Petland.
Assisting pet lovers in finding and adopting their perfect pet companion
Overview
Since the start of the covid-19 lockdown, people have been suffering from loneliness. And there is an increased general tendency to adopt pets among the public.
In this project, I aim to help pet adopters make a personalized choice by emphasizing the pet's personality and making the most of the pet adoption process, if not all of it, into fully digital.
Challenges
These are the challenges our target users face when they try to adopt a pet of their interest:
01
● People struggle to find a pet with personality traits they are interested in.
02
● They struggle with all the complicated processes needed to adopt and bring a pet home.
03
● There's no way for them to adopt a pet remotely without going back and forth.
User research.
We conducted user-focused research to understand their needs and pain points better
User interviews
Interview questions surround pet adopters' overall journey and the process they pursue to find and adopt a pet. The questions try to unveil adopters' behaviors, challenges, goals, and motivations.
Overall, we've 1:1 interviewed a diverse group of 8 pet adopters.
Empathy Map
I've utilized empathy mapping to highlight key research findings across all user types and aid in our decision-making.
This helped me make inferences about users based on their behavior, prioritize where my focus lay, and determine the most important takeaways.
Does
● Go around the shelter and look at the bios of the pets, and when they find a pet they like, they ask to get it out of the cage and let them interact with it.
● Had to check the websites continually and do a lot of different visits to different shelters to find what they wanted.
● When they decide to take the pet, they fill out all the paperwork, make the payment, then transfer the pet home.
Says
"When you interact with a pet the first time, he is scared and shy, and after that period, you start to discover that this wasn't their real personality."
"Adopting a pet was like giving him a home he might not otherwise have a chance to find."
"I'd like to know what kind of life they had before, like the pet's history, characters, and personal inclinations."
Thinks
● Having reliable info about the pet's character from the shelter is critical before deciding whether you want to adopt it.
● Knowing more details about the pet's history, upbringing, and medical and behavioral issues is essential.
● Pets are paying the price high for people's wrong deeds, so we should take responsibility for their situation..
Feels
● They feel emotional warmth when they have that special personal connection and interaction between them and the pet.
● They feel anxious when they keep going back and forth between shelters and don't find the kind of pet they're searching for.
● They feel deep satisfaction as they succeed in saving an animal from homelessness.
Persona
This persona represents the type of user we're focusing on; she struggles with choosing a pet based on its character and adopting it remotely.
Pain points
I've synthesized the bulk of insights into three overarching pain points that can serve as guidelines for future design. These Three pain points are the problems that Petland strives to solve.
01
Pain point distance
Users need to adopt the pet they want without going back and forth between their homes and shelters.
02
Pain point choice
Users need to know what pets have the character aspects they're searching for
Competitive Analysis
Looking at the popular players within the space, I discovered some similar feature offerings across the apps centered on browsing pets to adopt one and providing basic information about it, like breed, gender, and age...
Pet Finder
Adopt a Pet
Pets and People Together
Get your Pet
I've organized all the findings about each competitor in this spreadsheet.
OUTSTANDING
+ Browse upcoming pick-up games, full-time spots on teams, and substitute player opportunities.+ Browse through player cards of nearby athletes looking to connect. Message them directly or invite them to your games+ Keep upcoming games organized, where you can view them and manage attendance
NEEDS WORK
- No screen reader or vocal commands that visually impaired users can use to navigate the app. - Offers just three languages (English, French, and Espaniol)
OUTSTANDING
+Straightforward user flow.+Easy way to find and join events, leagues and tournaments.
+Easy way to create an event and invite people to it.
OUTSTANDING
+Easy to navigate
+ Familiar ways of navigation (e.g. swipe..)
GOOD
+Users can create a team, invite members, and schedule games, practices and events and Team members can exchange messages in the chat section.- Users can't invite nearby players as they can only invite their acquaintances by sharing the invite link via their contacts.for every corner
NEEDS WORK
- No screen reader or vocal commands that visually impaired users can use to navigate the app. - Offers just one language (English)
OUTSTANDING
+Easy and simple way to create a team or join one.
+When you schedule a game you find all the functionalities needed to be organized in an intuitive way.
+Straightforward user flow.
OUTSTANDING
+ App uses easy and clear flat navigation with bottom nav bar containing the main features.
+ Familiar navigation patterns with clear indication of clickable elements.
OUTSTANDING
+ Users can organize matches, invite players, and have a presence list for your match, with a confirmed and pending list.+ They can also track field payments.+ They can make the game public to allow people who are in the community to find it and fill the available slots.
