Embedded Files
Doggie's Day Out
mobile/tablet/desktop web app
May - June 2022
As a UX designer, I concentrated on developing a responsive app with a social good objective. Throughout the project, my responsibilities encompassed conducting user interviews to gain insights, creating paper and digital wireframes to visualize the app's structure, and developing low and high-fidelity prototypes to refine the design. I conducted usability studies to gather user feedback, ensured accessibility considerations were integrated into the design, and iterated continuously based on user testing and feedback. My efforts aimed to create an impactful and user-centered app that serves a meaningful social purpose.
Project Summary
The Doggie's Day Out app functions as a responsive scheduling app, serving as a template for shelters participating in the "Doggy Day Out" program by Mutual Rescue. This program provided opportunities for dogs to enjoy a day away from the shelter, allowing them to burn off steam, release kennel stress, and increase their chances of finding potential adopters.
The Challenge
Dogs residing in rescues often experience excessive stress while awaiting their forever homes in kennels. Despite certain families being unable to adopt or foster, they maintain a strong desire to contribute and offer assistance. I designed a responsive scheduling app to serve as a template for rescues to facilitate "taking out" a rescue for the day. The app will provide opportunities for users to alleviate rescue dogs from kennel stress while creating opportunities for meaningful interactions with potential caregivers.
Breakdown of process
Problem Statement
Megan is an animal lover wishing to spend some time with dogs because she is unable to have dogs in her not pet-friendly apartment.
Early designs
Paper Wireframes
Based on my competitive audit, I identified that rescues had outsourced a website for scheduling "adopt a dog for the day" services. My sketches centered around creating a dedicated and user-friendly scheduling app specifically tailored to the needs of participating rescue shelters.
Site Map defining the information architecture of the platform
Competitive Audit
Competitors
Lifeline
Lifeline Animal Project provides a Dog for a Day program in Atlanta, GA. The program is free and scheduled through their website. Searching for the program was difficult; there was not one dedicated area for it. Overall, the website and mobile site were responsive.
Maui Humane
Maui Humane Society provides a beach buddies program for 2 hours. They provide this service to not only residential islanders but visitors as well. Their website was disorganized and visually overwhelming. It was hard to find the program listed on the menu.
Mutual Rescue
Mutual Rescue is the originator of the "Doggy Day Out" program. They coordinate with participating rescues and those hoping to join by providing supplies and details for the program. All participating shelters are provided on the website and linked for easy access. They had an informative website.
Audit Report
Strengths
Professional websites that provide a slew of information about the program. The originator had a list of all states that provide the program.
Weaknesses
The professional websites offered comprehensive information about the program, presenting a wide range of details to the users. Additionally, the originator maintained a compiled list of all states that offered the program.
Opportunities
Creating a scheduling app for all participating rescues and for participants that do not have computers. One cohesive app to find information and schedule a dog for the day.
Before
After
Low-Fidelity Prototype
This low-fidelity prototype showcased the user flow of scheduling "a doggie day out." Implemented a usability study to help gather insights and feedback from users on the scheduling process using the prototype. The low-fidelity prototype provided a simplified representation of the app's functionality. Ultimately, it helped refine the final design for a seamless user experience.
Before
After
New Experience
High-Fidelity Prototype
The final high-fidelity prototype underwent meticulous adjustments to accurately represent the user flow for scheduling a Doggie's Day Out. The refined prototype effectively meets user demands for a more streamlined and efficient scheduling process.
Results
During the design process, emphasis was placed on creating a user-friendly account page that consolidated relevant information and provided easy scheduling and access through the navigation bar. Users expressed a desire for an easily accessible account page, leading to simplification of the navigation bar and adjustments in text to avoid confusion between different schedules. The addition of scheduled bookings was implemented based on user feedback. Usability research revealed that users were initially confused about booking new schedules, as they were clicking the schedule button on the account page instead of utilizing the navigation bar. To address this issue, the navigation bar text was modified to eliminate ambiguity.
Overall, study participants responded positively to the app, expressing a willingness to share it with others, as indicated by favorable scores obtained on the system usability scale at the end of the study.
Moving forward, a new section dedicated to frequently asked questions (FAQ) will be developed, specifically tailored to potential rescues who need to provide additional information about their shelters. Continuation of usability research is crucial to identify any additional user needs and ensure ongoing improvements to the app's user experience. These steps aim to enhance accessibility, user satisfaction, and overall usability of the app.
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