CITYPUPS

timeline:  1 week (july 2021)

team:  solo project

project overview

With over half of the world living in urban environments, many people face challenges finding a dog to adopt that will be compatible with urban lifestyles. To help city-dwellers find dogs that will fit their emotional and environmental needs, I created CityPups, a web application focused on highlighting practical and behavioral characteristics of dogs in order to increase the rate of compatible pairings.

the problem

dog compatibility with urban living

With over half of the world living in urban environments, many people face challenges with finding a dog to adopt that will be compatible with urban lifestyles.

Living in densely populated spaces introduces constraints such as:

• smaller dwellings
• less access to outdoor areas
• less flexibility with schedule and transportation

It is already difficult to find dogs that will fit adopters’ emotional needs, but city-dwellers have the added challenge of finding dogs that fit their often restrictive environmental needs.

why is dog compatibility important?

overcrowded shelters

According to the ASPCA, around 1.5 million shelter pets (670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats) in the United States are euthanized each year due to overcrowding. We can help save pet lives by adopting, however, it is important that the dog is compatible with the owner and their lifestyle. Incompatibility between dogs and owners is a common cause for people to return their pets to shelters or neglect and mistreat them.

We must ensure compatibility between dog and owner to increase the rate of adoption, decrease the rate of euthanasia, and provide our furry friends the best possible lives.

the solution

clarify dog practical and behavioral characteristics

To help city-dwellers find dogs that will fit their emotional and environmental needs, I created CityPups, a fictional startup focused on highlighting practical and behavioral characteristics of dogs in order to increase the rate of successful adoptions.

01 add specificity to dog profiles through templatization

02 include behavioral checklist and personality scales in dog profile

03 increase confidence by allowing users to ask questions or meet the dogs

the process

Google Ventures design sprint

As the sole designer on this project, I conducted a modified version of Jake Knapp’s Google Ventures Design Sprint to challenge myself to efficiently tackle problems with constraints, using resources wisely and eliminating the risk of overthinking.

I dedicated each of five days to:

01  understanding the problem

02 sketching ideas

03 deciding on a solution

04 developing a prototype

05 conducting usability testing

user research

synthesizing user interviews

I reviewed user interview scripts provided by CityPups’ research team to understand the problems that city-dwelling aspiring dog-owners face.

Using affinity mapping to organize my observations, I identified common goals and frustrations.

persona

Finding a dog as a city dweller requires not only an emotional connection between human and dog, but also a heightened need for a practical fit.

How might we help Ellie feel confident finding a dog to adopt that will be emotionally and environmentally compatible?

journey map

Taking Ellie’s pain points into consideration, I sketched a preliminary user journey map that provides her with as many data points as possible about each dog so that she feels confident in her decision to adopt.

crazy 8’s

I conducted a lightning round of sketching to illustrate one of the most critical screens in the CityPups user journey: the dog profile page. This is the page where Ellie will decide whether or not to adopt. The dog profile should be thorough enough so that Ellie has the confidence in knowing the dog will be a good fit for her urban lifestyle.

storyboard

Ellie progressively narrows in on her search for the perfect dog as she navigates through three main pages:

01 Home:

Ellie can filter by primary characteristics

02 Grid View:

Ellie can add secondary filters for behavioral characteristics

03 Dog Profile:

Ellie can view the most detailed information about the dog, ask questions, and adopt

checking in on Ellie

Frustrations:

• Descriptions of dogs are too generic on dog adoption sites

• Users have little insight into behavioral traits of dogs

Motivation:

• Find a dog that will confidently be emotional and environmentally compatible with an urban lifestyle

solution 01: add specificity by templatizing dog profiles

Frustration:

Descriptions of dogs are too generic on dog adoption sites.

Solution:

Add specificity to dog profile through templatization so that shelters must provide a variety of categorized information about the dogs such as basic information, behavioral details, and other descriptors.

solution 02: provide behavioral insight by adding a checklist and personality scale

Frustration:

Users have little insight into behavioral traits of dogs.

Solution:

Include a behavioral checklist that indicates whether or not the dog has a specific needs within the categories of housing, training, compatibility, or health. Also include personality scales that show where on the spectrum the dog falls in terms of sociability, noise-level, and activity.

solution 03: increase confidence by allowing users to ask questions or meet the dogs

Goal:

Find a dog that will confidently be emotional and environmentally compatible with an urban lifestyle.

Solution:

Allow users to chat with shelter to request any information about the dog that they could not find on the profile. Furthermore, allow users to schedule an in-person meet up with the dog to evaluate if the mental model of the dog matches reality.

usability testing overview

how

Observe five city dwellers that have adopted dogs recently or are interested in adopting dogs soon search for a dog using CityPups

why

To discover if:

• dog profiles have specific enough information for users to evaluate compatibility
• users have insight into dog’s behavior
• users can determine compatibility confidently

issue 01: users need more city-specific information such as recommended living space

Solution: 

Add categorization to attributes section of the dog profile. Ensure categories show information that is most relevant to city-dwellers such as housing needs.

issue 02: users need more descriptive information about dog personality

Solution: 

Add information modals to personality scales so users can click in to read more information.

issue 03: users want more city-specific search filters

Solution: 

Add secondary filters on the search results page in categories such as breeds and attributes.

introduce constraints

One of Ellie’s pain points is that descriptions of dogs on adoption sites are too vague. CityPups alleviates this by templating the dog profile pages to include additional categories such as Personality and Attributes, ensuring that the dog shelters provide this critical behavioral information.

By introducing constraints to how dog profiles are set up, CityPups is able to provide a more complete package of information so Ellie can feel more confident that the dog will be compatible.

eliminate reviews

In my user journey map, I had user reviews to help city-dwellers evaluate dog compatibility. I decided to eliminate reviews to prevent dogs from being pigeonholed as “bad dogs” and squash their opportunity for adoption.

I assume that if users met up with a dog and had a positive experience, they would likely adopt the dog. The dogs left on CityPups with reviews would be those that users met but did not adopt. One dog may be incompatible with one user but compatible with another. I want each dog to have equal opportunities for successful adoption on CityPups.

future plans

Because compatibility is CityPups’ top priority, I would like to add an onboarding step that asks users about their lifestyle and housing situation.

Each dog profile would include a badge showing percent compatibility based on how closely the user and dog profiles align. This will facilitate the dog search by evaluating compatibility for the user as opposed to the user having to perform their own assessment. By asking users these important questions, CityPups can maximize compatibility and increase the rate of successful adoptions.