CityPups is a new startup that wants to help city living in cities find the perfect dog to adopt - an adoption agency that works with shelters, rescues and individuals looking to rehome their pets whose goal to find dogs their new forever home.
The Problem:
Finding the perfect match for you and for your new dog is the goal of CityPups.
Initial research shows that users want to have a clear visual idea of what the dog is like (good photos/video) and have more relevant information available such as temperament, activity level (which is important for those living in a small apartment), and an easier way to send their information/specifications when inquiring about animals.
The Solution:
Create a site that allows for a better match between dog and human with more specifications given about each. A key component would be a detailed profile page that saves user data and allows for attachment within an email inquiry to shelter (saving time and energy).
My Role:
UX Designer and Researcher (Design process based on the Design Sprint methodology).
Initial Research
Affinity map (initial research supplied by stakeholder) reveals that the most prominent features users would like are:
▪ More photos/videos
▪ Better descriptions of size and energy levels
▪ Easy way to submit information
Interview
(Recorded and provided by stakeholder. Notes taken by C. Musser)
Jennifer lives in Manhattan with her boyfriend. They have a small apartment and want a dog that isn’t yappy and doesn’t need a lot of space. As they live in the heart of the city, it is important to find one that is comfortable with street/noise activity and encountering other random dogs.
Jennifer's Pain Points
Map of Jennifer's Progress through the CityPups Site
Jennifer's journey takes her from the initial start screen, creating a profile, checking for matches, refining her search, viewing dog profile, deciding on making an appointment, selecting date on calendar and then receiving confirmation.
Post interview with one person who runs a shelter had revealed making an instant booking online may be near impossible to do in a real world situation as few sites utilize the same data base format in addition to individuals not having a system in place at all.
Persona
Ellie is in search of her first dog and wants to make sure she doesn't make a mistake for her sake as well as the dog's. She would love to make an informed decision but the current app doesn't provide all the details she needs to be confident in her selection.
Affinity Map
From the interviews provided by the stakeholder, I categorized the notes by areas of information that people looking to adopt may be most interested in.
Sketching ideas for the My Profile Page Using the Crazy 8's Method
High Fidelity Mockup
▪ Based my color scheme and font selection off of the sample screen provided by stakeholder
▪ Added a larger portion of a neutral color to offset the intensity of the purple and aqua. Easier on the eyes when reading larger amounts of text and provides more contrast
Easy search feature directly on home page
Search results based on your parameters set on home page
Dog profile page features a video to show activity level and personality
Detailed profile page allows for sending to shelter in saved format
Favorites generated from selected dog profiles
Usability Testing
On July 7th and 8th, 2022, 5 participants were selected from a dog adoption Facebook group based in Washington State. All 5 were female, age range mid 20-40’s, and have lived in a city with a dog and found the dog either through a shelter or rescue. In addition to adopting a dog, one also ran a rescue from her home.
Prototype was created in Adobe XD and testing was done using a moderated prototype over Zoom.
Findings
All stressed the same point of needing to know the temperament of the dog and underlying health issues. Were happy to see it included
I had inquired about being able to schedule an appointment from the site. 4 of the 5 users thought it was a great idea. One who runs a rescue and volunteers in a shelter replied from the business standpoint, it would be near impossible to have due to different databases used and little time on the employee’s part to constantly monitor appointments. Also, many of these dogs are in foster care in private homes that do not have access to database software at all. A method that would at least get the scheduling aspect started would be worth exploring as a next step.
No problems with navigation.
Next Steps
▪ Consider either adding a scroll bar on the Profile page or breaking up into 2 smaller screens.
▪ Include a link from the breed type to an overlay which has general description of the breed (temperment, etc)
▪ Accessibility: add speech playback to some areas of the site, such as site description, individual dog description and ability to leave a voice message as a "Contact Us"
Takeaways
▪ Reevaluate alternative scheduling possibilities since 4 out of 5 users seems to be interested in having an appointment set or at least underway
▪ I was impressed how much one could accomplish in 5 days using the Sprint method. To work fast, test fast and then iterate seems to be an effective way to find the best solution.
