Build a web experience that makes it simple
for book publishers, aspiring authors and craft hobbyist to upload, proof, and ship physical books for selling or keepsake purposes.

THE

PRODUCT
GOAL

BOOK

CREATION &

PUBLISHING

BOOK PUBLISHING

ONE CLICK

ABOUT

NOOK Press is a publishing service provided by Barnes & Noble that allows users
to self-publish books for

on-demand purchasing and

printing at retail locations.

ROLE

I was assigned this mission in 2014

for Pivotal Labs Palo Alto, CA. My role was to lead research, design and consulting. I collaborated with product mangers, engineers, and stakeholders on the execution and delivery of design deliverables.

ENABLEMENT GOALS

Enable the current nook team and business with agile methodologies and processes.

Use user centered design philosophies to enable and connect the business and it's goals with the motivations of it's customers.

Build a new customer market and increase revenue

in the on-demand printing market by developing software

that allows customers to upload books for self publishing,

gifting and keepsake purposes.

Bridge Nook's online publishing business and attract

aspiring authors to sell books they uploaded in the Nook's

on-demand book store.

BUSINESS
GOALS

KICK OFF
MEETING!

NOOK Press wants to create new on-demand printing opportunity for inspiring authors and professional authors by building a web application that makes it simple for users upload their own books for on-demand printing as well as keepsake printing. Barnes & Noble assumes that normal consumers could use this too and would know how to create and upload a “print-ready” book.

THE PROBLEM

PROCESS

THE

FAKE IT

MAKE IT

meet the

CUSTOMERS

ASPIRING AUTHOR

– – –

ABOUT

Works a full time job

Does writing on the side

Likes writing clubs

24 - 45 in age

Computer savvy but not publishing savvy

First time Author and longtime writer

Has never been published before

Behavior

Is usually really busy and "wrapped" up in work

Writing is a passion and spends time doing it

Always working on that Novel....

Spends time and money to invest in their career

Working local events to get out and look professional

Spends a fare amount of time building a social presence

THE CRAFTER

– – –

ABOUT

Helps run/host/volunteer for fundraising events

Non-profit over self profit

Volunteer, part-time job and crafter on the side

Has a grasp of software and computers

Likes to memorialize

Lives in a nice neighborhood

23 - 45 in age and has a family

Behavior

Helps gifting and funding at local non-profit events

Takes time out to help non-profit over self profit

Does volunteering and enjoys DIY crafting.

Likes to memorialize family traditions

Takes lots of photos and gets crafty around the house

Enjoys making custom/unique gifts for friends and family

NEEDS/GOALS

Needs to get a gift for a family member

Needs to gather and create content

Needs to create found raising material

Will do extra for unique and personal experiences

Wants and likes to preserve memories

Wants the gift receiver to feel special

Wishes to one day make a big impact

Wishes this gift will be shared with others

PAINS

Getting stuck in software and computer errors

Buying and or creating in bulk is expensive

Making things is bulk is time consuming

Having to gather on the pictures or make content

Time managing event deadlines and material needs

NEEDS/GOALS

Needs to get their novel/manuscript done

Needs to get published or self published

Needs a good editor and book designer

Needs to look professional at events

Wants people to know who they are

Wants to learn more about self publishing

Wishes to become a big time author

Wishes they could write all day and not work

PAINS

Always working, not enough time for writing

Trouble-shooting software, when editing and designing

Challenging to stand out in a large market

Not knowing enough about the business of publishing

" IT'S ALL

ABOUT THE

OCCASION "

" I WANT

TO LOOK

PRO "

" WRITING

IS MY

BUSINESS "

Behavior

Does a lot of writing and business development

Spends time on marketing, sales and analytics

Cares about maintaining a professional view

Works on new material for audience specificities

Spends time online and on social media

NEEDS/GOALS

Wanting to hit new markets and broaden spectrum of writing

Needs a good cover designer

Wants more sales and less cost producing & time management

Wishes there was less rep-tape and production fees

Selling more on-demand orders

PAINS

Being managed with publishers and agents

Fears of not staying fresh

Dealing with digital rights & red tape

Not selling enough

Having to do their own book layout, editing and design

THE PRO AUTHOR

– – –

ABOUT

Like being self-published

Professional fiction writer

Has specific reading audience

Has time now then before

Likes business and analytics

College educated

Usually has family

35 + usually has family

THE ASSUMPTIONS

- CARD -

Sorting

There is enough aspiring authors with

book making needs to create a business.

