Discovery

Research drives design. Understanding who’s in the market, what their interests and goals are, and where users encounter pain points, are the first steps in crafting a new product. I needed to understand the adoption ecosystem.

From our interviews with users, we quickly found that a positive outcome, such as adopting a great family pet, nullified the pain points a user felt while going through the process. 

UNDERSTANDING THE ECOSYSTEM

It's a complex system of independent and government funded entities working on little budget and relying on many different factors including third party interactions. That's where Petfinder comes in. Nearly all shelters list their animals through their AMS and upload to Petfinder. Third party apps use Petfinder's free service to connect and search their database. To go around Petfinder, clean up the registration process and optimize listings, Fuppy would need to build an enterprise application that competes in the AMS marketplace. 

Since we did a competitive analysis on this, we already knew that the competitive landscape for AMS' was saturated. Entering that marketplace also bears high costs, long development time and isn't where Fuppy wants be. 

DISRUPTING THE ECOSYSTEM

Instead of entering the AMS landscape, we recommended that Fuppy should disrupt the market by changing where they came into play. That sweet spot was in animal registration. Fuppy can use technology to make the registration process easier, consistent and more searchable, adding strong value to the market. A registration app for shelters tied directly to a comprehensive search platform for adopters would change the ecosystem completely, without any additional burden, while producing better results.

Research Analysis

Since we were working with both shelters and adopters, we had two unique users to consider. The average shelter employee, we call her Registration Regina, is female and in her early thirties and has worked with shelters for a few years. Ethical Emily, our average foster parent, is also female, in her mid-thirties and wants to "rescue" an animal from a shelter. Each has their own pain points, problems and goals.

ETHICAL EMILY'S STORYBOARD SCENARIO

Telling Emily's story helps us to empathize with her needs and catch points of interaction I may have missed. In this scenario, Emily's kids want a new puppy and she turns to Fuppy.org to foster Max, making sure he is a great fit for her family.

 VISUALIZING THE PROBLEM

With so many pain points, we made a decision to stop thinking about the problem and start visualizing it. I’ve learned that when a situation can be visualized, complex problems become easier to understand and solutions present themselves. This proved to be the case as we were able to connect and combine 19 problems and prioritize them into 3 main issues for both sides of the table (literally, i wrote it on a table).

The Big Ideas

Our team worked in collaborative whiteboard sessions to ideate both shelter and foster apps. Keeping our users needs in our goal was simple: BETTER CONTENT = BETTER SEARCH which leads to MORE FOSTERING and LESS ANIMALS IN SHELTERS.

 PAPER + CARDBOARD PROTOTYPING

Getting the design on paper and testing early allows us to see what concepts work and what might not. This step is a significant part of my core ux process. Ink and paper is inexpensive and quick and allows us to make many adjustments to usability before heading into digital wireframes. Using the WOZ technique we put a cardboard iphone in users' hands to test anticipated actions and long scrolls.

DESIGN. TEST. LEARN. REPEAT.

User feedback drove multiple iterations before heading to cleaner digital wireframes and conducting usability tests and task analysis'.We used the now defunct lookback.io for remote user testing.

Interactions + Animations = Fun

Animal adoption is a serious responsibility, the life of that animal is in your hands. But those cute and furry little creatures are what you really enjoy. To keep Fuppy light and fun we added simple, subtle animations to the interaction.

SEARCHING WITH THE FOSTERING APP

Our user, Emily, doesn't need to sign in or create an account to view animals available for fostering. A quick, "open search" from the main screen results in animal listing within a 25 mile radius of the users current location. Filters are adjusted to create specific searches that match lifestyle qualities, which adjusts the list accordingly. Emily can view, share, save and express interest in an animal right from the pets profile page including making an appointment to meet the desired animal at a local shelter.

ACTIVE FOSTERING

Much like using the Uber app, when Emily is signed in and actively fostering an animal their app engagement will change. Upon fostering the animal she receives mobile notifications and in app alerts, prompting her to share her experiences with photos, reviews, check-ins and real life meet-ups with the Fuppy community. 

Defining Visual Style

Inspired by the freedom the animals feel leaving the shelters and finding homes, we based the visual design of the apps on an open field of green grass, bright blue skies, and shades of fluffy animal fur to create a clean, vibrant look and feel.

Working Prototype

Each app has its own set of features to help our users' optimize their time, get better results, and have fun using it. Please note that the prototypes are currently built for specific task analysis and not full working applications.

Next Steps

As always at the end of a project I like to include ideas that we came up with but maybe weren't feasible at the current state. Out of scope or out of budget, these ideas could have big impact and could be considered as next steps. They are far from worked out at this point but good starting points.

ANIMAL BREED, FACE RECOGNITION

It sounds futuristic and almost crazy doesn't it? It is in fact a real thing currently being tested (as of June 2016) to recognize an animal breed by using your mobile phone. This feature would prevent discrepancies in the registration process and allow users to learn about the breed of a dog they might not know. The two combined would make finding that perfect match even easier.

PET ADOPTION CONCIERGE

Why search for a pet when Fuppy.org's concierge can search listings and find the perfect pet for you? As we enter the time of bot's we could implement one to search and find your perfect match. Adjust your filters and let the personalized components do their work. Then again, we wouldn't have so much fun looking through all those cute, funny pictures of animals either.

Love + Appreciation

So much love and appreciation for such a great cause. I’m really proud of our team and the amazing students from USC whom we worked so closely with. And to all the people we spoke with at the shelters who work so hard to get animals into homes. I feel truly lucky to have been able to work on this project.