Social Networking Application For Pet Owners

The Project

Duration: 3months

Project Type: Personal

Role: UX Research, UI Design

Method: Sketch, Surveys, Interviews, Affinity Wall, Usability Testing, A/B Testing, Preference Test,

Think- Aloud, Wireframes, Prototyping

Tools: Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Google forms

Project Brief

About what?

This project is a community application for people who have all kinds of pets, who are about to keep pets and breeders.

For whom?
People who have pets

What problems are users having?
There are currently no pet-specific applications that allow pet owners to exchange information and interact with other pet owners, or for pet owners to keep track of their pets' growth. In addition, pet owners are often unaware of what kind of pet services are available in the vicinity where they live.

How did I find this need?
There are opportunities for pet owners to interact with each other in various social networking communities. However, I noticed that they had limited functionality (posts only) and lacked more pet-focused features. That's when I started my research and found a need for this application among pet owners.

System overview

1. There are pages for each type, mainly dogs and cats.

2. On those pages, you can find the average information of the breed.

3. In addition, there is a thread on those pages, and information can be shared between owners. Anyone who wants the breed can ask questions to those who already own it.

4. Photo posting Like SNS, owners can upload photos.

Other

You can search for a nearby veterinary clinic.

Part of the advertising profit will be donated to animal protection groups.

Target

Age: Over 14-year-old.

Gender: Follow all genders

Area: Follow people who live in all areas

Occupation: Follow all occupations. Unemployed, students, adults, housewives, singles, retirement, etc.

Needs

The high-level goal of this study is by using this application, it will be possible to focus and share information for each breed. Of course, it is necessary to be able to share information on the entire pet, not on a dog breed basis.

In addition, the purpose is to prepare people who are going to keep pets by sharing in advance information such as the characteristics of the pet and what kind of environment it should be raised in.

Competitive Overview

Currently, there are no social networking applications dedicated to pets.
It seems that people mostly use the Internet to search for information or consult their vet directly.
The following are the main sources of information.
- Google
- Veterinarians
- People who have pets in the neighborhood
- Youtube

System Goals

Goal 1

People with pets give and get useful information to each other for their pets.

Goal 2

To document the growth of people's pets and to watch their pets grow.

Impressions of this app they have

Reliability is very important.

People believe in false or unofficial information in threads, which risks afflicting their pets.

That's a legitimate opinion. So, the success of this app requires collaboration and supervision with veterinarians and pet-savvy people.

For example, the thread on this app can only be answered by animal specialists and qualified people.

Alternatively, take measures such as prohibiting writing on threads for subjects related to the life or death of pets.

Recruiting and interview design

I plan to conduct informal unmoderated interviews with three participants between the ages of 14-90.

- Participant 1: age 14-20

- Participant 2: age 21-30

- Participant 3: age 31-50

- Participant 4: age 51-70

- Participant 5: age 71-90

Interview Criteria

- People who already have a pet / People who have owned it in the past.

- 2 People between the ages of 13 and 90.

Interview Guide and Questions

Below is an outline of potential questions I will use to guide the interviews.

Can this app further increase people's knowledge of pets and contribute to keeping pets in the right environment?
How much is this pet app in demand in the world?
Have you ever used any community apps/websites for your pets?
How do you usually get the information that you want for?
What do you think to use community apps for pets?
Are you sure that you have enough knowledge to have your own pets?
What will you think if there are huge and trustable apps for pets?
Do you want to use it? Or not? Why?
What does it make you use apps for community apps for pets?

Needs finding and Initial concept

Conduct needs finding and analysis

I conducted research on pet websites and applications for pets.

First, applications for pets do not exist. Maybe there is a demand for it, but it may not have been approved as an application because of the potential harm it could do to pets.
Hypothetically, this app needs to be supervised by a veterinarian, as I mentioned in my "Reliability is very important" article, and has to be careful not to spread fake information on this app.

If you go to Google, you can get all kinds of information.
You can find sites that specialize in the breed, or websites about pets (dogs, for example) in general.

Take a look at them and see what kind of information people are looking for their pets, as summarized below.

Average height, average weight
Personality
Diseases they are prone to
Points to keep in mind
Whether the pet is suitable for large-scale breeding
Walking time
How long should you walk your dog?

Current Practice

In order to meet the needs of users, it is the standard for pet sites to have the following functions.
There is no app for pets, so write it as a website, not an app.

Personality
Average weight, average height
Number of walks per day
Diseases that are easy to get
Training method

Functional Requirement

Hospital visit history
Community
Diary
Growth record
Around you
Useful information for pet owners
Emergency call function

Constraints

To not make it a cool design.
To not make it hard for owners to get information.
Make sure the operation is not difficult.

Affinity Wall

Persona

Sketch and ideate storyboard

Scoreboard

Low-Fidelity Prototype and

Micro-usability Test

Wireframe

Based on sketches I started creating wireframes.

UI Kit

Following the Style Guide, I crafted a UI Kit that would inform the Design System for Fuku.

