Zo’s Doggy Trail
Zo’s Doggy Trail
A responsive app designed for users to book walking appointments of schedule boarding for their furry friend(s).
Read to the end for a surprise 🐶💖
Research | Definition | Ideation | Prototype | Testing
Background
Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice
COVID 19 has its ups and downs, but I will say the one of the best thing that came out of it was my rescuing my sweet dog Sugar. I say I rescued her, but I honestly think she rescued me. I remember going to my aunt’s house and randomly saying how I wanted a dog (I was joking but serious) and she said’ Do you really? I have a friend that needs someone to adopt a dog.’ Of course, I couldn’t say no. That next day, I was able to meet my sweet girl, and it was history from there.
Problem
What have I gotten myself into?
Sugar is the first pet I’ve ever had, besides a few fishes. After adopting her, I had learned about dogs her age, what she needs, what can she eat, was it okay to walk her long, things of that nature. It’s been a learning experience, but I’ve loved every moment. Although I work from home, it is hard finding time to walk her because I have such a busy schedule. I often feel guilty because I know she wants/needs to be outside. One day I heard my friend stating that she would walk Sugar throughout the week for me, I would just have to set a time with her. This is having been so helpful and this is exactly why I wanted to create a dog walking app.
Objective
The Trail
Create a responsive dog walking app for users to conveniently book walking appointments for their dogs. The goal is for the owner to be able to track the dog walker as well as receive pictures and videos of their furry friend. This app will also include boarding options, but due to time constraint the focus will be dog walking.
Research
Competitive Analysis
Starting with research, I analyzed 3 companies that offer dog walking services. I wanted to know if they offered background checks for walkers, if I can see live media of my dog, and if they offer other products and services.
User Persona
The results from my research allowed me to put a user persona together. Meet London, a spontaneous dog mom following her dreams by moving to a new city.
Definition
Sitemap
Based on user research and feedback, users find it important that they can track their dog at all times. I wanted to ensure that when users navigate through the site, just about everything they’re looking for is in one spot, making it easy to navigate.
User Flow
London Rae is a 30 year old woman who just moved to a new city to start her dream job. It’s currently just her and her dog Sugar, and although she works from home she has struggled to find time to walk Sugar during the week because of her new work hours. She wants to find a reliable dog walker to cant walk Sugar often.
Task Flow
London has spent the last few days conducting research on Zo’s Doggy Trail, and is ready to book an appointment for Sugar to go dog walking with her new dog walker joy.
Ideation
List of Ideas
When analyzing my findings from user interviews, I identified that users biggest concern when someone is walking their dog is security. They want to know who is walking their dog, how can they get in contact with that person and of course they want to see how their dog is behaving when around that person. Here are some possible solutions:
Low/Mid Wireframes
Designing a dog walking app where users can feel secure required a lot of brainstorming on how I can incorporate that into the design while also making it accessible.
HiFi Mockups and UI kit
From the mid fi wireframes, I was able to get a feel for how I wanted the Hi Fi mockups to look. Below are a few Hi Fi Mockup screens from users would see when they first log in and UI Kit created from mockups.
Prototype before Usability Test
Testing
Sugar Vinson testing the prototype 🐶
I tested 4 participants via zoom and in person. Each participant was given one flow to go through. Each person was asked to talk through their process and ask questions/ give feedback as they go.
Flow: You’re looking to book a dog walking appointment with a reliable person for your dog during the week because you are swamped with meetings.
Testing Goals:
Learn how users feel when navigating through the app. Do they feel secure?
Test discovery and usability of app
See if their is enough information available for users to confidently book an appointment.
Feedback/Questions from testing
“I love how clean this looks, and the pictures used are clear”
‘ This color choice is nice but it is hard for me to see some of the content’
‘Can I chat with the walker?’
‘Where will i be able to see the photos the dog walker has taken?’
‘The icons to upload a file are a little small, at least to me’
‘I like that I have the choice to board my dog, since i travel al ot. How much would that cost? would it be around the same prices shown for dog walking?’
‘Is the map option live? or does it just highlight where they are walking?’
‘You used very soft colors.’
Priority Revisions
I really enjoyed testing this prototype. It made me remember that I am not designing for myself, I am designing for users. Below are the revisions I made.
Accessibility
Key Finding: During testing I realized my project didn’t pass accessibility.
Solution: I changed the colors based on accessibility.
Before After
Increase in font and icons
Key Finding: During testing, I received feedback stating that the icons to choose a file were small so
Solution: Increased the size and font of text.
Before After
New Addition to flow
Key Finding: Many participants wanted to see the actual map and chat functions.
Solution: I created screens for each function. It was said that having these screens make user more comfortable.
Reflection and Next Steps
Possible Next Steps
Due to time constraints, I wasn’t able to create many of the screens I wanted to add including the dog boarding screens. If given more time, I would create the remaining screens, test the prototype again to make sure everything flows a few times, and make any priority revisions. Once I feel like the prototype is complete, I would send it for hand off.
Reflection
Sugar Vinson :)
I was extremely excited to do this project because I love being around dogs, especially my Sugar (pictured above). For this project, I really wanted to challenge myself in both UI and UX. I really wanted to create a product that I feel like I would use; and I did just that. Although I didn’t have long to complete, I am very happy with how it turned out and maybe one day I will turn this into a real product!
View Other Projects
-
Wells Fargo Budget Envelope Savings Account
-
Vinson Landscaping
-
The Radical Chef