Research has been shown that in the U.S, there are around 70,000 cats and dogs born every day, and each year 6 to 8 million cats and dogs were sent to animal shelters. However, only half of them had a chance of being adopted.

‍

Goal

My goal is to provide a localized animal shelter network, users in the Bay area can find their furry companion as efficiently and accurately as possible.

‍

‍

Start off with Research

Competitors

I wanted to begin my research by looking at the current digital solutions for adopting pets. The four competitors I picked were Petfinder, Petview 360, WeRescue and PetSearch. By analyzing these solutions, it allows me to identify the current process for adoption, significant features, potential pain points, and areas for improvement.

User survey

To further understand users' motivation and frustration, I send out a survey to 100 people through a survey distribution platform Helio. The survey consisted of three multiple choices and five open-ended questions.

Results

Among 100 participants, 30% of people answered they adopted their pet from a shelter, and 28% of them got from their family or friends.

‍

• People usually go online or go to shelter directly to get adoption info.
• People primarily care about behaviors and health condition when considering animal adoption.
• Among those participants who adopted their pets more than 60% expressed that the motivation is to give animals a chance to have a happy home.  People also wrote they wanted to rescue animals so that they won’t need to be euthanized.
• Pet Finder: mostly positive, info there not up to date, easy to navigate, provide great search/filter feature.
• Shelter’s websites: Some of them not easy to navigate, didn’t provide enough information to help decisions.
• Shelters' staff usually really busy and sometimes can take too long for them to get back calls and emails.

‍

‍

‍

Define Problems

From my own experience and the research I've done, I concluded several problems that can potentially influence the animal adoption process:

1. Listing didn't provide enough information of the animals to help users make decision.
2. Sometimes it's hard to get contact information about the shelters, and get details about the animals.
3. Spend too much time on applications and takes too long to finish the process.
4. Lists are outdated and repeating.

‍

‍

‍

Persona

I created a user persona based on the research I've done. This persona helped me identify users' needs and pain points that the final design needed to address.

‍

"I want to have a furry friend, and they deserve a second chance to live in a happy home."

Olivia is a freelance designer who spend lot of time doing her work at home. Recently, she decided to adopt a cat from local shelters. Before going to the shelters, she is actively searching the possible right fit on shelter's website.

‍

What she needs:

• Save time on finding good matches that fit her preference and lifestyle.
• Want to be know how long it takes for the adoption process.
• Be able to communicate efficiently with shelters and know more details about the pets.

‍

What she frustrates about:

• The time for adoption process varies in shelters and sometimes takes too long for getting information, complete pre-screening application.
• Availability of pets is not accurate on some sites and app, often time she found out the pet was adopted while the listing was still active.

‍

‍

‍

‍

HMW

Possible solutions

• Easy apply with in-app application.
• Check application status and send notification to users.
• Show “Adopted” sign on the list when the animal was not longer available.
• Provide advanced search filter to help users get accurate results.
• Beside animals in the shelter, user can also find animals from local community whose pets need to be rehome.

‍

‍

Product Mapping

After researching the user’s needs, I created an information architecture to help organize and create some structure for the design. In particular, I focused on ideas of pet discoverability, adoption process, and community support.

‍

‍

Wireframe

I did some explorations on the visual design.

‍

‍

Style guide

‍

‍

‍

First Hi-fidelity design draft

‍

‍

‍

Usability testing and iteration

I did a small focus group of 8 people to help me with the usability test. According to their feedback, I redesigned some of the flow to decrease confusion and make sure information was presented clearly.

‍

‍

‍

Final design

‍

‍

‍

Final thoughts

• Since the app is meant for building a local animal adoption network, I realized the technical constraints would be establishing the data system that supports this network and connecting shelters to update the list's availability in time.
• Tracking how many animals are being adopted through the app and how long it takes for users to inquire about pets can indicate whether users are finding pets that match their lifestyle. Also, measuring user engagement and acquisition can be evaluated through volunteer programs and donations.
• Design is not a one-time thing. After reviewing the process I’ve done, I came up with some features that can be included in the following revisions. I will focus on providing features related to pet care services that can help users save time on finding a reliable place to take care of their furry friends. In addition, features like appointment system, donation, volunteer to support animal welfare organizations should be added to balance business goals and increase adoption efficiency.

‍