UX Case Study — A pet Adoption app
Welcome to my case study here on Medium. This case study will be about designing an application for a pet adoption shelter. There are currently millions of animals that are currently in shelters and foster homes awaiting adoption. I want to design an experience that will help connect people looking for a new pet with the right companion for them. Help an adopter find a pet which matches their lifestyle, considering factors including breed, gender, age, health status, temperament.
Challenge
Statistics show that there are so many animals in India living under shelters and foster homes that are waiting to be adopted and become a part of a loving home. Many of them are healthy and would make the most loyal and loving pets.
As most of us are aware of the slogan #Adoptdontshop, its one that holds a lot of meaning. There are endless reasons as to why we should adopt a pet rather than purchase one from a breeder. Every year, an estimated 1.5 million adoptable pets are euthanized ,because the shelters simply don’t have enough space and funding to accommodate all the animals that are brought there. Every time an animal is adopted, a space opens up in the shelter or the rescue. So when you adopt a cat or dog, not only are you saving that animal’s life, but you are also opening up a space for another animal’s life to be saved.
Objective
Here are some of the high level goals of the app:
- The main goal is to find the right match between potential adopter and pet. Help potential adopters find a pet that fits their lifestyle.
- Design a fully functional, informative and updated application that shows users the available shelters close to their location.
- Make it as simple, comfortable and easy as possible for the potential adopters to actually go to a shelter and visit the pets.
Research
I started out with some desk research when I was thinking about this topic. I started by doing some Internet research by looking at several Quora threads as well as different articles written about pet adoption. I also browsed through various pet adoption apps and websites and reviewed them.
After research it was pretty clear that people who wanted to adopt rescue animals preferred looking online first to get access to information regarding different breeds and information on each. The users also wanted a quick way of scheduling an appointment online so that they could quickly go and visit the pets they liked in person.
Due to lack of resources at these shelters and being understaffed, there isn’t always someone to answer the phones. In cases like these an online appointment system would be extremely helpful and can help both the shelter and the users and make the process smoother and convenient for them.
Problem Statement
I want to make it easier for users to adopt animals from shelters. The problem is that people still buy from shops and breeders rather than adopt a rescue animal. There are numerous reasons for this some being that many websites and apps don’t give the exact information about the pets. This misleads the people and they hesitate in adopting a pet from a platform that doesn’t provide the necessary information.
Finding a pet is a time-consuming process as claimed by many people. In order to adopt a pet, people have to search and sort out through different sources like magazines and newspapers, or visiting shelters and pet homes.
Myths regarding pet adoption
- Pets in Shelters have behavioral issues — which is why they are there in the first place.
This is not true. Pets end up in shelters for a multitude of reasons and in many cases, it’s by no fault of their own. Owners get sick or pass away, families separate, people are forced to move, owners don’t realize the time and financial commitment that owning a pet entails … Oftentimes, pets have nowhere else to go besides a shelter.
- I am interested in a purebred dog, not a mutt. The shelters don't have any purebreds.
There is a rescue for just about every single breed of cat or dog you can imagine. There is a rescue for just about every single breed of cat or dog you can imagine.
- I wont know what I'm getting into.
If a pet is living in a foster home, they should be able to disclose just about any information you’d like to know regarding how a pet would fit into a home setting and any issues that may need to be addressed. Some rescues may even allow you to bring a pet home on a trial basis to make sure they’re a good fit for your home and family.
- I want a puppy or kitten. These shelters are full of old dogs and cats.
Shelters have kittens and puppies too! Some of the youngest shelter residents may require more specialized care or monitoring than what is available in a shelter setting, and so, many youngsters are often placed into foster care until they’re ready for adoption. Don’t overlook an animal just because of its age — older pets are just as loving and even hold some advantages over their younger counterparts!
- Shelter animals have health issues which will require expensive treatment.
By adopting a pet from a shelter or rescue, you may actually end up saving quite a bit of money. Most adoption fees include spaying/neutering surgery, necessary vaccines, a heartworm test, flea/tick treatment and a microchip. You would otherwise be required to pay for all this separately which would end up costing you more.
Target Audience
This app will be designed keeping pet lovers in mind. This can be for people who are adopting a pet for the first time or want an additional pet.
To adopt a pet, this is the process that people usually go through:
Most shelters offer a trial period where you can take the pet home and see if they manage to adjust to their new environment. Shelters also offer post adoption assistance.
Competitor Analysis
I conducted a competitor analysis to identify competitors who are in this space. The idea was to get information about the different features, pros and cons, and to look for ideas and inspiration.
Summary of Findings:
- Most of the pet adoption websites and apps are outdated and need a revamp.
- The interface is too cluttered and there is too much going on the home screen.
- Most information is provided in one paragraph and it causes cognitive overload.
- Filters are provided in these apps like age, gender, breed etc.
- All these apps have images of that pet which makes the search useful.
User surveys and Interviews
I wanted to understand how people go through the process of adopting a pet and just how they overall view this process and the pain points associated with it. To gather information I interviewed people and gathered quantitative and qualitative feedback.
User Personas
I created user personas for mainly two types of users:
- Users who already have a pet and want to adopt another one
- Users who are adopting a pet for the first time.
I created two user personas based on design interviews and surveys to help aid design decisions.
How might we
After analyzing the competitors’ strengths and weaknesses and interviewing users and conducting surveys, I started focusing on how to make the adoption process as easy as possible and how to address the users’ pain points effectively.
- How might we implement the filtering feature?
- How might we simplify the adoption process?
- How might we display the pet’s information?
- How might we provide the filling adoption application?
- How might we deal with users who aren’t sure of their adoption choice?
User Journey Map
The user journey demonstrates her usage of a pet adoption application and improvement opportunities.
Mind Mapping
I did some initial mind mapping before designing the initial wireframes.
Low Fidelity Wireframe
I sketched and ideated a lot before digitizing the experience. The idea was to iterate constantly based on users needs.
Final Designs
On-Boarding
As soon as the user enters the app, he will go through three on-boarding screens to show him the working and purpose of the app. This will help the user get a clear picture of what he will experience in the app right from the beginning.
Registration and location verification
Enter your Number and we will send you an OTP to verify later. After verification we will ask for permission for the users location so that we can display results based on the nearest shelter home to the user. All the content is displayed based on the users location.
Questionnaires
To find the best pet fit for you you can choose to answer some questions.
Homepage
You can browse the homepage with different categories.
Search and Filter
You can use the search and filter options to find the perfect match.
Scheduling an appointment
Now go ahead and schedule an appointment to meet your potential pet.
Notification
You will be notified for pet related alerts, skipped questionnaires in case you decide to take it later, and appointment status alert.
Chatbot
The app will have round the clock support so that you can reach out if you have any queries or to resolve any issues if they come up.
User Profile
You can edit your profile, change your email address, given number etc.
Conclusion
This project gave me a chance to improve my UX skills. It also gave an insight into the decisions I made.
Here are some of my top learnings:
- Visual Hierarchy: How to navigate the user to grab the important information first.
- User Research: Importance of research during any project is vital.
- Iteration: The more you iterate on sketches, the more time you save and come up with better ideas.
Thank you for reading!
