Dogadvisor
UX Case Study
Dogadvisor is created for dog owners. It is designed to allow users to easily find dog-friendly places through an app and a signboard where they are allowed to bring their dogs.
Introduction
Imagine that you have a dog, and one day your friends want to have coffee at a café in town. You do not know if the café accepts dogs and especially large dogs like your dog. Right now you can not find a dog sitter.
To find out if the café is dog-friendly, you must first google to find the café's contact information and then call. The staff you spoke to on the phone explained the café's dog rules and that they accept large dogs. When you arrive at the café, you will be told that large dogs are not allowed. You and your friends are forced to leave the café and look for a new cafe that accepts large dogs.
Problem
Dog owners have a hard time finding dog-friendly places. It causes:
Frustration - not knowing which places are dog-friendly and not.
A limited life - it is not possible to be spontaneous and everyday life must be planned.
Stress - finding a dog sitter can be difficult.
Confusion - when finding a dog-friendly place, they get different answers from different employees about dog rules.
concept
Project overview
The brief
Our brief was to explore a target group and a software they use. We would choose a target group that spends a lot of time outdoors. My team and I decided to get to know the target group of dog owners. The purpose of this brief is to understand people, software, and context.
Dogadvisor is an app and a signboard created for dog owners. It is designed to allow users to easily find dog-friendly places where they are allowed to bring their dogs.
Teamwork
Team: 3 people
Duration: 4 weeks
Date: May -June 2021
As a team of three, we were all responsible for the first part of the double diamond process, which included research, questionnaire, observations, interviews, persona, and workshop.
Independent work
Solo: Me
Duration: 2,5 weeks
Date: June-July 2021
The brief was about understanding the first quarter of the double diamond strategy. But during my summer holiday, I decided to complete the entire design process and develop proposals for various services aimed at the target group (Develop,Deliver).
I am responsible for the entire app and signboard. The process includes wireframes, prototypes, and tests.
Tools
Figma
Miro
Excel
Docs
iMovie
Double diamond process
Design framework
Working with the team
Working by myself
To begin we had find our user pain points and determine the problem we were trying to solve for our users. The first step was to research by secondary research, observe, interview, sending out surveys, affinity mapping, text analysis and application analysis.
After the initial research, we aimed to define the users problems by interpreting our research and findings into a persona, HMW's and Hypothesis statements. We designed storyboards for the workshop with our target group, so that they would easily understand the concept idea, and the context.
From here the next step was to ideate potential solutions through sketchstorming and a ton of quick wireframe sketches that represented a variety of ideas.
At this point, I put together mid-fidelity wireframes and created a prototype of the signboard and the app's key flow and functionalities. Once the prototype was complete, I then wanted to test my design by conducting a user test to validate usability, identify any pain points, and gather any additional feedback that could help me further iterate.
After the tests were complete and the important feedback was implemented into the design, I began to build the visual design and final screens.
Discover
Define
Develop
Deliver
Iterate
Iterate
LEARN
CREATE
Learn
Secondary research
Goal
We were using the double diamond approach for human-centered design and started with secondary research before diving into surveys, observations, and interviews.
By starting with secondary research, enabled us to learn more about the target group in order to design a survey with the right questions to ask.
Keyfindings
Potential problem areas.
Dog owners use digital tools in their dog ownership.
They get a dog for various reasons, not just for the obvious reasons, such as to have a dog for companionship.
Where to find our target groups and their communities.
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VALIDATE
Survey
Goal
We created a survey with carefully selected questions and decided from the beginning to investigate the general dog owner and not focus on any specific target group in dog ownership or an activity they do with the dog. In addition to getting to know the target group better, we also wanted to find out what software (apps / services / digital aids) they use and
why, and what they may lack in terms of digital support.
431 people responded to the survey. The survey contained 16 questions (including the demographic questions) to obtain quantitative and qualitative data.
Here are some of the questions from the survey:
What do you think is the biggest challenge with having a dog?
Where do you turn for tips and advice as a dog owner?
What type of digital service do you lack that would make it easier for you as a dog owner?
If you use one or more digital aids (such as apps) regarding your dog ownership, which one or which ones do you use? Feel free to motivate why.
Keyfindings
Their biggest challenges with having a dog
Popular dog apps
Why they need digital services that could facilitate their dog ownership
Observe
Touchstone tour interview
Goal
Get a deep understanding of the target audience. By observing dog owners we could then see how they interacted in a natural environment with their dogs.
The interview we had was live, and it was very beneficial and gave us a good idea of what areas we wanted to focus on.
I think it would have been very grateful to have some app that says; these places say yes to dogs, and these places say no. Then the stores do not have to be asked twenty times, and I do not have to ask them twenty times.
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application analysis
Cognitive Walkthrough
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Based on the survey and the interview, it was obvious that one of the biggest pain points was not knowing which places they could take the dog.
The goal is to choose an application that our target group uses and investigate it. We chose to investigate an application called "Ta med hunden". With the help of the app, dog owners can find dog-friendly places, such as dog-friendly restaurants, cafes, etc.
At first glance, the app was not so user-friendly, and we saw great opportunities for improvement. Therefore, we chose to investigate "Ta med hunden" by using the Jakob Nielsen method.
insight
Affinity mapping
Turning data into insights.
We spent time creating affinity maps based on the data we gathered from the survey.
This process helped us sort through the information to synthesize and organize our data by patterns and themes.
categories
Text analysis
The text analysis was based on the recorded interview we had. We created categories by code words we found in the collected data from the interview. This process was iterated three times.
synthesis
Persona
Goal
The following persona was created based on our research. This was helpful as it helped us to understand our user's needs, behavior patterns, goals, and frustrations.
