Nicole Chai.
User Research
I began this case study by acquiring some background information and data on the animal shelters in my country. The adoption galleries for most shelters are overly wordy, and the animal profiles are lacking in information. Some of the shelters don't have an apparent appointment link, so consumers will have to sift through a lot of information to find it.
I used Zoom to conduct five user interviews with persons ranging in age from 22 to 60 years old. Based on these interviews, I was able to validate the problem and learn about users' present attitudes and behaviors. I discovered four major pain points that the users are facing:
The Users
Based on my insights, I created personas to represent the key users of the product:
Angela Silva is a busy accountant who needs an intuitive website with more pictures and details on the pet profiles because she wants to easily find the right dog that will get along well with her current dog.
User Journey Map
Angela's user journey demonstrates how she uses the pet adoption website and highlights possible areas of improvement.
Starting the Design
Sitemap
I designed a sitemap to help organise the content on the website and to better understand how people can get all of the information they need.
Paper Wireframes
I sketched out the paper wireframes for each screen in the website. I created different variations of the home screen to find the best way to organise information, and decide which features to include to improve the user experience for the users.
As the users access the website on different devices, I created wireframes for both the desktop view and mobile view to make sure the site will be fully responsive.
Digital Wireframes
Converting the paper wireframes to digital wireframes helped me to better comprehend how the website could address user pain points and improve the user experience. My technique included placing helpful search bars, filters, and good button locations on the home page.
I created digital wireframes for both the desktop version, as well as the mobile version of the product.
Low-fidelity Prototype
I connected the screens that were involved in the primary user flow of requesting a pet adoption to create the low-fidelity prototype. I took down the feedback I received from my peers and implemented them in spots that better addressed the users' concerns.
View the low-fidelity prototype here
Refining the Design
I conducted two rounds of unmoderated usability studies with five participants each. Each usability test lasted for around 10-20 minutes. For the usability tests, I requested the users to speak out their thoughts and feelings while navigating around the prototype. Additionally, I also asked them to answer a few follow-up questions after the test.
Based on the usability studies, I discovered the following insights:
Mockups
Based on the insights from the usability study, I made changes to the website. One of the changes I made was to add the filter by size and status options. This allowed the search results to be more specific, allowing users to easily find the pet they are looking for.
To make the search process easier for users, I added the status which indicates the availability of the pet. Users would not need to contact the pet shelter to enquire the status of each pet.
Desktop
Mobile
High-fidelity Prototype
The user flow in my high-fidelity prototype was the same as in the low-fidelity version. I incorporated those design improvements into the high-fidelity prototype based on the findings of the usability testing and input from my peers.
View the prototypes here: Mobile | Desktop
Accessibility Considerations
In order to create an inclusive design, I took note of the following considerations:
Takeaways
Impact
The target users commented on how easy it was to navigate around the design. The information was not too overwhelming, and there was a fair balance of pictures and visuals.
What I learned
I discovered that even minor design changes can have a significant influence on the user experience. When developing solutions, the essential takeaway is to concentrate on the users' needs and pain points.
As part of the Google UX Design Certificate Programme, I worked on a project to make pet adoption easier and help more animals find their forever homes. I designed a responsive website that allows people to easily search and read about the dogs they want to adopt.
The purpose of this project is to create a website that allows people to quickly access information about adoption and browse a list of available animals before making an appointment to visit the shelter. This would make the adoption process go more smoothly and save them time.
Jan 2022 - Feb 2022
Paw Shelter
ROLE
UX/UI Designer
User research, Conducting user interviews, Wireframing, Prototyping, Conducting usability studies
