Adopt a Paw

Project Overview

Project Duration: March 2021 - April 2021

Introducing an innovative app designed to facilitate the connection between animal shelters, dog breeders, and caring individuals seeking to provide loving homes for dogs. This platform streamlines the process of finding the perfect match for both dogs in need and potential owners by enabling efficient search and seamless connections. With this app, the journey to finding forever homes for dogs is made easier and more effective for everyone involved.

Role & Tools

  • Role

    • Solo UX/UI Designer

  • Tools

    • Figma

    • Google Forms

Product Goals

Enhancing Connections Between Animal Shelters, Dog Breeders, and Dog Owners

Establish a platform that fosters a community for animal shelters, dog breeders, and prospective dog owners to engage collaboratively. Streamline the process for animal shelters and dog breeders to connect with potential dog owners by implementing advanced search functionalities and seamless communication channels.

Implement an innovative system enabling animal shelters and dog breeders to easily access and share essential resources with potential dog owners. These resources are designed to instill confidence, provide reassurance, and offer comprehensive education about dogs, thereby fostering responsible pet ownership.

Target Audience

I conducted interviews with dog owners who have adopted from both animal shelters and breeders to gain insights into their adoption journey. The survey revealed that 54.5% of respondents fall within the age group of 25-35, while 36.4% are between the ages of 35-45. Additionally, our findings showed that 72.7% of participants identify as female, with 27.3% identifying as male. The users come from diverse occupational backgrounds, including sports, education, art, therapy, and business.

Affinity Diagram

I categorized the survey results, listing all prevalent responses underneath specific categories. This approach enhanced my empathy mapping process, enabling me to immerse myself in the user's mindset and gain a deeper understanding of their perspective.

Empathy Map: Animal Shelter

From analyzing the user personas and research findings, valuable insights were gained to shape the empathy mapping process by delving into the users' perspectives and understanding their mindset. The survey data was meticulously categorized to compile common responses, enabling a more insightful approach to empathy mapping. This method facilitated a deeper immersion into the users' mindset, fostering a comprehensive understanding of their viewpoint.

Empathy Map: Breeder

Competitive Analysis

In my comprehensive analysis of three key competitors - Petfinder, Adopt a Pet, and Pet Smart Charities, several significant insights emerged:

  1. Limited Search Filtering: All three platforms, namely Petfinder, Adopt a Pet, and Pet Smart Charities, were found to offer a somewhat restrictive search experience due to their limited search filtering features.

  2. Inconsistent Pricing: One glaring similarity among the competitors was the lack of consistent pricing information across their platforms, creating confusion for potential adopters.

  3. Lack of Detailed Dog Information: Another commonality across all platforms was the deficiency in providing detailed information about the dogs available for adoption, potentially hindering the decision-making process for prospective pet owners.

  4. Inadequate Communication: The analysis also revealed a lack of consistent communication between dog breeders, animal shelters, and individuals looking to adopt dogs, suggesting room for improvement in facilitating smoother interactions within the adoption process.

By addressing these key findings, these platforms can enhance user experience and streamline the adoption process for both pets and owners alike.

  • Strengths: You can find variety of pets available for adoption. You can enter in your city, state, and zip code to help narrow your search

    Weaknesses: Lack of information, no price transparency, lack of info in the about section

    Opportunities: Include more info to help prepare future owners, more medical history, pricing and verified organizations

  • Strengths: Filtering is good but limited and info is detailed

    Weaknesses: Lack of filtering options and limited amount of breeds

    Opportunities: Include more info for medical history and for future owners, price transparency

  • Strengths:

    Simple, easy to navigate and opportunity to search for a dog by breed, location and age.
    You can also browse featured pets in your area and view videos of many available pets + photos. There is also descriptive detail explaining a dog who has special needs.

    Weaknesses: Informational links are broken, terms of adoption will vary significantly as the pets are cared for a variety of shelters, rescue and individuals.
    Lack of filtering for compatibility with other breeds which can be harder to search for breeds that will get along with other dogs

    Opportunities:
    Include more information to help prepare future owners and more medical history overview

User Stories: Animal Shelter

I developed user stories to vividly depict the user journey within the animal shelter journey.

Animal Shelters:

  • As an animal shelter, my goal is to connect with trustworthy, dependable, and vetted prospective dog owners to facilitate the process of finding loving forever homes for our rescued dogs.

  • As an animal shelter, it is essential for us to effectively communicate with the community regarding the availability of dogs for adoption. Our aim is to inspire more individuals to consider adoption as a way to welcome a furry companion into their lives.

  • As an animal shelter, we strive to offer a user-friendly platform that enables potential dog owners to browse and find the perfect canine companion that aligns with their preferences. This feature aims to streamline their search process effectively.

User Stories: Dog Breeder

I formulated user stories to encapsulate the dog breeder user journey:

Dog Breeders:

  • As a dog breeder, I aim to connect with dependable and vetted potential dog owners to facilitate finding nurturing homes for our dogs.

  • As a dog breeder, I strive to offer a secure and trustworthy avenue for prospective dog owners to interact with the dogs in the environment they are being raised.

  • As a dog breeder, I seek access to educational materials to empower potential dog owners with insights into the process and necessary steps to take.

User Flows: Dog Breeder Account Creation

Dog breeders and animal shelters follow distinct paths when seeking approval to participate in dog adoption platforms. Here, we delve into the account creation process tailored for dog breeders.

The key differentiation for dog breeders lies in the specific documentation they are required to submit. Alongside the standard requirements, dog breeders must furnish evidence of their registration with both the state authority and the prestigious American Kennel Club. Moreover, they are also expected to demonstrate their mentorship experience in the field, validate their consultations with veterinarians, and provide up-to-date contact information for verification purposes. This robust framework ensures accountability and professionalism within the platform's breeder community.

User Flows: Animal Shelter Account Creation

Exploring Account Creation for Animal Shelters on Dog Adoption Platforms

Dog breeders and animal shelters each embark on unique journeys to gain approval for participation in dog adoption platforms. In this spotlight, we focus on the meticulous account setup process specifically catered to animal shelters. Set apart by stringent requirements, animal shelters are mandated to furnish vet verification along with essential details to substantiate their existence as a legitimate entity within their locality.

Sitemap: App Structure

Low-Fidelity (Old Version)

This is an old version of low-fidelity wireframes outlining the user experience of the app. Version 2021 is shown below.

Usability Testing

View Results Here

  • Usability Test #1

    • 75% of users liked the clean UI

    • 75% of users understood what to do

    • 25% of users wanted text and buttons to be bigger for one screen

    • (profile screen)

    • 75% of users rated their experience as 5

  • Usability Test #2

    • 75% of users liked the clean UI, organization and cleanness

    • 100% of users didn

    • 't have any issues with the app

    • 25% of users suggested for the future versions there could be reviews

    • and ratings for animal shelters, dog breeders and potential dog owners

High-Fi Wireframes

Refined Version:

The displays below highlight the smooth onboarding process, beginning with selecting the perfect match for your business, managing your listings, engaging with potential dog adopters, and utilizing a variety of resources and tools to share knowledge efficiently. Through this enhanced experience, I revisited my prior research and incorporated insights from user testing to ensure increased clarity and improved understanding for users.

Inquiry to see the old screens.

Thanks for listening!

If you have any questions feel free to reach out. Thanks for stopping by!