doog

Introduction

This project has been created following the Design Thinking process: Discovery, Define, Ideate & Develop. We added as well other techniques as the UX Strategy Blueprintwhere we define the goal, reach, activities and KPI’s.

Pet abandonment is a tricky issue, where organizations and pet shelters work to try to raise awareness about the subject every year. To better understand this, we did a benchmark with different social campaigns trying to locate the source of the issue, as well as previous studies like the Affinity foundation or data about pet abandonment in the European Union.

Empathize

Our first goal was to discover if were people willing to give their pet voluntarily to another person, both outside and inside of their social circle, and if where people interested in adopting a pet this way. With this goal in mind, our first question was: How can we assure that a pet will be in good hands once it is in a new home?

Take as normal the fact that life can change and maybe need to find a new home for our pets.

Before designing a strategy or solution to the problem we have aligned with, we must confront all the hypothesis on the table with qualitative (Interviews) and quantitative (Polls) data, coming up with the appropriate questions for both.

We also worked on other research strategies, like desk research and a benchmark with 44 apps or digital apps about pets.

Data sample:

Polls: 209 people
For access the poll results, click here (Spanish)

Interviews: 10 people differentiated into two different profiles:

• Profile 1: (3 interviews) People that voluntarily give their pet to another person because they can’t be their owners anymore.
• Profile 2: (7 interviews) People with pet adoption experience.

User Persona

Our User Persona was defined using key characteristics and different variables such as age, job, annual income and living conditions (shares a house/ apartment vs living alone). We also tried our best to define patterns we detected in our interviews like needs, pains, character, goals and digital behaviour.

Originally, we designed two profiles (a woman and a man) which differents scenarios in mind. This was due to different behaviours and patterns that we found in our research, coming up with differentiated conclusions for each gender. The main profiles were:

• Profile 1: (Amanda Martínez) Person that would like to have a dog but doesn’t know if she has all the necessary skills.
• Profile 2: (Carles Puig) Person that already has a dog.

In order to provide a clear solution for our product, we decided to focus on Amanda Martinez, since we find it aligned user with our HMW and presents more needs and pains that needed to be solved.

We created a scenario where the person goes through all motivations, insecurities and feelings until she gets a pet at home and all the unpredicted behaviours arise. Due to this, we defined all the opportunities that could help our product.

Sprint Methodology

After choosing Amanda as our User persona and looking through her Journey, we began the ideation process. We started working on the Sprint methodology, using its «work alone together» methodology, divided into 4 blocks.

First, we did a brainstorming where every member came up with the most possible quantity of ideas while answering to our established HMW.

Then, we applied the Crazy 8 technique to sketch some ideas and delve into the ones obtained in the previous step.

Each member of the team, selected one unique idea from the Crazy 8, developing a more detailed sketch. In 30 min every one developed a different proposal.

On the other hand, we defined a value proposition in order to fit our user needs and pain with our solutions and gains.

Our solution is based on helping people who wants to have a dog, to reduce the uncertainty of how to take care of it.

In our business model, we tried to find a differential solution from other apps in the market and faced our project from a business perspective. In order to keep a good number of sources of income, we reinforced the need for a Fremium model, a well as other revenues such as ads within the app, an internal marketplace for accessories and toys, as well as a small fee for every donation made to dog shelters and organizations from our product.

Task Flow

We began this last phase with a task flow to structure the main features we wrote down in our value proposition. References and inspirations from other apps inside and outside of this field were key, in order to differentiate us further from the competition.

Once we obtained a general perspective of components and actions within the app, we began to move the content to low-fi wireframes in Figma.

Wireframes

First, we have the Home screen, where at the top bar the user can access his virtual pet and have a counter of how many Pawcoins has. The main screen has the challenge tree, visually connecting unlocked areas with the ones completed. Finally, the bottom bar helps to change quickly between the home and the other main screens, Pawcoins, Costs and Profile.

The Pawcoins screen aims to buy more coins if needed along with donating those coins to a shelter of your choice, providing the option as well to read more information about how they will be used and bookmark the favourite ones.

The Costs section helps to keep track of how much will cost to own a dog after a short form, taking also relevant info from the parameter of the virtual pet.

Lastly, the Profile section where the user can check certain parameters, in addition to previously bookmarked dog shelters.

Typography

Onboarding

When using the app for the first time and sing up successfully, three sections will explain the functionality of the app, inviting the user to play a little game, gain their first Pawcoin, donate it and finally introduce the cost calculation.

Testing

After a high-fi prototype, we began to test it with real users, trying to see if the app match the proposed goal and if it is accessible and intuitive.

We wrote down a script with all the relevant questions and steps, which we reflected in a test card. Then, we reviewed each test session and completed the previous step with a learning card.