Micro-Usability test plan - Overview

○ Overview

Here, I want to make sure that users can get the information they want without strain or confusion. I will also examine whether the application can be used regularly, preferably daily by users.

I will also check if there are enough types of things that users want to search for, or if there are already too many things that are overwhelming the user.

Then, I will ask the user to speak up and see where the user gets lost and stressed on the wireframe of this app.

○ Test Goal

Test Goals of this initial user testing is to answer the question:

- How is the system less or more efficient for finding this app?

- What problems or needs are not addressed when the user is attempting to settle using the system?

○ Specific Recruiting and Diversity Criteria

The participants for this test are aged 14-90.

Non-gender regardless. They who have experienced to use some cooking application.

In addition, these are the diversity criteria as below.

- Test participants should have a mobile device.

Test Component

Note Taking(laptop)
Audio Recorder
User Test Plan
Tasks
Consent Form
Wireframes
Script
Post-Test Questions

The sequence of Test Activities

Consent Form
Pre-test Interview
Task 1
Task 2
Task 3
Thank Participants
Post-Test Questionnaire

Consent Form

Logging Sheet

Micro-Usability test plan - User Test Script

Pre-test Check List

Double-check that all dates in the task are in the future
Fill in all blanks with the name of the app (all documents, including the test plan, test script, and informed consent form)
Go through all of the tasks before performing the test
Print out the task for the user
Print out each task for the user
Print out a post-test questionnaire
Print out or type into the logging sheet
Print out the user script
Record when the test begins

Pre-test questionnaire

1. Have you used a cooking application?

2. How often do you use them?

3. What source do you use most?

4. What is the primary concern of your pet?

5. What is the most important when you will use the applications?

6. What frustrations do you have when using recipes as a reference?

7. What features would you like to see in a recipe app?

Task instructions

Print tasks and present them, one at a time. Read each task alound and give the printed sheet to the participant. Make notes of successes and failures while the user performs the test.

Task 1

Task 2

Create your account.

Task 3

Go to check "Tips".

Task 4

Go to see "Thread".

Post-test Check List

Keep recording when the post-testing.
Stop recording, save audio and video
Save informed consent form
Save logging sheet

Debriefing

The focus of the debrief is to walk through any problems that were encountered during the tasks. If any time remains afterward, ask higher-level questions 2-5.

1. Review parts of the test where the user struggled:

(Examples)

What difficulties did you have on ____?
I noticed you struggled with____, can you tell me what happened?
You paused here, tell me more about that.

2. Preferences: What did you think about the app? What did you like/dislike?

3. Changes: If you had 3 wishes to make this better for you, what would they be? Why?

4. Understanding: How would you describe this to a friend?

5. Use Cases: Under what circumstances would you use this? Why?

User Test Script

Moderator (with a big smile!): Thanks for coming in today! We’re constantly trying to improve our product, and getting your frank feedback is a really important part of that.

The goal for today’s session is to test the application - FUKU. I’m here to learn from you so I’ll ask a lot of questions, but I’m not testing you. There are no right or wrong answers.

I’ll start this session by asking some background questions. Then I’ll show you some things we’re working on, and ask you to do some tasks. As you work on the tasks, please think aloud.

This means that you should try to give a running commentary on what you're doing as you work through the tasks. Tell me what you're trying to do and how you think you can do it. If you get confused or don't understand something, please tell me. If you see things you like, tell me that too. I want to emphasize that, you won’t hurt my feelings by telling me what you think. In fact, frank, candid feedback is the most helpful.

If you do get stuck, I’m going to try not to answer your questions or tell you what to do. I’m just trying to see what you would do if you were using it on your own.

But don’t worry-- I’ll help you if you get completely stuck. Do you have any questions before we begin?

Consent Form

A present consent form, summarize and receive a signature from test participant.

Conclusion

I think that's all the questions I have for you. I want to leave a little bit of time to

see if you have any questions for me about the website, test, or anything like that.

Okay. Then I just want to say thank you very much for participating, and if you

have any follow-up questions please let me know and we really appreciate your

time. Thank you!!

Post-Questionnaire

Provide the post-test questionnaire to the user at the end of the user test.

Post-Questionnaire

For the post-test questionnaire, we will administer the standard SUS questionnaire on paper.

The form should be printed out before each session.

User Test, Mid-prototype

Create Med- Prototype/ Prototype Screens

Survey

User Testing

The target population: 4

Recruitment method: I asked my roommates. I asked a friend of mine who seemed to make a fair decision.

Analysis methods: Interview, Questionnaire, Think-Aloud, Debrief Question, Morae.

Conduct Heuristic Evaluation/ Prioritized List

Final UI & What's next

What's next

This app is very difficult to manage.
This is because it needs to involve various organizations, such as the ability to view news about pets, what services are available near the owner, etc. Of course, it would be nice if such services were available, but it takes time to get there.
Of course, it would be nice if such a service existed, but it would take a long time to get there.
The next step is to create one application that can be released in a short period of time.