Pain points
Difficult to find a dog sitter.
Ignorance of how to raise your dog.
Do not know where there are dog-friendly places.
Concerns about the dog's well-being.
Needs
To easily find a dog sitter.
Get expert advice on how to raise the dog.
To easily find information about where there are dog-friendly places.
Get tips and advice on the dog's well-being from experts.
Concept Ideas
Workshop
Based on our survey and interview, it became clear to us that we wanted to focus on how dog owners should easily find dog-friendly places. My team and I presented this pain point to two classmates for whom we held the workshop. They generated ideas and came up with different concept ideas.
An app and a sign were two suggestions that we chose as our final concept ideas. This was a warm-up before our real digital workshop that we had with two dog owners from the target group.
Hmw
How might we?
Goal
We created a set of HMW questions to give ourselves a clear direction on what we need to focus on and what needs to be implemented.
Problem areas that were discussed during the workshop
Dog owners have a hard time finding dog-friendly places.
Dog owners get different answers from different employees when they ask about the place's dog rules.
The place's dog rules are usually out of date in apps.
HMW Question 1
How might we help people quickly find dog-friendly places?
HMW Question 2
How might we help users get the same dog rules?
How might we ensure that the user knows the dog rules have been updated?
HMW Question 3
Hypotheses
Hypothesis statement 1
By providing a search/map/advanced filter-function
We hope to achieve that users will discover dog-friendly places fast
Because it is an easy and quick way, and increases the chances of users returning to the app due to its ease of use
Hypothesis statement 2
By providing a consistent checklist of updated dog rules
We hope to make users feel safe and satisfied
Because it is reliable and clear
Solution
An app - enables users to quickly and easily find dog-friendly places.
A signboard that shows that the place is dog-friendly.
Ideation
Storyboard
Goal
We designed storyboards for the workshop with our target group to make it easy to understand the concept idea and the context.
Application
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David's friends ask if he wants to go for a coffee. He would love to, but he does not have a dog sitter.
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As he needs to bring his dog with him, He takes the help of the app to search for dog-friendly cafes in the local area.
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David gets various suggestions for dog-friendly cafes.
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He decides on café Coffee and tells his friends where it is.
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2
3
4
5
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2
3
4
Signboard
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Katie goes to town and spontaneously gets the urge to have coffee. She sees a café but does not know if she can bring the dog inside.
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As she approaches the café, she sees a familiar sign with a QR code.
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She enters the app on her mobile. Scans the QR code, and receives information about dog rules instead of asking the staff.
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Katie reads that the café is dog-friendly and decides to have coffee.
Low-fidelity sketches
Wireframe sketches
With the storyboard complete, I quickly sketched out a variety of ideas for each screen in the flow using the Crazy 8s method.
This rapid way of divergent ideation is helpful to experiment with different solutions before any ideas are taken too far down the line of development.
I then dot voted the best screens to choose which would be used to move forward in the design.
Application
Map
Search
Map
Filter
Search/list
Explore
Explore
Favorites
QR reader
Rate
Signboard
Does it work?
User test
Application
I collected my best ideas and created a low fidelity prototype using Figma to immediately test the structure and flow of the app with users. This is a quick and inexpensive way to proof and revise the design before investing significant time and resources into more robust digital assets. I also tested my mid & high-fidelity prototypes.
I used the prototype to conduct a test with 4 users. Participants were able to use the app with ease and applauded its design; but pain points were also revealed:
Icons
Some of the icons on the map were difficult to understand. Therefore, I added a small information box in the upper left corner.
Opening times
When you click on a location tag, you get information about the place. Here they immediately wanted to see if the place was open or not.
Choice of words
Some word choices were worded incorrectly
Before
After
Signboard
I also tested the sign with my participants to see if they understood the icon and the purpose of the sign. Everyone understood the purpose, but they got a bit confused by the dog icon; it is easily associated with the icon where there is a dog ban. Therefore, I chose to change the dog icon to a dog paw.
Before
After
Log in & Explore
Quick and easy registration/login.
Username and password can be saved until next time.
There is an opportunity to log in via Facebook, Google or as a guest.
Discover dog-friendly places nearby or new recommended places.
Search
Search for dog friendly places by voice search or with autocomplete.
Two different display overview; map or list.
Your latest searches are saved.
Filter & Sort by
Filter categories, member ratings, necessary things for the dog etc. dog bowls, number of dogs per person, adapt for large or small dogs and filter the places total dog admission.
Sort by distance, best nearby, recommended and names.
About the place
Read about the place, dog rules, reviews, and rate.
Favorites
Save your favorite places.
Drag & drop the categories in preferred order.
Delete all favorites at once or one at a time.
QR-Scanner & Signboard
Look out for a Dogadvisor signboard and scan the QR code for more information about the place and the dog rules.
More. . .
Create or edit your profile.
View and edit your reviews.
Set personal settings.
For help, reach support.
04:23 min
Product demo
Ui
Style guide
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What is next?
Conclusions
3.I have learned that workshops are extremely rewarding, creative, and fun.
Future
Learnings
In the future, I want to prove or disprove my hypotheses by using the SUS method, to see if I have succeeded in creating a user experience that would have made dog owners' everyday lives easier.
1.I learned that solid research pays off. It felt safe to know that there was a lot of data to look back on throughout the process. Thanks to the research, I was able to be reminded of the users' pain points and needs.
2.It emerged during the test that the respondents associated the dog icon on the signboard with a dog ban. I'm glad I learned this lesson and understood the importance of choosing the right icons.
Thanks for the visit...and the scrolling!
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