IDEO Method Cards
Kindle 4
With the help of IDEO Method Cards: I, Varsha Raghav, want to understand the Amazon device Kindle 4.
The rationale behind choosing Kindle is that I am an avid reader. Taking this research opportunity, I shall explore the present and possible future of books integrated with technology. Despite being an avid reader, I recently got my hands on a Kindle (my brother handed it down to me as he got himself a Kindle Voyage in the winter of 2014). That was the first time I was introduced to a Kindle on a personal level.
After having a read of the IDEO Method Cards, I kept in mind that while I use the Extreme User Interviews and Five Why's methods I need to adhere by couple ground rules for the participants, namely:
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I will explain my intent, purpose of this research and allow them to decline any participation if they wish to do so.
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I will stay focused on my research regarding Kindle and not stray away from it into the domain of fantasy novels or romantic novels.
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I will respect any and all participants viewpoints, even if I don’t particularly agree with it. In other words, I should not let my judgment cloud the analysis of responses in order for more credible result.
The two methods that I will be using are:
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Flow Analysis (Learn)
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Extreme User interviews (Ask)
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Five WHY'S? (Ask)
The Five WHY'S approach ties in with the Extreme User Interview approach and I shall have a mash-up of these two methods.
First Method
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Flow Analysis
How: Representation of the flow of information through all phases.
Why: Identify opporunities for functional alternatives.
Figure 1. Kindle 4 glance
First button: Backspace
Second button: Keyboard
Middle Keys: Directions and Enter in the middle (used to turn pages)
Third button: Menu
Fourth button: Home
Step 1: Charge and turn on Kindle 4 using the power button.
Figure 2. Charging the Kindle Figure 3. micro-B USB and Power Button
In figure 2, the yellow light indicates the charging status. It reads:
“If you want to read or shop on your Kindle while continuing to charge over USB, please keep the USB cable attached, but eject your Kindle from your computer.”
In figure 3, the green light indicates that the power is on.
Step 2: You will be prompted to join a Wi-Fi.
Figure 4. Joining a wifi
In order to join the wifi steps are: Home > Menu > Settings > Wi-Fi Networks (enter and join)
Step 3: Register your Kindle with an Amazon account.
Figure 5. Registering Kindle with Amazon account
To register, the steps are: Home > Menu > Settings > Registration (login or create)
Once you have registered and are successfully signed in, any purchase you make on your Amazon account, or any free book you download, it will automatically sync in with your Kindle as you have your wifi connected from step 2.
Step 4: Buy/download a book from Amazon and start reading on your Kindle
Figure 6. Selecting a book for your Kindle
Go to Amazon.com and select any book from the vast range available and ‘Buy now with 1-Click ®’ and it shall be available for you on your Kindle to sit back, relax, read and enjoy.
Findings:
I understand that there are limitations to my research because the Kindle version that I have used to demonstrate my study is rather old. However, the flow of information is more or less the same in all. There needs to be consistency in the device because drastic updates might frustrate users who are comfortable with and are used to a particular way.There are newer, better and improved Kindle versions in the market as of today and below are some of the models:
Figure 7. Various Kindle Models (a)
Second Method
Extreme User Interviews
How: Evaluate users who are complete familiar with the device as all as completely
Why: Highlight key issues of the design and provide improvements.
The subject of my interviews were 4 men aged between 18 - 35 and 4 ladies between the ages of 21 - 40. Since it is a field research, I happened to come across people who read on the bus (like myself). I got the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and strike up an educated conversation with them. Nearly everyone cooporated.
I followed a template in order to ensure point #2 from my ground rule was covered. It states that I shall not stray away from the topic at hand. Questions are as follows:
1. Do you use a Kindle?
2. Which Kindle version do you own?
3. How often do you use a Kindle?
4. What do you like most about a Kindle?
5. What do you dislike about a Kindle?
6. Why do you use a kindle?
7. (Ad-hoc basis interview)
The first 5 questions in this questionnaire are following the Extreme User Interviews method for the familiar users. As the questions progress, so does the linking of Five WHY’S method so there is flexibility in the information I gather.
Approach:
For the familiar users interview, naturally, the first choice to conduct my interview was with on brother, who introduced me to the world of this new portable technology. Few of my friends, who I know use a Kindle. These friends happen to be in Dublin itself while others are scattered around the globe. To get in touch with them, I shall use Skype to get in touch, call or use any instant messaging service. (Yes, I'm talking about Whatsapp). I don't physically need to be present with these users as they are well apt themselves.
However, for the completely unfamiliar users, I decided on using only question 1 (Do you use a Kindle?) from my questionaire template to get the ball rolling and continue with the Five WHY’S method approach only. I do so because not everyone would have the reasons for not using a Kindle and in order to fully comprehend their reason for it, I need to let them lead with their answers. Regarding the unfamiliar users, I shall conduct my interview on an unfocused group.
Findings:
Familiar Users:
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The hours spent on the Kindle varies from people to person and the general idea was that bookworms tend to spend considerable amounts of their time. Any chance they get, they take it.
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Apart from downloading books and transferring them to the Kindle via the Amazon website, there is another route one can take, which is slightly on the illegal side. That is, by downloading torrents and using a Kindle app on the laptop to manage said torrents.
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The fact that a Kindle is compact, light and slim is a very big bonus, especially among guys as they don't have huge purses at their disposal, unlike the ladies.
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One of the reasons behind using a Kindle was somewhat surprising to me. 3 people said that, in their minds, the use of Kindle is seen as somewhat sophisticated. They feel and seem smarter or 'cooler', more tech-savvy.
This got me thinking and I did some secondary research. I used the internet to find who reads the Kindle more and:
"ComScore found that Amazon’s tablet has a customer base that is 56.6% female... The ‘why’ behind this finding is not addressed but it could have something to do with Amazon itself, being first and foremost a reading and shopping site, skews more to women, as we have also seen with its earlier Kindle E-Reader products. It’s also a funny coincidence that Amazon promotes the products with a woman’s hand (pictured)." (b)
I also came across a link which dictates the Kindle users demographics.
Unfamiliar Users:
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The issues that unfamiliar users had was with the keyboard navigations, they was tedious and time consuming. Once they got the hang of it, it was not as hard for them to navigate through the library.
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The only problem they had was navigating through the Amazon online library as well as getting around Kindle apps.
Suggestions:
Few people would like the text-to-speech feature for audio-books. As audio-books are becoming increasingly popular. It's a shortcut into actually reading a novel, that's my personal opinion.
References:
(a) Thukral, H., 2013. Techno World. : 2012 EReader Comparison Guide. Available from: http://techwrldinfo.blogspot.ie/2012/11/2012-ereader-comparison-guide.html [Accessed 2015].
(b) Lunden, I., 2012. More Women Than Men Use The Kindle Fire, And iPad Is Getting Highest Satisfaction Score: ComScore. TechCrunch.
