Adopt a Friend

Approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Each year, approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized. Yet, all the websites and apps on the market now are confusing and unattractive, especially to new pet owners. We wanted to create an app or website that allows potential pet adopters to adopt a dog or cat from a shelter. In addition, we wanted to provide adequate information about pet adoption for people who are on the fence about adoption.

Role: UX Researcher, Product Designer       Platform: Web

UX Research

For this project, we followed Human Centered Design guidelines, starting with research. All of our decisions were research and data-based to provide the optimum experience for our users. To do this, I interviewed pet owners, potential pet owners, and volunteered at the local pet shelter.

Knowledge and Assumptions

We started with writing down the knowledge and assumptions for our team. This allowed us to approach the problem with an open mind and to understand what we need to discover. It helped us understand how we should tackle the research and ultimately guided us on how to approach the problem.

Highlights:
Current sites right now only offer breed, type, and location as a way to
find a pet. We assumed that it was difficult to know the true personality of a pet.
None of us had adopted a pet before, so it was imperative to find out the process.

Interviews and Surveys

To gather information about pet adoption, we interviewed 15 people who have adopted for qualitative and quantitative feedback. Some of the answers were what we expected, but there were some that changed the way we viewed how people look for pets.

Highlights:
80% of the pet owners looked for temperament as the key factor for adopting.
57.1% of the pet adopters adopted a pet for the first time.
Only 50% of the shelters provided information about long term adoption.
The two top websites used were Found Animals and Pet Finder.

Personas

We analyzed the research and grouped people with similar characteristics and demographics. We created personas based on the research, which included demographics, goals, social media and frustrations. Personas helped us have specific goals and help guide us through our decisions.

User Flows

To gather information about pet adoption, we interviewed 15 people who have adopted for qualitative and quantitative feedback. Some of the answers were what we expected, but there were some that changed the way we viewed how people look for pets.

Site Map

Based on the user flows, I created a site map that optimized the user's paths to their goals. This map provided the general structure of the website for the team and outlined necessary features.

Wireframe Sketches

With the personas, wireframes and sitemap in mind, we sketched as many ideas as we could think of and hung them on a wall. We combined similar concepts and voted on the best ones.

Wireframes and Annotations

I put together wireframe flows using Sketch and filled in any details that were missing from the sketching phase. I wrote annotations so that anyone on the team could understand the flows. I also put together a low fidelity prototype using Invision to test the flow.