PersonalIsIng the AudIble app
This is a personal project focusing on personalising the Audible application. In this project, I employed an evidence-based approach aiming to redesign the Audible app to improve users' experience.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Audiobook users feel unsatisfied not being connected to the audiobook application, as they are to actual books. They lack sense of belonging and enjoyment due to audiobooks limitations such as lack of interaction and personalisation.
MY ROLE.
Sole UX/UI Designer
TIME.
12 Weeks
The Problem
To redesign the Audible app focusing on making the experience highly personal, highly interactive, with the ability to bring even more utility to the user than a book ever could.
Challenges
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- To bring more value to the current product.
- To do all the work remotely due to COVID-19.
- To identify users' feelings of what they have missed about having actually books.
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CompetOItor AnalysIs
It was very crucial for me to analyse and understand the competitive landscape that I was stepping into. There were already many competitors out there offering their own features. In order to stand out, I needed to understand my competitors and identify areas where I could distinguish myself.
Research
I conducted online one-on-one interviews and observed users feelings about the existing application. I ended up designing a survey and conducting quantitative research on an acceptable amount of users. My research outcomes are:
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- Users like to share their experiences with friends and family, to share recommendations on books.
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- Most users like to have the ability to see what others are reading and what others have in their library to get encouraged.
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- Users feel that they need encouragement to make them return to the app more regularly.
How MIght We...
How might we create the interaction for users to get more engaged with Audible application and improve their feeling of belonging.
DefInIng the Problem
Several tasks and workshops were run to work on the initial conceptualisation of the Audible app redesign. I needed to understand, based on my research, what Audible would need to be, how it would address pain points raised by users, and how it would stand out and redefine the audiobook experience.
AffInIty Map
Based on the feedback from users during the Discovery Phase, I noted key findings and sorted them into categories. Based on these insights, simple solutions were rapidly coming up and organised based on user value and complexity. From this point, the personas, an empathy map, and a customer journey map were created.
Personas
Empathy And Customer Journey Map
Based on the research most of the users feel that listening to audiobooks has had a great impact on their lives and they have a positive feeling about the Audible application in general. Users enjoy using the Audible app but they feel the need of getting and receiving recommendations on books and also sharing their experiences with friends and family. They would feel more connected to the app if they were connected with other book lovers around them.
FIndIng SolutIons
After gathering all the information needed I started brainstorming to find my way to the solution. Crazy 8 sessions was an amazing tool for me to open my mind to different solutions.
DesIgn DecIsIons
Based on the research and study of the user's behaviour and needs deliverable solutions cover users needs were created.
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I decided to add a new feature on the existing Audible app which allows users to feel more engaged with the app. The solution is adding a Bookclub feature that enables users to get connected to other book lovers on the app and have the power to give recommendations and receive feedback based on the books they have listened to.
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I realised that users are quite happy with the existing product and the pain point is lack of communication between the user, the app and other users who could be inspirational for each other.
WIreframIng and Low-fI PrototypIng
USABILITY TESTING
The wireframe sketches made several points clear. I made it to a low-fi prototype first and asked 5 people to test the prototype. The insights were:
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- The first page of Bookclub was confusing and users needed to be navigated more smoothly.
- The posts on Booclube were bolder than the books itself.
- The first low-fi prototype was more like pure social media, not a Bookclub to the users.
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UsABILITY TestIng Results
- UI of the new function has to be intuitive and follow the layout of the existing application to make it highly usable for first-time users.
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- The new function needs to be highly interactive with easily understandable navigation.
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- Adding a homepage to the Bookclub with a navigation menu.
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- Adding an event section to Bookclub that enables users to easily join events and enjoy its benefits.
User Flow
AudIble Bookclub
Introducing the Bookclub feature designed for the Audible app:
Audible users are capable of joining the Bookclub by filling out their profile page, adding a profile photo, and choosing what genres of books they are interested in. They are able to make a community of their own friends and follow them. they are also able to search for bookclub's groups and events to join and enjoy the benefits of having a community of book lovers around.
The Bookclub icon is added to the navigation menu bar. The flow is very solid and straight forward. By clicking on the Bookclub icon users will be navigated to the Bookclub home page which is divided into three sections:
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I'd like to know What's on
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Find me a Group
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Find me an Event
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What's on
What's-on is the discussion page of the Bookclub. Users are able to share their thoughts by posting a note and see what is happening with other users. Who is reading what and who has finished what? It gives users the ability to comment on and like others' posts. This feature allows users to easily communicate and interact with other users.
Groups
Creating groups and communities is one of the main points of any club. Users can join an established Bookclub group or create a new group of book lovers to do some activities as a group. They can have a track of their groups on their profile page. Groups are categorised by genre that makes it clear for users to join a suitable group.
By joining a group, users are navigated to the activity page which is created by the group owner and read related posts and insights. They are also able to see and join the group's events.
Events
By choosing "Events" on the Bookclub homepage users are navigated to the event page which provides an introduction to the available events. Events are created and hosted by the group owners and are categorised by genres to make it simpler for users to find what they need.
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They can RSVP to any event they wish to, read the description of the event and also post a discussion. They can find the events they have registered to on their profile and get notification of the upcoming events.
ProfIle
I kept all the information which are already existing on the Audible profile page and added my own version. Users can create their own profile adding a profile photo and have a track of their books, friends, groups, and events.
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On the profile page users are able to message their friends and get notifications of their conversation. They can also update their status, add a book, and write a post about what is in their mind. They can make their profile private or public in the profile setting depending on their choice.
INTERACTION Flow
UsabIlIty TestIng
As a designer, I'm aware of how user testing plays a crucial role in designing a product. This is my second user testing of this project. I designed four different tasks for 5 users and asked them to complete the tasks. By observing users and analysing the process I reached new insights which led me to make necessary improvements. Users tasks include:
- To open the Bookclub and navigate the app to your profile and find your groups.
- To add a book to the Bookclub.
- To search for a group.
- To join an event.
User testing results are:
- The profile page is clear and straightforward and users had no trouble navigating to their groups and events.
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- Adding a book to the Bookclub is quite easy with no complication.
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- Joining and finding groups and events are clear and well designed.
- The search page was a bit confusing. To fix this, I decided to add a tag option to the search page that allowed users to look for posts related to a specific book to get reviews on the book.
Areas of Improvement
In every project, there are things to learn and areas of improvement. In this personal project I can improve the experience of using the app by adding some features in the future:
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- Work on getting authors involved with the app to make the interaction between users and authors possible.
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- Work on the connection between Bookclub and popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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- Work on more details to make the product more predictable, efficient, and explorable.
What I Learned
As my first project in UX, I learned how important it is to identify a problem. I learned that identifying a wrong issue wouldn’t lead you to the right problem-solving stage and would cause misunderstandings of users' needs. I learned that to have the more valued final product it is important to know the right problem first and avoid getting misled on the way.