Adoptable
Project Duration
5
weeks
Team
1
UX Designer
Timeline
Jan
2023
My Role
Solo Designer
The Context
In 2021, I volunteered with a close friend at a local animal shelter. Her parents owned the shelter, and she often complained about how difficult it was to rehome the pets, since so the process was so long and complicated.
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Hearing this, I started wondering if there's a way to improve this...
This project aims to streamlining the adoption to both first-time, helpless adopters and adoption centers rehome their pets.
User Research
Observation Artifact
In-depth user Interviews with both shelter owners and adopters to find out the biggest pain points with the process.
Personas
Journey map
After brainstorming a few personas, I was able to create a comprehensive user journey documenting the key pain points.
Key Takeaways
01.
Lack of Information
Prospective adopters struggle to find detailed information about pets both compatible and available for adoption.
For shelters, it's difficult for them to vet an adopter, especially if the adopters themselves are new or inexperienced.
02.
Complicated Process
The lengthy adoption process discourages potential adopters, with multiple steps like filling out forms,
home visits, and waiting for approvals.
Manual/Lengthy adoption procedures result in pets staying in the shelter longer than necessary, which increases operation costs and impacts the well-being of the animals.
03.
Post-Adoption Support
Many adopters struggle with caring for an adopted pet, uncertain about fit, grooming, diet, health concerns, and potential behavioral issues.
Shelters face challenges in educating potential adopters about the responsibilities of pet ownership, which can result in more pet surrenders.
Brainstorming
With pain points in mind, I began brainstorming features, ideas, and task flows
Wireframing
The Solution
Pre-filled Applications
In profile creation, all users would be required to fill in details such as location, housing, and preliminary questions required by shelters for vetting prospective adopters, which simplifies the paperwork process in traditional adoption routes.
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Secondly, users would be able to fill out their preferences for their ideal pet, which eliminates the need of extraneous conversation between shelter staff and potential adopters.
Simple Submission Process
The home page allows for users to browse for pets, reading profiles which contains descriptions for personalities or health concerns, as well as tags for breed, size, and fur for prospective adopters to assess their need.
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Users would be recommended pets based on the pre-filled information in profile creation and allowed to search, save, and filter potential pets.
Since the application is filled during profile creation, submission takes seconds instead of hours or days, simplifying the process for both owners and shelters.
Other Key Features
Articles for Tips & Tricks
Categories for Discovery
Saving Pet Profiles
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