Take a Proactive Approach to Pet Adoption

Online profile builder removes the barrier of the lengthy, frustrating rescue pet adoption process with a secure profile containing the pertinent information rescue organizations require.

Summary

PetReady is an association of animal shelters and rescues. They partner with these organizations all over the country to raise awareness and foster the discoverability of pets waiting for a home. They are in need of a responsive website design to cover this purpose. Additionally, we renamed and rebranded the product.

User research confirmed that there is no lack of online sites to find pets. Finding “the one” is a heart-level decision that can only be made in person, however, users want to be able to find them with less difficulty and discouragement. A perfect animal could be waiting too long due to a time consuming, often unrealistic application process. 

The solution is an online profile builder that showcases a person’s qualifications as a pet adopter. Think of this as “TSA precheck” for pet adoption. There will be a profile page created that users can proactively send to rescues to provide rigorous information they require — getting approved faster to adopt their new pet waiting for their forever home.

Scope of Work

Research began with a competitive review to identify trends and online resources for pet adoption and identify opportunities. In person interviews were conducted with participants who have recently adopted pets. A contextual inquiry was performed at the local Humane Society and Animal Care/Control to observe and speak with volunteers. This information helped us understand the pet adoption process, the users expectations online and in person, their frustrations, and unmet needs.

• Patterns that emerged: Everyone took their first steps casually searching online. When they became interested in a particular animal online, they were compelled to go meet them. Often, that animal was not the one they ended up with. Adopting from a shelter is easy and fast in terms of guidelines and acceptance process. Everyone adopted on a weekend. Distance was not a factor, up to a two hour drive was reasonable. 

• Their pain points revealed: An inconsistent, time consuming application process different for each organization. Online pet listings are not always updated when an animal is no longer available for adoption, resulting in disappointment. Unlike shelters, rescues rely on volunteers often with limited bandwidth, so coordinating logistics for interviews and home visits to determine eligibility to adopt is detrimental to the process — leaving an animal to wait even longer for their forever home.

• Surprises: An exact animal is not what people adopt. They have a general criteria, but the actual “moment of truth” heart connection is what seals the deal.  Shelters, like The Humane Society, are municipalities of a town with some paid staff. Rescues are all donation and volunteer run, often with a longer, rigorous application process. 

Strategy

From the research data gathered, an empathy map was built and from there, a persona was developed to capture the main user group. Kayla the Caregiver is a professional who grew up with a dog and now that she has a home of her own, is ready to add a pet to her life. Her initial search online gave her a feel for her local rescues that take in the types of dog she’s desiring. She’s gone to those rescue sites and filled out their lengthy applications and is waiting to hear back from them. 

Digging further into what motivates Kayla, a user flow was built to further understand her goals and needs. The frustrations and logistics for approval for adoption from rescues was a key pain point from our research. So, we focused on one flow: have Kayla build a profile for dog adoption.

Interaction Design

Our research revealed a big gap in the pet adoption approval process, particularly going through a pet rescue. Often, rescues are volunteer run with more involved standards for adoption approval. We focused our design thinking in key areas:

• Enable the user to prequalify themselves with a profile builder they could present to rescues. This would replace the difficult logistics of phone interviews, in-person home visits, and pertinent background checks could be addressed through a clearly presented profile.

• Mobile first was essential since users will take photos and video from their phone, so the interaction needed to be straightforward, clear and convenient.

• The user is led through sections of questions to answer and images to submit, which produces an in-depth profile; complete with history, their ideal pet, photos, videos, references, and background checks in a convenient secure package.

Designs were first sketched out on paper then built into low-fidelity wireframes in XD that mirrored the user flow. The wireframes were then used to create a prototype for usability testing. The task was to build a profile for dog adoption and get their secure link at the end.

Interface Design

Based on research, the interface of the site needed to feel friendly, easy and helpful. The approach to the visuals was to strike a balance between playful and reliable since getting a pet is an emotionally driven decision, but a seal of approval connotes trustworthiness – if users are signing up for a background check, let’s make it painless and pleasant.

Prototype & Test

After the initial set of UI designs for the pages of the primary task flow was developed, these were joined in a high-fidelity prototype built in XD. The intention of this first prototype was a means to generate as much learning as possible and evaluate choices around a visual design, usability, and branding.

User Testing

Objective: ask participants to build a profile for dog adoption and get their secure link at the end.

Participants: the prototype was tested with 4 participants. Among them were people who had recently adopted a pet through a shelter or rescue organization.

Results: the prototype tested great on usability and all users completed the task flow without difficulty, however, we identified several key areas to refine and responded by implementing the following solutions.

Next Steps

Test the priority revisions and make any easy, necessary changes and handoff to developers. A phased approach would be to design and test a user flow once a person sends their secure profile link to a rescue organization. It would help us understand how rescues might utilize the profiles to streamline approvals and enable successful placement of animals into their forever homes.

Reflection

This was an eye opening project. People were visibly moved when I asked them to take me back to the day they adopted their pet. I was able to get a better understanding of the difference and challenges between animal shelters and rescues. I have a deeper appreciation for the work they do. Having an opportunity to think of a better way to get pets into their forever homes was really enjoyable and meaningful.

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