NEEDS WORK
- No screen reader or vocal commands that visually impaired users can use to navigate the app and place orders. - Offers just two languages (English and Portuguese).
GOOD
+ Easy to find key features+ Straightforward user flow.
OKAY
+ The most important features are present in home screen.
- Unfamiliar navigation patterns with vague indication of clickable elements.- Profile picture and user stats are permanently displayed above main features which is not that necessary.
GOOD+ Allow users to play games that fit their schedule.+ All games are played on quality fields with balls and bibs provided.- You can't organize your own game as you can only participate in already organized games.
NEEDS WORK
+ The high contrast ratio helps color blind people to use the app.
- No screen reader or vocal commands that visually impaired users can use to navigate the app and place orders.
- Offers just one language (English).
OUTSTANDING
+ Easy to find key info (Cities, games, messages).+ Straightforward user flow.
NEEDS WORK
- Info clustered in indistinguishable way.
- No clear indication of clickable elements.
Value innovation
I've discovered some gaps in the competitive landscape that our competitors have overlooked; taking advantage of those gaps would enable us to provide a unique set of solutions that would define the value innovation of Petland.
Gaps
● The other direct competitors don't provide enough info about the pet personality as well as there's no way to say there's a good match.
● After choosing one pet, they don't give you a straightforward way to complete the adoption; it just gives you the shelter's contact.
● There's no way to submit scanned papers online or schedule a meeting with the pet as part of the adoption process.
Opportunities
● Provide rich info about the pet's personality and history so the adopter can know whether it's a good match for them.
● Provide a straightforward way for users to discover the pet adoption process from start to finish and visualize which step they're in.
● Try to digitalize the whole adoption process to make users do it remotely, including paperwork and meeting the pet.
Ideation.
Generating possible solutions based on defined user needs
Brainstorming
Using HMW questions helped me generate many valuable ideas about resolving each of the pain points identified earlier.
User journey map
I've used this user journey map for the aggregated persona to understand better what issues our users face at every stage of their journey and to generate prospective solutions for each of those issues.
key features
After conducting a prioritization session, I ended up with those proposed solutions.
01
Find a pet
Using a set of filters concerning the pet's appearance and character, users can get a shortlist of pets that help them find the pet they want.
02
Rich Info Profile
Providing all the information concerning the pet's character, inclinations, and history in a detailed yet straightforward way.
03
Digital Adoption Process
Digitalize the adoption process and make it straightforward for users in which step they are and what they need to do next.
Sketches
I've used the Crazy Eight technique to create screen sketches for the proposed solutions.
Prototyping & Testing.
Starting to make our solutions concrete and realistic
Adoption process
To ensure that Petland is able to provide a complete, seamless, and robust experience, I had to identify and solutionise the touchpoints where the website could empower our users to complete their goals.
User Flow diagram
A closer look at the user flows across all the journey compartments; this covers every step, from finding a pet that's a good match for the user all the way to paying the adoption fees.
Wireframes
These digital wireframes represent detailed yet simplified screens design of what the main steps of the user flow will look like.
Final outcomes
Creating the High-Fidelity version, I aligned my visual choices with Petland's brand identity and used them in favor of helping users to achieve their goals.
Home Page
Find a pet
Get to know the pet
adoption Application form
Application Interview
Application Approval
Documents submition
Payement and reception
Takeaways.
Key reflections and learnings at the end of the project
Learnings
This is what I've learned throughout the whole process of this project, and I intend to apply it in future ones:
I don't need to reinvent the wheel
Seeking inspiration from others is extraordinarily beneficial. Trying to create original designs for everything from scratch for the sake of originality is like trying to reinvent the wheel.
Secondary research is a gold mine
Secondary research is necessary in many cases to get a deeper understanding of users and the overall context of the project. The amount and quality of data you get from it can shift the entire project direction in a good way.
Problem-solving is a messy process
Solving users' problems is a messy process; there's a big chance you end up with a solution that's hugely different than the idea you had in mind at the beginning of the project.
Next Steps
Due to time constraints, there are some ideas I couldn't concretize, and I'd like to do so if I have the opportunity in the future. These are some of them:
01
Usability study
Perform a usability study of the high-fidelity prototype to test the product with real target users.
02
Shelter's user flow
Work on the shelter's side of the product where I can focus on the user flow of the people whose in charge of pets.
03
Design system
Create a design system to ensure design consistency and enhance the website's responsiveness.
