Mybrary Case Study

The Problem

A simple digital way to manage collections of goods or files in a searchable, reusable, or customizable way does not exist.

The Solution

Mybrary - a way to catalog collections digitally. With the ability to create lists, users are able to add as many collections as they want or break up their collection into segments. We also focused on making the process of adding items efficient, because collectors tend to acquire many items.

User Survey Finding #1

Most of our collectors regularly updated their collection of between 51 and 500 items and had more than one collection, we knew we had to focus on keeping Mybrary simple to be powerful. We added the feature of multiple lists to allow collectors to either keep track of each collection separately or breakup their multiple collections into segments.

User Survey Finding #2

With collections reaching triple digits, we knew we had to make the process of adding each individual item fast, efficient, and clean. Based on the data and collector behavior, we foresaw the collectors blocking off long periods of time to upload each item individually, we wanted to make that user journey enjoyable. Our main goal is to bring a peace of mind to collectors knowing that they successfully digitized their inventory.

Competitive Analysis

Funko Pops

Due to its recent popularity within the last decade, Funko Pops has bred one of the most robust groups of collectors. Their app is also robust as it allows collectors to natively add any item to a wishlist or collection, search for any Funko Pop, sort with many filters, and scan products by uploading or taking a live photo. Obviously, their app only focuses on Funko Pop, so if you collect anything else - their app is moot.

Libib

People have been collecting books, since….well, the invention of the printing press. One of the top book collecting apps - which also supports movies, music, and video games - is Libib. Libib allows you to upload a photo of your item, with item specific information plus, it has a social component allowing you to publish your library within the app or on social media. Again, this app only offers four kinds of ‘libraries.’ If you don’t collect one of those four things, then this app is moot. The interface is also too basic and a tad unintuitive.

User Persona: Paul Allen

The persona we created was Paul Allen - it was honestly a mixture of the client’s father-in-law and my own father. An older gentleman who has and continues to collect vinyls from his childhood teen years, and beyond. Our thinking was if we could create an app that is simple and powerful enough for a 65-year-old collector to use, it will be usable for almost any other collector and their collections.

Behaviors

• Organized and hardworking
• Loves spending time with his adult kids and grandchildren
• Spends his weekend either gardening or visiting friends
• Has been married for more 30 years

Goals & Needs

• Collect as many vinyls from his childhood as possible
• Created ‘man cave’ in his basement with sound system and bar
• Pass his love of music onto his family
• Goes to the chiropractor every other week
• Be an active member of his Church on a weekly basis

Hesitations & Pain Points

• Has more than 1,000 vinyls
• Has his collection in multiple locations
• Time it will take to digitize his whole collection

User Flow: Adding List and Item(s)

My role was to only create the wireframes of the app, with the expectation of eventually fleshing it out completely. I was also focused on creating an MVP to immediately test - which allowed me to focus the most important tasks and behavior for the user flow. As simple as it is, having a user add a list (or collection of items) and add an item was the obvious user flow.

Paper Prototype and First Wireframes Finding #2

Determining how a user would add an item after creating a List/Mybrary was the next focus. Subsequently, the rest of the items in a collection could be added. We realized that if a collector has hundreds, if not thousands, of items in their collection, we need to make the process of adding an item to a List/Mybrary as simple and efficient as possible.

First User

The first user was a comic book collector. His feedback indicated the ‘My Notes’ section of the item screen was too big. This piece of feedback was valuable, but will most likely not be implemented in the next iteration. As a comic book collector, he let us know that this app has been the solution to a need he’s been searching for - digitizing his comic book inventory. He said that when this app is officially launched - he will download and use on day one.

Second User

The second user was a wine collector. Her feedback indicated she would need the ability to add multiples of the same item, and our MVP currently didn’t allow that feature. She also indicated that she knows other collectors who would need that capability. Though, this is a great piece of information gained, this will be a feature we will try and add on the first update of Mybrary and won't implement right away. As a wine collector, she let us know that she LOVES that this app would highlight the items through photos. She ultimately said that this would be an app she would actually use over and over.

Third User

The third user collected many things, but his biggest collections were Legos and action figures. His feedback indicated how important it is to be able to add his item’s Unique ID’s to each item. We believe that this is one of the most important points of feedback gained from the usability tests. Most items have some sort of indicating number or Unique ID, and Mybrary has to find a way to provide an input field for those. As a collector of multiple collections, he let us know that there is not another app like this out there.

Usability Tasks

The two main tasks the users were asked to complete were to add a new Mybrary and to add their first item to that Mybrary. Both of those tasks had 100% usability rates. We know that it was only three users and the tasks were very simple - which was the goal the entire time. We made each task as simple as possible in effort to lessen the fatigue of adding a ton of items in a single sitting.

Next steps

Test our visual design with more than five users.

Incorporate square items into our app design and test with users.

Determine if we will require user accounts on our first version of the app.

Learnings

The findings from the research and interviews made us aware of something we hadn’t considered - how collectors currently keep track of their collections. Most of them either keep track of every item on an extensive spreadsheet or on a notepad!

I would be so bold to say that they NEED this app.

Mybrary will unequivocally help collectors go from analog to digital.

Final Thoughts

Simplicity is strength. The idea for this app is really simple. It’s tempting to get really fancy with trendy designs, however we have to remember our user’s needs.

Informed research breeds better UX. I couldn’t have designed a product collectors would use without the help of the people who will actually use it. The user interviews revealed unexpected information.

Mybrary

Overview

The Problem

The Solution

Roles and Responsibilities

Target Audience

The Client

Discovery and Research