TI JIA WEI
TIMELINE
ROLE
August 2022 - September 2022
UX Designer - user research, wireframing, prototyping and usability testing.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Potential animal adopters are not able to find enough information on animal shelter websites in Malaysia. This leads to uncertainty during the early adoption process without troublesome phone calls or unnecessary visits to the shelter.
FINAL USER-CENTERED DESIGNS
1. Users want to adopt from a legitimate and trustworthy shelter
General shelter information including staff and testimonials displayed on the homepage so that users can make up their mind about the shelter.
2. Users want to find animals with specific characteristics that fit their goals
Filter feature available for users to quickly find animals that suit their needs. For our user persona Zi who already has one pet, the "gets a long with other pets" filter would help him find what he needs quickly. Our compassionate adopter Macey on the other hand, can select the "under treatment" filter to find a sick animal in need.
3. Users need to know more about the animals before deciding to visit the shelter
Users can view important information about the animals like whether they are vaccinated, dewormed or neutered. They can also read about the animals' personalities and medical backgrounds, as well as any adoption fees required, which helps them decide if they want to proceed with the adoption process.
4. Users want a convenient way to inform the shelter that they are visiting
Users can arrange their visits to the shelter directly on the website. This is convenient for users who prefer not to make unnecessary calls.
5. Users want to learn more about pet care from a trusted source
Users can view pet care information page which compiles common concerns that pet owners have. This is especially helpful for first-time pet owners.
USER RESEARCH
I interviewed both potential and experienced animal adopters to find out their needs throughout the adoption process as well as any challenges they have previously faced.
user personas
IDEATION
I constructed 2 user journey maps of the 2 personas to understand what both new and experienced animals adopters would go through while using a shelter website.
DESIGN PROCESS
digital wireframe prototype (try me!)
I conducted a usability test on 5 users (aged 20-60, different backgrounds) using the lo-fi prototype below.
affinity mapping
From the usability tests, I compiled and analysed the information using affinity mapping, then designed the mockups based on the users' feedback. The main insights and design changes are shown in the following section.
design revisions after usability tests
TAKEAWAYS
This shelter website was designed to give users their ideal adoption flow, however there are a few constraints and limitations to my designs.
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Users cannot reserve animals even though they schedule their visits as the animals might get adopted before the scheduled time. We will need to implement a feature which automatically emails users when the animals they scheduled visits with are adopted.
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Users may not show up in time for their scheduled visits. A possible improvement to this would be to collect a deposit from users when they schedule a visit, which can go to shelter donations if users don't show up.
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Shelter may not have enough manpower to input and update all the animal information and prepare for scheduled appointments. This can be overcome by restructuring staff responsibilities and introducing new procedures which will ultimately save their time and improve the efficiency of the adoption process. A successful website will drive more users to their page and increase adoptions, donations, volunteer activity and awareness for strays, which will help curb the stray population in Malaysia.