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Add option to vote on buddy read selection
R
roamingthestarsApr 8, 2023
Choosing the next buddy read often includes voting on different book options to select the next pick. I'd love an option to propose buddy read books and have the other users vote on them directly in the app so we don't even have to leave StoryGraph for this part.
Comments
Thanks for the reply Nadia .
It's unsurprising that you didn't hear of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV( in feedback; unfortunately, knowledge of it around the world is spotty. Even in places where it is used it doesn't spring to people's minds because they're both not presented with it as a choice, are unlikely to know what it is if given the choice, or they're otherwise simply not thinking about the "best" way to surface the "best choice". It really only springs to mind among people who are responsible for the choice-making process.
I know of it because I first discovered it when searching for a way to reach consensus in a contentious decision within a standards body I was part of (a working group in the IETF). Since then, I've used it as a product management tool in addition to becoming an advocate of it for use in political elections - particularly in the current moment of extreme polarization. The ability of RCV to identify the option that > 50% of people agree is the most-agreeable choice is incredible.
I'll watch for voting to come out; then go add a story. I hope you'll give it fair consideration.
PS - there's another system I've used in the past for product decisions: Points-allocation. There are various ways to do it; Opinionx.co shows their way here: https://www.opinionx.co/research-method-guides/points-allocation
When I used it, we built a system to give people 50 (or 100, or ...) "points" they could allocate to all the features not-yet accepted onto the roadmap. They could spread them out a few points per feature, or put them all on one feature, or any combination in-between. Over time, the features with the highest point count rise to the top of priority.
This is good system for situations when you have a public idea-list (as you do) vs. either single-vote "likes". Giving people a choice to allocate points lets people can indicate the urgency of or strength of desire for a given feature with a high point-allocation - or the triviality of a feature with a low allocation. This is something the simple "like" or thumbs-up on feature voting doesn't capture. Sadly, it doesn't seen Noora supports that. (Though as shown above, Opinionx.co does. I'm not affiliated with them; I didn't know they supported it until I looked just now for somebody who did!)
jaybatson Of course I'll give it fair consideration (as I do with nearly all the requests/feedback we get)! I know that RCV is a far more effective/utilitarian voting approach — politics grad and UK Referendum AV supporter here! — but, as with all of the features I put out in the product, there can be endless enhancements and customisations that come with it, so I need to figure out a V1. V1 is often about meeting the current needs of users/matching their behaviour. Indeed, RCV is likely the better option for most book club polls, but the majority currently use plurality/first-past-the-post systems, in most cases due to a limitation of the tools available, I'm sure. So, for several reasons, the best product decision for me when launching a whole new feature — and with my product manager and one-woman dev team hats on — is to implement the straightforward voting system, and worry about exploring extra enhancements later. :-D (Psst. The way book clubs are being implemented here, you'll be able to link out to an RCV voting system in the forum or meeting notes!)
Oll - I didn't realize: This comment may come "too-late", as this idea may be closed. If I don't see a comment, maybe I'll make a new Idea.
Can I be a bit more precise on this request?
Our book club has been using opinionx.co (which is, interestingly, a survey tool for ranking & segment customer priorities for features!) to "vote" for which book to next read out of the set proposed by the next host. It essentially implements some form of Ranked Choice Voting (though the specifics are opaque).
I'd love for your book club plans to include ranked choice voting among a proposed set of books. As a former product owner, here's how I'd describe the functions:
Try creating a 4-book poll on opinionx.co, get a half a dozen people to vote on it, and see the results / value. RCV is absolutely the best way to do this selection.
jaybatson Hi Jay! Thank you for the notes! I can tell you now that V1 will not have RCV, but a future iteration may have such an option. It's going to be a straightforward plurality poll, which was the only voting method that was brought up in my customer research. Will be interesting to see what feedback and requests we get on the V1 polling system. It might be a thing that when this launches you end up making a new post for "Add Ranked Choice Voting for Book Club Selection".
This feature is part of our book club plans. Not sure if we'll bring it to buddy reads also!