Heuristic Analysis Project, including the SWOT method

Criterion

Goodreads

Amazon Kindle

Kobo e-reader

Android Rating/ # of
downloads

4.1 / 5 million

4.1 / 5 million

4.2 / 10 million

iPhone Rating/ # of
ratings

Does not have

enough info

4.5 / 2,949

4 / 164

Strength

-shows whats new as

soon as the app
opens
-Goodreads Choice
Awards lots of books
to browse
-scanning function
ISBN scan brings you
right to the books
page -- can scan
multiple entries and
can add directly to
your shelves ie read
currently or want to
read or CYOS
-can buy book right
from the books page,
connected to Amazon
-can search for
friends & add through
facebook or contacts
-showing trending
this week categories

- rating queue has

good variety & lots of
options
- if a book is cross
genre it remembers
your previous rating
of it
- books you rate
want to read at the
initial rating page
become a pool for
them to send you a
few free samples
right to your device*

- sign in screen
shows a selection of
free ebooks (enticing)
right away showing
content selection
- allows for offline
downloads
- immediately gives
you a $5 credit to
their store*
- free ebooks
separate from store
and easily found
- detailed statistics
page for your
reading
habit/process of
completed books
and in progress
books

Weakness

- all recent reviews

express displeasure
with the new update
- cant jump to last
message on threads
- one user cant see
any recos at all
- did not transfer my
data from the
website to the app
- no not interested
rating option
- rating individual
issues instead of
series for GN so the
same bigger series

* starts autoloading
and there is no option
to stop download -could ensue charges
if not on wifi
- complaints of push
notification scam ie
targeted ads on their
homescreens
- second screen tries
to sell you their
kindle unlimited
package
- no not interested
rating for queue
- home page just

* only usable on
books $5.01<
- very slow sign up
process - 1 min +
- very slow load
times in general
- no ratings queue to
start off with recos
right away - must
build library to receive
recos
- free ebooks all
garbage, no known
authors
- no sorting
options/advance

show up o&o in the

queue
- drop downs not
alphabetical?
-recos are broken
down by genre makes it seem like
many more recos
when it is the same
books set in mult
genres
-contacts also include
emails assc with your
phone so you can get
non-people emails
- no home screen,
seems updates is
the homescreen

books on your kindle

& some editors picks
-- pretty sparse
looking to a new user
- no sharing option at
all
- advertises free
ebooks with prime
but fine print says
only on a kindle

search on the stores

homepage; drop
down allows for sort
by but cant filter by
author or genre (?)

Opportunity

- have a random
generator for recos
rather than only
genre sorting
- compatitbility
rating shows how
many
novels/authors/etc
you and another user
have in common -good way to know if
you should browse
through their most
recent reads

- adding not
- no social aspect
interested as a rating - this app is very
option
uninspiring
- even with no books
catalogued or added,
show a selection so
the app doesnt seem
empty ex
commonly shared
or commonly
searched

Threat

- have a barcode
scanner
- very intergrated with
Amazon, can
purchase through GR
app and send to
kindle or have it
delivered to your
house (built in
browser brings you to
amazon)

- its Amazon
- with Prime you can
borrow books so it
becomes your own
personal library

- not really

Ease of Access
1-10 rating (10 high)

7 (almost 11 sec
initial load time)

5 (very slow loading

times)

Flexibility & Efficiency

Rate a book 3+ stars

-rating causes

Very little flexibility, no

of Use

and it clunky
autoloads more
books similar to the
one you just rated;
however this can
include books already
in the rating queue

shadow autoload but

does not tell you what
its doing - just looks
like a glitch reload
every time
-lots of sorting
options

sorting options, must

just use the app the
way that the dev
wants you to

Aesthetic & Minimal

Design

Visually pleasing,
very little
unnecessary
dialogue
-major features right
on top (updates, my
books, scan)

Maybe too minimal?

Without pre-loaded
books or options the
app looks empty and
therefore not useful

Crisp icons and a

good colour scheme,
however it reminds
me of browsing for
books/mags in an
airport kiosk

User Control &

Freedom

-seemingly no redo: if
mistakenly ex out of
book page the author
does not immediately
jump back to the top
of the search

Misspelling a
common author
name does not bring
up the author (ex
dam brown); back
button (on phone)
brings me all the way
back to the home
page instead of a
blank search prompt

Searching for a book

you dont own in your
library prompts you to
search in the store
and carries over the
search terms so you
dont have to restart;
dam brown brings up
books about dams