked on 10

Import different format of books
Paste Web Link
Paste Text
Scan Text
Audio Reading
Book Tracker
Set a Reading Time
Set reading goals
Join Group Reading Challenge
Create Group Reading Challenge

Additional features 8

Discover & Search for books
Books recommendation
In-app space for discussions
Bookshelf
Getting Rewards (Coins)
Get Notifications
Gamification: Badges & Rewards
Branded merchandise

Competitive Analysis

I did a competitive analysis on the brainstormed ideas/features with other reading applications mentioned at the discover and empathize stage.

Feature	Speechify	Goodreads	Wuxiaworld	Audible	My App
Books recommendation based on preferred genres	❌	✅	❌	✅	✅
Set Monthly and yearly reading goals	❌	✅	❌	❌	✅
Set a reading time	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅
Group Reading Challenge	❌	✅	❌	❌	✅
Import Book (PDF, E-Book, EPUB, MOBI)	✅	❌	❌	❌	✅
In-app space for group discussions	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅
Collect rewards (coins)	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅
Book Tracker (daily progress)	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅
Audio Reading (Text to Speech)	✅	❌	❌	✅	✅
Text Reading	✅	❌	✅	❌	✅
Discover & Search for Books	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅
Bookshelf	❌	✅	✅	✅	✅
Gamification: Reading badges	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅
Notifications & reminders	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅
Weekly reading summary	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅

Competitive analysis visual — Competitive analysis: brainstormed features vs Speechify, Goodreads, Wuxiaworld, and Audible

Idea Validation With Users

✅

I decided to run a closed group quantitative survey with 70 users to validate the ideas and features.

Here is the result of the quantitative survey

Idea validation survey results — Idea validation: closed group quantitative survey with 70 users

After this survey, I was happy and confident with the result because this means that I am on track.

Closed Group Card Sorting Session

🎴

In order to make the solution user-centered, I had a closed group card-sorting session with some users to determine the dendrogram of the application.

Here's a link to the FigJam Card Sorting file:

This is a screen record of the card sorting session with some users.

Next Project

Gamma Mobility: Helping Gig Workers in Africa

Gamma Mobility · Lead Product Designer

Interested in working together?

I'm currently available for new projects and collaborations.

Feature

Speechify

Goodreads

Wuxiaworld

Audible

My App

Books recommendation based on preferred genres

❌

✅

❌

✅

Set Monthly and yearly reading goals

❌

✅

❌

✅

Set a reading time

❌

✅

Group Reading Challenge

❌

✅

❌

✅

Import Book (PDF, E-Book, EPUB, MOBI)

✅

❌

✅

In-app space for group discussions

❌

✅

Collect rewards (coins)

❌

✅

Book Tracker (daily progress)

❌

✅

Audio Reading (Text to Speech)

✅

❌

✅

Text Reading

✅

❌

✅

❌

✅

Discover & Search for Books

❌

✅

Bookshelf

❌

✅

Gamification: Reading badges

❌

✅

Notifications & reminders

❌

✅

Weekly reading summary

❌

✅

Command palette