All personas have
knowledge of

bleeds and margins

THE RESEARCH

begins

the

INTERVIEWS

2 WEEKS

5

8

3

- ASPIRING AUTHOR -

- CRAFTER -

- EXPERT -

INTERVIEWS

FEATURES FROM
OUR COMPETITIVE

REVIEW ANALYSIS

INTERVIEWS

HOUSE

CALL

REMOTE

CALL

HOUSE

CALL

REAL

WORLD
CONTEXT

GENERATIVE

All personas will know

how to create and upload
a print-ready book

LEARNING GOALS

THE ASPIRING AUTHOR

Motivation, current knowledge and past experiences?

Technology engagement?

How to become a successful author/publisher?

Pains/joys and magic wand?

THE CRAFTER

Motivation, current knowledge and past experiences?

Technology engagement?

Types of book engagement and why?

Pains/joys and magic wand?

THE EXPERT

Motivation, current knowledge and past experiences?

Technology engagement in the industry?

What should we know about?

Pains/joys and magic wand?

QUOTES

I created my own book to the size required for CreateSpace. I wasn't a big fan of Amazon, I thought it was too expensive per book.

I ordered 30 physical books of my comics for comicon last year using blurb and it was time consuming.

"

I used microsoft word to create

a photo book and then I had to re-create it when I found out there's a bigger size I could have created.

"

Trying to get published is a big deal to
me. Having books and other material on the table at my comedy events show that I'm
professional and that I take this serious.

"

User

THE

Synthesis

COLOR

STICKY NOTE

EACH USER IS REPRESENTED BY A`

After learning about this service at a Barnes & Noble store, Amy Author goes online and submits her Cover Design, PDF interior, approves a proof, enters payment and ships a printed version of her book.

TOPICS &
THEMES

LEARNINGS

& FINDINGS

Only some of the crafters/authors
were NOT able to successfully upload
print-ready books due to the complexity of design tools and the software on the competitive market..

Online "book builder" tools made it easier for the crafter market but the Author market didn't trust it.

Everyone we talked to had knowledge of margins and bleeds. We found the authors were more tech savvy then the craft persona.

We learned that handling bleeds, margins and now cover spine are challenging error cases in current competitive software.

We found the aspiring authors need to have professional printed books to look professional at events. Generally they're exited about the opportunity to publish and sell their physical and online books on the Nook platform.

Authors also have a need for book cover design, copy writing editing help and interior design layout services.

ASSUMPTION

LEARNING

There is enough aspiring authors with

book making needs to create a business.

All personas have
knowledge with

bleeds and margins

All personas will know

how to create and upload
a print-ready book

WHAT DOES
THIS MEAN?

1

The professional author and aspiring

authors have more of a need for
physical books then the crafter persona. They aspiring authors are reacting well
to the nook business opportunities.

2

The crafter market does have a need for physical book creation but not as often. When they do have a need they aim for simplicity and don't seem to be aware of the price differences for bulk ordering vs single one off keepsake books.

3

There's an opportunity for both markets,
if the experience can be easy enough for crafter yet cheap and good enough quality for the authors.

4

We found that there wasn't a strong enough need for the expert persona

to have any more user focus. They will
now become subject matter experts

for any questing going forward.

Design a book making experience

that is easy enough for the average crafter

persona. It must be able to provide clear steps
and helpful support during error moments.

THE MISSION

THE SCENARIO

CLUSTERING

THINK

MAKE

CHECK

ASSUMPTIONS

EXPERIMENTS

THE

Sketching

SKETCHING

WORKSHOP

WITH CLIENTS

WE GOT AN

Idea

CHECK IT OUT

ALIGNMENT

& SHARED

OWNERSHIP

COLLABORATIVE

WHITE BOARDING

THE

CONCEPT

TESTING

MODEL THE

Customer Journey

THE UX ICEBERG

What most
people see

and react to

Visual Design

Interaction Design

Need Architecture

Concept

The wire-frame

helps us move up the iceberg.

