Adoptable

Group Project - HCD Acumen
‍‍Project Type: Designing for Social Good
‍Duration: 6 weeks
‍Role: Research, Interviews, Userflow, Design
‍Team: Kennedy Patlan, Robert Alexander, Przemek Jalowski, Chris Wong, Wendy Lee‍

I contributed to the development of a mobile app that aims to improve the adoption process for pets. Through expert interviews, research synthesis, and user testing, we created search features, showcased available pets, and facilitated communication with shelters, with the goal of enhancing the adoption experience and educating adopters.

Problem

Adopters face lengthy processes, lack of information, and limited follow-up, while shelters struggle with bias, breed preferences, and a need for increased adoption rates. Misconceptions about shelter pets include difficulties in training, trust issues, and health concerns.

How Might We: Provide a better adoption experience with care to the animal and adopters comfort throughout the entire process?

Solution

1. Book and schedule appointments on the app for in-person or virtual meet & greet
2. Geo location - nearby shelters show adoptable pets (in your city)
3. ‍Profile Settings - Sort and Filter match preferences
4. ‍Breed info with pet stories (sync to website)
5. ‍After adoption service - in-app ability to send email for adoption enquiries
6. ‍Pet Stories - marketing opportunity for shelters, showcase top pets/ featured pets
7. ‍Favorites - keep track of interested pets and nearby shelters

App Walkthrough

Reflection

Given more time, I would enhance the experience by implementing the following improvements:

1. In-app Fact of the Day: Provide bite-sized adoption knowledge through daily facts to educate users effectively.
2. Testimonials from Rescue Handlers: Include quotes from handlers on pet profiles to boost marketing and provide social proof.
3. Chatbots: Introduce chatbot support to alleviate shelter workload by automating responses to common user inquiries with readily available FAQs.
4. Comments Section: Enable a comments section on pet profiles to facilitate easy communication between shelters or handlers and users, allowing for swift responses.

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