Pet Care Centers App
An innovative app designed to tackle the communication challenges traditional pet care centers have with pet owners. This solution empowers pet parents to minimize the need to contact the center. PawConnect offer digital IDs for a convenient pick-up and drop-off, provide in-time updates to pet parents, consolidates all the information, forms, and records in one secure place and offer a character-limit chat for a more direct and personalized communication. With PawConnect, say goodbye to paperwork and phone calls.
Timeline
5 weeks
Role
Team lead, research & design
Team Partner
Laura Castro
Overview
Our project began with the idea to streamline the pick-up and drop-off process of Pet Care Centers. However, after the research phase, where we conducted surveys and interviews to understand the challenges faced by pet owners. We discover that there was a huge gap in the communication between the centers and users. With this valuable insights, we transitioned to develop a holistic solution that consolidates all the pet parents needs and reduce the constant contact to the centers. In the design stage, we created wireframes, prototypes and conducted user testing sessions. This process allowed us to refine PawConnect's features for optimal user experience.
Insights
Key Findings
After doing 25-minute online interviews and surveys to our twenty participants, we obtain valuable information that let us comprehend:
Dog owners believe that centers should bridge the communication gap by providing more information on their dogs' well-being, beyond solely relying on pick-up times.
Users believe that centers should ensure the security of data; having their information in physical/manual forms increases the risk of loss.
Users feel that rely only on phone calls create constant miscommunication with the staff, these confusions evolve into bigger problems, decreasing the quality of the service.
People consider that standardize paperwork updates shouldn't require in-person handling; they can easily be achieved digitally.
Voices
“I don't know what happens with my dogs in the center until I go pick-up them up. When someone else goes, I don’t get any updates”.
“A shift change miscommunication left the person's pick-up name unregistered, causing a big problem for everyone”.
“If they keep everything manual, there’s a high chance of losing that information. It's their responsibility to have safety processes”.
“We have 2 options: Calling and waiting until they pick up the phone, or WhatsApp, but your message gets lost”.
Understanding the Persona
Jules
- 26 years old.
- Have a full-time job.
- Lives only with her mother.
- Jules has had her dog since her adolescence, making the dog a lifelong companion.
- Her dog is now entering its senior years, and have medical health conditions.
- She is the primary caregiver.
Ideation
Creative Process
During the idea stage, we tried out different sketching techniques, like Crazy 8 and the popular design thinking technique "How Might We." The creative process was all about digging into research and translating their needs into achievable features. We also got inspired by features that could work in our context, like Twitter's character limitation idea. We also checked the solutions already in the market to ensure we were coming up with a solution that covered all the bases and stood out.
Design Requirements Guide
Our research provided valuable insights that help us understand what user appreciate, and what improvements are desired in existing pet care solutions. This understanding has guided the formulation of design requirements for our solution:
Ensure that the solution does not consume more time or become overly complex when compared to calling or filling out paperwork.
Provide users full control, allowing them to edit, create, and delete information independently, reducing reliance on direct contact with the center.
Implement a feature for updates on pets' well-being, reducing the necessity to contact the center for easily accessible information.
Consolidate information in a centralized hub accessible to both staff and pet owners.
User Testing
Testing Sessions Findings
After two user testing sessions, we observed the challenges users encountered, received feedback, and evaluated their overall experience with our app. We identified the following main usability problems and addressed them:
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Problem: Previously, there were inconsistent flows in the Home Screen. Where users could in some options edit and create, while other options they were only allowed to share and visualize.
Solution: The Home Screen is now dedicated to visualization and sharing functionalities. And, in the Account Tab, users can create, edit, and delete. This adjustment ensures more consistent interactions.
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Problem: Users faced difficulties completing forms due to the absence of field labels.
Solution: To enhance accessibility in our forms, we decided to add explicit labels to all fields.
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Problem: Users found the words used to categorize and explain actions confusing, expecting information more closely related to the given names.
Solution: We opted to improve the naming and wording of elements in the app, emphasizing clear and consistent language.
