PURRFECT PARTNERS
Meeting the Rising Need: Effortless Pet Socializing & Care Services at Your Fingertips!
By: Aimee McConnell
This is an app ideation design
Problem Statement
Purrfect Partners" was initially crafted to provide the everyday dog owner with a platform that ensures their pets' needs are met through reliable, safe and trustworthy services. However, comprehensive evaluations indicate a critical disconnect in our current model: it does not facilitate a community atmosphere essential for dog owners to socialize their fur babies.
Solution / Hypothesis
To develop an app that helps connect dog owners together so that they can be part of a larger community and their dogs can socialize but also have a back up plan for when life gets busy.
Value Proposition
Unleash the World of Canine Connections! Our app bridges the gap between dog lovers, creating both individual friendships and group connections in your local community. Plus, with seamless access to trusted local pet service providers, scheduling and secure payments have never been simpler. Dive into a community where pet passions converge, and where every wagging tail finds its perfect match.
What I did
User research, ideation, wireframing, design, prototyping, user testing and presentation. Assisted in all aspects as we collaborated on all to get input / provide ideas. Mainly worked on the community feature, account profile and onboarding.
Tools
Miro, Figma, Google Documents, Google Sheets, Google Presentation, Trello
Collaboration
I worked with 2 other class mates from my UX/UI Bootcamp at the University of Toronto.
Background and Research
Research
6
Interviews
4
Competitive Analysis
Key Take Aways
Key findings after research indicate a demand for convenient dog sitting services, community updates in the dog world, multiple daily walks for dogs, assurance of dog safety, reliable and accurate service reviews, dog training options, grooming services, easily accessible all-in-one app features, opportunities for dog socialization, visibility of other dogs, and dog walking assistance.
Key findings from our research encompass current behaviors, solution explorations, community building, safety and trust considerations, and monetization strategies.
Through thorough competitor analysis, we've identified both direct and indirect competitors, such as Rover, Dogtopia, Petsmart, and TaskRabbit. We did a competitor analysis on features, competitive advantages, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and customer reviews. A highlight is that while Rover offers dog walking and sitting services, it lacks grooming services and a community feature for connection.
Persona & Journey Map
Emily
Emily Johnson, a 26-year-old marketing coordinator living in the city with her dog Luna, aims to build a supportive dog owner community to ease schedule-related stress. She seeks a reliable platform for seamless dog care integration with her professional life, prioritizing flexibility, transparent reviews, and direct communication. However, challenges arise from her demanding job, lack of backyard space for Luna, and navigating a new city without a trusted dog owner network.
Rachel
Rachel Smith, a 25-year-old HR representative in Toronto, seeks social interactions for her dog to build a community, ensure a safe environment, and locate convenient dog-friendly spots while fostering connections with other dog owners to boost her dog's social and physical well-being. She is adventurous, organized, and outgoing, enjoying nature and meeting new people. However, she experiences nervousness about traveling alone to meet others, concerns about her larger dog interacting with smaller dogs, and worries about encountering untrained dogs and locating dog-friendly spots.
Personas
Based on the data collected during the research I set up two personas. I referred to them throughout the entire product development process.
I included content relating to personality, problems or challenges one may face and goals / needs one may search for in a product like this.
Note: Only two personas were developed during this process and I would have liked to develop a couple more to showcase diversity of other potential users.
Journey Map
From the personas crafted, I've sculpted a journey map and storyboard, illuminating the path a user traverses when engaging with our app. This visual narrative encapsulates the user's experiences, needs, and interactions, providing invaluable insights to inform our UX/UI design decisions and ensure a seamless and intuitive user journey.
Moreover, our features are meticulously designed to incorporate essential elements such as a community aspect, ensuring users feel safe, and providing an all-in-one solution that is easy to use. We've bolstered safety measures by implementing features like reviews, vetting, and a report option within our community framework, fostering a secure environment for all users.
Wire frames and Prototype
Wireframes
I began by creating low-fidelity wireframes to establish the basic layout and features, providing a foundational idea. Subsequently, I iterated to mid-fidelity wireframes, which I shared to gather feedback and refine the design further.
Prototype
After receiving feedback on the mid-fidelity prototypes, I progressed to developing high-fidelity prototypes. These prototypes were shared with users for testing and feedback gathering, enabling me to refine the design through iterative improvements based on their insights.
UI Design
Visual Design
I opted for a color palette based on hues visible to dogs, aligning with the theme while ensuring accessibility. A straightforward, informative design approach was chosen to provide users with seamless access to setting up dog socialization events at their fingertips. A lot of the inspiration came from a competitor app named “Rover”.
User Testing and Feedback
User Testing
A total of 6 users participated in prototype testing, each assigned 5 tasks. The usability testing revealed minor adjustments required, including visual enhancements and refining the user flow, as outlined in the usability testing plan.
6
User Testers
3
Completed All Task 100%
1
Failed a Task
Take Away
First project that was worked on. There is still a lot more to learn on the design aspect.
Future developments:
-Add in the feature / wireframes for a provider (dog sitter, grooming service provider, vetting service provider) to add in their services (can user test this)
-Continue to update the system
—More user testing
-Safety Features (Attending first meet up, Reporting system, Reviews, Vetting)
-Create more accessible content & features
—Add more accessible color schemes to app
—Add more accessibility for vision disability user with their guide dog partner
Challenges: A challenge I faced was picking an ideas to go with for the first project. The ideas were too complex and I did not have the tools in order to execute the idea. So I had to go with an "easier" idea even though I wanted to do a more complex one. Dog App Vs. Collectibles meet up. Now knowing what I know and developing my skills further I believe I can now achieve doing the more complex idea next time.
PURRFECT PARTNERS
Meeting the Rising Need: Effortless Pet Socializing & Care Services at Your Fingertips!
By: Aimee McConnell
This is an app ideation design