Dog walking app
Role
Product designer
Duration
10 weeks
Tools
This case study presented the challenge of identifying the most effective methods for collecting user and industry information, despite having limited access to pre-existing data. To address the data gap, I conducted thorough competitive research and user interviews to identify the core pain points affecting key engagement and retention metrics.
I synthesised the research findings to inform key design decisions and propose the implementation of a listing model, which is uncommon in pet care services and is inspired by freelancing apps. Finally, I conducted live usability tests to identify bottlenecks and iterate on the booking flow for a smoother user experience, and to create baseline data from the tests as a starting point for future measurements of the Minimal Viable Product (MVP). In addition to creating the brand variables, styles, and an initial component library to support the development of a scalable design system.
Figma, Illustrator, Canva
The problem:
Varying prices and lack of responsiveness to inquiries
Busy dog owners already have their fair share of frustration when they can't attend to their active pet's needs, and sometimes finding someone to care for their pet can be a stressful task. Sorting through all the pet walkers/sitters in your area, shortlisting a few and messaging them one-by-one to see who is available, and not to forget, the fees vary from one walker/ sitter to the other, which makes it very hard to have a fixed budget.
The solution:
Customer Listings
Dogo's listing model enhances your experience by letting you create listings based on your requirements and budget.
Get responses from keen and active pet walkers/sitters, without the need to chase after them.
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Research:
Understanding the market and user needs
By conducting competitive and feature analysis to understand the competitive landscape of dog walking apps in the UK, as well as interviewing dog owners to identify the motivations and challenges faced by dog owners.
Most available apps provide interesting features that focus on tackling the trust issue by providing walkers/sitters in your local area, ratings and reviews, insurance, live walk updates, and easy-to-follow and intuitive
user experience.
This research served as a foundation to understand the problem and make informed business decisions.
User interviews - qualitative insights:
Inability to budget, feeling restricted and don't have much say in the process...
Users expressed concerns about the challenges in budgeting for regular dog walking and sitting bookings, along with perceived restrictiveness and lack of control.
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Pain points definition:
Varying prices and lack of responsiveness to inquiries
Research, customer feedback, and user interviews consistently highlighted issues related to varying prices which hindered the users from having a fixed budget for their regular bookings, and at times, poor responsiveness to inquiries.
Persona define:
Meet Harry!
A busy marketing manager who seeks a solution to accommodate his active dog Rita's multiple daily walks while he's working from the office. His goals include having a fixed budget for walkers and the ability to book sitters for shorter durations. However, Harry faces frustrations with the varying monthly costs and concerns about the safety of his information and dog's photos publicly
shared in the app by the walkers.
Solution Ideation:
User flow for the listing model, along with the
ability to find and message a walker/sitter directly
Following the identification of pain points, the
focus shifted towards developing solutions.
The optional listing model was introduced as
a potential approach, which was further explored through user-flow mapping and
low-fidelity wireframes.
Solution Ideation:
Low-fidelity wireframes
Initial design system:
Styles, variables, and components
Colour variants
Test:
Usability testing
The usability testing phase involved conducting 30-minute Zoom meetings with two users to evaluate their ability to create an account and find walkers, with the objective of:
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Observing if the users accomplish the specified task, and note any struggles they encounter while completing the task.
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Identify areas of the design that require change or improvements.
Takeaways
A key takeaway from this case study is the valuable insights gained through user research, feature analysis, and user testing. I discovered aspects of the app design and the product development process I wouldn’t have known otherwise.
