For my Capstone Project during my Master's course, I created a pet adoption app. I started by conducting open-ended user research, followed by interviews and surveys to gather information. Using this information, I then worked on building the information architecture of the application to arrive at the final design.
A mobile application solution aims to simplify the pet adoption process and provide a supportive community for pet owners. With the help of our platform, we hope to increase the adoption rates of animals in need and provide loving homes for pets across the country.
Adopting a pet can be a challenging process for many individuals, as they often face obstacles when trying to find and connect with adoptable pets. The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened this problem, with the closure of animal shelters and limited opportunities for in-person contact with animals. As a result, there is a growing demand for adoption services, but the limited resources available make it difficult for many people to find the right pet companion. In addition, many new pet owners lack the support and guidance needed to address the challenges of pet ownership, such as training, nutrition, and health care. These barriers can lead to disappointment, frustration, and even abandonment of pets. The need for accessible adoption resources and support is a significant problem that needs to be addressed to ensure that pets find suitable homes and new pet owners receive the assistance they need to provide proper care for their pets.
The research began with a literature review, which included reviewing more than 10+ peer reviewed research papers. Then, I conducted user interviews with 3 shelter homes, 10 pet owners.
I also crafted a survey to understand user challenges faced by people while adopting a pet from shelter homes. To identify our target audience the surveys were distributed among people who had previously adopted a pet from shelter home or want to adopt a pet. In the end, I received a total of 54 survey responses.
67% of the users found it challenging to find a suitable pet due to the limited information available on shelter websites, including outdated listings and a lack of filtration options.
78% of the users expressed frustration with the slow response times from shelters and the lack of clear communication about the adoption process
Users are interested in adopting pets for a variety of reasons, including as health companions and for their medical conditions, but may not know where to find pets with special needs, with 30% of survey respondents mentioning this.
40% people mentioned that they don't have any reliable platform except Facebook, to connect with other pet parents
To understand our target audience better, we created personas for adoptees, which represented goals and pain points collected through the contextual inquiry. Personas helped us to find a pattern as most of the adoptees had similar problems.
Based on the ideal path user would take to navigate through the app, I created this sitemap to plan how the screens would flow with the app.
To solve this problem, I designed a Pet Adoption Application - FUR-EVER which will provide an easy and accessible platform for pet adoption, enabling users to find their perfect pet companion and build community for communication and learning.
Features :
