Overview
Problem
While owning any dog can be a challenging, albeit rewarding experience, city dwellers looking to adopt their furr-ever friends have more constraints on them than their rural counterparts. Potential owners have to consider many factors such as the size of the dog, breed, temperament & disposition, and of course, the age, to name a few. Also, owners have to consider their lifestyle to ensure the dog won't be neglected. Taking the above into account, city-goers find it difficult to find a dog that's right for them.
In the end, all anyone wants is a best friend that fits with them (almost) perfectly.
Solution
I designed an onboarding / user intake experience where the user answers questions to narrow down their preferences, searching for a dog. The goal of the user is not just to find out what kind of dog they want, but more specifically, what kind of dog they should consider based on a multitude of factors including location, lifestyle, hobbies, work-life balance, dog size, dog temperament, and dog health.
Role
UX Designer
Timeline
Jan. - Feb. 2020
Tools
Sketch, Adobe XD, Photoshop, Whiteboard
Methods
Research
- Interviews
- Personas
Design
- Sketches
- Wireframes
- High Fidelity Design
- Interactive Prototype
Evaluate
- Usability Testing
Contributions
As the UX Designer, I conducted a competitive analysis, several sketch exercises, created wireframes, high-fidelity designs, and an interactive prototype.
After designing the prototype, I conducted a round of usability tests with 5 users.
Research
Competitive Analysis
I researched the market for products catered to pet adoption to see what worked and what didn't work. I came across three websites; Rover & Petfinder were pet-oriented sites and Apartment List was an apartment-finder site that had great inspiration for a user-preference flow.
Interviews
While I didn't conduct the initial interviews, it's important to include them in the case study to better understand the context of design decisions that were made.
A lot of sites tell you if the dog is 'good around other dogs'. I think this generally means other dogs in the household - what about in public? I walk my dog on the street and in dog parks with LOTS of other animals. I'd want to know that they would be ok with that.
I like to see lots of photos - or even better, videos! They help create an instant connection, and it's a little easier to see how big they are, get a feel for their energy level, and imagine if my small apartment would be a good home for them.
I generally look for older dogs - I usually assume they are more well-trained - but that's not always the case. Really, I want to find a dog that is comfortable walking with me in the city, and won't get freaked out by all the people, pigeons, and things to do!
I would never want to adopt a dog that needed more activity or space than I could provide. I try to find breeds that are generally less hyper, but it all really depends on the personality of the dog.
Personas
In order to get a better picture of our users and their needs, behaviors, and frustrations, a persona was created.
Behaviors
- Now that she does not have roommates, she finally feels "ready" for the responsibility, and companionship of a dog.
- She follows some adoption agencies on instagram, and even "saves" some dogs she wants to adopt.
- Ellie has spoken to adoption agency representatives to ask questions. This has been helpful, but is very time consuming to find the right contact, or make an appointment.
- She asks friends, and people in her building who have dogs for advice, so she can get some info from people that are closer to her situation .
Frustrations
- Ellie hasn't taken action because she doesn't feel 100% confident that a dog will be a good fit for her AND the dog.
- Since most adoption sites focus on making a connection between people and dogs, she falls in love with a dog that needs more space, attention, or activity than she can provide, ultimately leading to disappointment, and more indecision.
- Descriptions of dogs on sites are too general - for example, it may say "this dog doesn't require a lot of space" - but how small is too small?
Goals
- Ellie wants to find a dog to adopt.
- She wants to feel confident that they will be a great fit for each other - both in emotional connection, and practical factors related to her lifestyle.
User Mapping
I focused on compiling notes on the user research and personas that were created from interviews. I iterated 3 versions of the user map involving the primary user and the end goal for the user.
Design
Ideation
With the persona, competitive analysis, and interview data, I began to flesh out ideas of potential solutions using some sketching excercises. I started with the sketch excercise, Crazy 8s, to get an idea on paper. I stuck to drawing the preference input flow because I thought that was the pertinent part of the solution.
Sketches
I proceeded to sketch out several initial screens that included one of the previous crazy8 sketches (a loading screen), and then the 'Results' interface, followed by 'View a dog' page.
I sketched out additional pieces of the solution and eventually put it together in a storyboard which I would use as a guide for the wireframes and final prototype.
Prototype
For the initial iteration, my goal was to validate if the design
helps users filter down to their preferences, includes all
important information pertaining to the dog, and feels
comfortable within the interface. I hoped that usability tests
could help uncover any improvements and obstacles.
I used Adobe XD to build the hi-fidelity design, prototype, and
micro-interactions.
Evaluation
Usability Testing
I moderated usability tests on five users who either owned
dogs or were prospective dog owners in order to gain feedback
from first-time owners and seasoned owners.
In order to get more granular feedback from users on the
higher level user goals, I asked users to consider several
scenarios and to find the best way to achieve an end goal.
These included:
- You decide you want to adopt a dog but you want to make sure that the dog is right for you and your lifestyle.
- Once you have results of various dogs, you want to view more information about a specific dog as well as view some pictures/videos.
- After searching through a few dogs, you decide you want to expand the distance of how far you're willing to travel and a few of the dogs personality traits.
- After viewing some information on a dog, you think you've found a great pup and you want to schedule an appointment with a representative.
Results
I gathered a lot of positive feedback on the prototype, from users with different preferences for dog types, different lifestyle constraints, and various attitudes towards certain dog attributes Here's a summary of how well people were able to complete tasks in the different scenarious above as well as users' comments on the app overall.
- Users were able to complete tasks such as choosing preferences for dogs within the intake flow, viewing pictures/videos and more information on a speciifc dog, adjusting the filters for results, and were able to schedule an appointment with a rep.
- Several users commented on having the ability to choose more than one option for amount of distance willing to travel, and their lifestyle (since people don't fit into one lifestyle usually).
- Other users noted that the intake flow could contain more questions regarding vaccinations, personality, trained or not, breed selection options, and the ability to choose between adoption agencies. All of these were great suggestions that I would 100% consider adding into the next design sprint.
Next Steps
The next steps in designing this interface will be to make the
edits users gave feedback on in the usability tests. As users
suggested, the intake flow should contain questions surrounding
breed and personality so users can filter down further to find
their perfect companion.
Another feature I intend to add in the next iteration for
usability testing will be map interactivity so users can search
through the map to find dogs.
Take-Aways
The next steps in designing this interface will be to make the
edits users gave feedback on in the usability tests. As users
suggested, the intake flow should contain questions surrounding
breed and personality so users can filter down further to find
their perfect companion.
Another feature I intend to add in the next iteration for
usability testing will be map interactivity so users can search
through the map to find dogs.