THE BUILD A BOOK

Work Flow

SKETCHING

WITH OUR

USERS

REMOTE

TESTING

LEARNINGS

& FINDINGS

We found stopping to summarize was really helpful for the user to see down stream decision before they created an account. Plus, it gave another opportunity for quantity and pricing.

It was found to be very confusing for a user to have just selected a 5" x 8" file size and have to then upload a 5.125" and 8.25" file size.

Not really. Not needed for MVP.

We did pretty good on this. They way we have visually shown what the exact error was helpful. We did find we needed a stronger CTA when the user lands on the page. We found the users that did review the education content before upload did better when there was an error.

We made a lot of assumptions on
this one. We found that setting up a full cover spread and spine are very difficult to do. We found authors and crafters can set up a pages but not
a cover with spine. We're assuming

that templates will not work due to the "it's too much work." behavior

We definitely need to show them a preview for the cover design and the interior layout. It's helpful in that, it gave a since of approval and gave the user a since of location.

QUESTIONS

ANSWERS

How do our customers think about the front and back cover spread?

Will customers need
the interior layout and cover preview?

Are templates helpful?

Are the error cases easy enough to understand and fix?

Is a quote summary
needed for MVP
product strategy?

Is it confusing and painful if a book size of 5" x 8" will require a file upload size of 5.125" x 8.25" to accommodate

for bleed

Overall, the testing went well and we caught some assumptions we weren't aware of. We did pretty good on the build-a-book work-flow and learned a lot about the interior and cover design uploading process.

{ CLICK AROUND & BUILD CONTEXT }

WHAT DOES
THIS MEAN?

1

We made a strong opinion that when a users selects the book size of 5" x 8" then

the file upload requirement will be 5" x 8"
and not account for bleed.

2

When creating a cover, we found that users do a front and back as separate files. We're going to follow that behavior and split the cover upload into sections.

3

Our assumption of book spines changed when we found it was mostly impossible for our user base to create a cover design spread. So we're going to auto create a spine for users with the choice of their custom color and text.

4

We found many more opportunities for

help with text layout, editing and cover design coming from the expert and inspiring authors that we can explore.

BUILD-A-BOOK

WORK FLOW

UI ASSUMPTIONS & LEARNING GOALS

Further learning on the build-a-book order of information.

Stay away from creation of account as long as we can.

Look for helpful content opportunities that are missing.

SUMMARY &
PRICE QUOTE

UI ASSUMPTIONS & LEARNING GOALS

Is a quote summary needed for MVP product strategy?

How can we test any pricing learnings?

COVER UPLOAD
AND SPINES CREATION

UI ASSUMPTIONS & LEARNING GOALS

How do our customers think about cover spreads?

Is it more helpful to do the cover in sections or spread?

How do our customers make this already?
Are cover templates helpful and more so than interior?

Any templates and if so, what software/education is needed?

Will our customers know how to set up trim and bleeds?

COVERS
PREVIEW

UI ASSUMPTIONS & LEARNING GOALS

Is this needed for MVP product strategy?
Will customers need the interior preview and when?

Is this a good place to point out errors?

Is pressing approve clear that's the final approval?

PAYMENT
WORK-FLOW

UI ASSUMPTIONS & LEARNING GOALS

Is ship to local store enticing?
Once the expectation on cost & free shipping?

Anything missing?

UPLOAD BOOK
INTERIOR

UI ASSUMPTIONS & LEARNING GOALS

Is it confusing and painful to select a book size of 5" x 8" but will it comes to the file upload the file size that is required is 5.125" x 8.25" to accommodate for bleed?

Are templates helpful?

What upload requirements are important to restrict the user on?

Are the error cases easy enough to understand and fix?

What kind of support channels should we include and when?

Is preview proof a need for MVP product strategy?