Context
“CityPups is a new startup that wants to help people living in cities find the perfect dog to adopt. Through research and interviews, CityPups has discovered that people living in cities struggle to find the right dog to adopt due to their unique needs.”
For this project I followed a modified Google Ventures Design Sprint process, a five-day sprint to review provided data, design, build and test a minimum viable product to suit the goals of the brief provided.
The Problem
Per research provided by CityPups, adoptees living in cities are met with a lot different challenges than those traditionally accounted for via adoption sites. Concerns include whether a dog is suitable for a smaller dwelling, whether they do well around a lot of people as you might run into on the subway, or whether they’re vocal and will upset the neighbors. CityPups seeks to help improve the search for those with these specific needs.
The Solution
I designed a light landing page with a guided questionnaire to filter available dogs by the user's specific preferences. The idea being something that would be easily modified or built onto to help expand the results based on an expanding dataset of user needs.
My Role
As much of the data and project were already established by CityPups, my role was that of a UX/UI designer and Usability Tester.
Day 1 - Map
Research
I reviewed the provided user data and came away with insight as to what the needs of the possible users would look like.
What is the background and personality of the dog?
What do they look like? Pictures are good, video is better.
How do the dogs interact in a variety of situations, whether they get along with other people and animals, or whether they do well on public transit?
Are the dogs suited to the adoptee's living space?
What are the attention needs of the dog? How independent are they? How noisy?
How far away is the dog, can the adoptee meet them or easily travel the required distance?
HMW Statements
From here I had several HMW statements, though those that felt most broadly applicable and perhaps important included:
How might we streamline a complex subset of adoptee needs?
How can we ensure people can meet the dogs?
How can we build in a way that would be flexible for easy expansion?
User Map/Journey
I developed a few possible user journey maps to determine what the path they would follow might look like.
I decided on a rather minimal approach toward the MVP, as to not burden the flow and keep it simple for users.
Day 2 - Sketch
Comparative Analysis
For a lightning demo/comparative analysis session, I looked at several other competitors in roughly this space.
While user friendly and accessible, Adopt a Pet’s initial search leads to a very limited range of results. Refinement options are average, the search radius looks better than some alternatives, but searches don’t factor in energy level, required attention or home size requirements. More information is fairly robust, though lacks “city dog” specificity. No listings with video.
Petfinder has a much more robust set of search filters, including “Good With”, “Care & Behavior”, though the smallest search radius is within 10 miles. This behaves as an aggregate like CityPups. “More” information is more spartan than that on Adopt a Pet, though many listings include a video. Petfinder relies on external third parties for more data.
Petsmart pet search has even less filter options, though the breed includes groups such as “Gentle Giants” and “Mutt Madness Surprise Mix!” The smallest search radius is 35 miles. Detailed listings are similar to those found on Petfinder, though broadly features a “My Story” section and organizes the details neatly.
Sketches
To further determine structure I sketched out eight basic iterations utilizing the Crazy8s sprint method. From here I created a three-panel board including screens that come before the critical screen, the critical screen itself, and the screen that comes after the critical screen.
Day 3 - Storyboard/Solution
Day 4 - Prototype
From here I moved to Figma to develop the individual high fidelity screens, reworking what was needed to fit within the theme. The overall design borrowed from the original CityPups logo, focusing on a fun and energetic appearance.
Prototype link: https://bit.ly/3e5PYNB
Landing Page:
Preferences Form:
Search Results:
Day 5 - Usability Test
To validate this design, I conducted usability tests with five individual dog enthusiasts from a variety of lifestyles. Some already had dogs, others were actively looking or considering. My goals were to determine whether or not they felt the search were intuitive, might fulfill the criteria they had set for their own needs, if they felt there was enough data requested, or if the pages provided enough information/insight to satisfy their search needs.
I tested via Zoom and Discord as I found my testers via the internet and most were not local.
Tasks
Explore the homepage and express their thoughts/feelings.
Follow the CTA and make filter choices.
Follow the prompts until reaching search results.
View match.
Debrief
Following the testing, I asked participants about their thoughts on the prototype, whether they would use such a page themselves, and whether they felt like they had a high level of confidence in the site. I asked if anything stood out as particularly frustrating. After this I asked if they had any questions or other feedback.
Feedback and Quotes
All users were successfully able to navigate the prototype.
Two users provided feedback that they would have liked it if the form drop downs were more clear, though these weren’t an interactive part of the prototype.
They felt like as a prototype the interaction was clear, though they would have liked to explore more functionality of the site and be able to see the options they could have chosen from.
Only one user noticed that in the search results page that the result filter keywords were highlighted with CityPups purple.
"In a small apartment or small yard, you also need something like a weight limit. If you're in an apartment you're probably not going to get a Mastiff."
"I like that this makes you face your living situation before doing anything, before breed is even shown."
"It's not complicated, it's not obtuse. Everything is literally right there."
Reflection
In retrospect I would have liked to have provided a more in-depth form, added extra functionality, built more onto the prototype. If I were to revisit the results page I think I would like to include an itemized side panel addition where it adds bullet points to call out the specifically matched criteria.