If you're doing it effectively, of course! And it looks like my first attempt did indeed go well.

I wasn't sure how to approach testing our proposed book page and pane redesign but, after doing a bunch of research, I settled on an interview structure that I thought would help us to decide whether we should press on or go back to the drawing board (quite literally).

One section involved me giving users a series of small tasks to carry out while using a prototype.

Given one of our most common questions was "How do I leave a review on StoryGraph?" this was definitely something we wanted to test the redesign improved on.

We interviewed six different cohorts of users, spanning primary device (mobile or computer) and StoryGraph active/happiness level (from people who use the app daily to those who don't use it anymore) and there was only one task that had a 100% first-go success rate — the "Add Review" one.

And what's even more brilliant?

Since the redesign went live, we've not had a single person ask us how to leave a review!

Usability testing! It really works! 😁
 

What I'm most proud of is how customisable we've made it:

It's also turned off by default. If having a reading streak is not your jam, you never have to see it!

You can find out more about this new feature on our Changelog.
 

I thought I'd be able to have done more on giveaways and stats by today, but the aftermath of the streak launch had other ideas! 😩

Anyway, we've got a new set of giveaways launching on March 19th and by that point I hope users have a new dashboard to keep track of all of the ones they've entered so far! 🤞🏾
 

The next instalment of our Instagram Book Club will be on March 26th, and I'll be discussing Amanda Montell's Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism live with a panel of community members. There's still time to grab a copy and tune in!

Have a great week,

Nadia

P.S. Know somebody who's an avid reader or would enjoy following along with this journey? Please do forward this email to them! Thank you. :-)
 

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