Lambda

▍Project Overview

I. Background

Lambda is a project that was completed by six members within two weeks for the Designer Contest held by Unblock. In this project, I worked as both a UX Designer and Project Manager, with a focus on the UX research and project schedule.

II. Goal

Improve adoption rates and optimize the adoption process at public animal shelters.

III Problem Statement

Based on the results of research studies, there are three problems that public animal shelters are facing.

Limited spacing

Labor shortages

Adoption education

IV. Solution

• ‍Psychometric tests assist potential adopters in finding suitable pets:
  I proposed the integration of psychometric tests to help match adopters with pets that align with their preferences, lifestyles, and personalities, increasing the likelihood of successful and long-term adoptions.
  
  Additionally, I observed that Taiwanese users enjoy sharing psychometric tests with their friends. By incorporating a feature that encourages users to share these tests with their social circles, it has the potential to increase product exposure during the initial phase.
  
• Adoption payment supports the adopters and public animal shelters:
  I suggested an adoption payment package that offers a comprehensive range of services and benefits. This package includes essential components such as pet microchipping, neutering, annual pet insurance, veterinary examinations, and a 20% donation to public animal shelters. By incorporating these services, we not only meet the necessary requirements after adopting an animal but also contribute to the daily operations of public animal shelters.
  

▍Research

Together with the UX Researcher, we conducted multiple research studies to gain a better understanding of the adoption process at public animal shelters and the needs of potential adopters. Following this, the UX Researcher developed a persona and user journey map to gain deeper insights into our users.

Competitive Audit

I observed that our direct competitors primarily focus on promoting pet adoption, while our indirect competitors concentrate on areas such as pet education, lost pet services, and providing data on public animal shelters.

Questionnaire

The UX researcher and I collaborated on creating a questionnaire to gather valuable insights into the factors users consider when adopting a pet. Below, I have organized the data collected from the participants.

• Goal
  Understand what types of information are important for adopters.

User Interview

The UX researcher and I collaborated on developing an interview guide. Then we conducted the interviews in the role of the interviewer.

• Goal
  Identify any problems that adopters encounter during the adoption process.
• Insight
  1. Adopters need to search for adoption information across various platforms.
  2. Some platforms lack a filter function, which makes it difficult for adopters to refine their search options when looking for pet adoption information.
  3. Adopters need to seek out information on how to properly care for and educate their pets after adoption.

Persona

The UX Researcher created a Persona based on the results of the User Interview. Amber wants to adopt a dog but faced some challenges during the adoption process.

User Journey Map

The UX researcher created a User Journey Map consisting of three stages: Before Adoption, During Adoption, and After Adoption. This map was designed to gain a deeper understanding of the user's journey throughout the adoption process and to develop solutions that enhance the overall user experience.

• Before adoption:
  How might we help adopters find a suitable pet for them?
  How might we provide comprehensive adoption information on one platform?
• During adoption:
  How might we optimize the adoption process for adopters and animal shelters?
• After adoption:
  How might we provide education for adopters to better care for their pets?

▍Wireframe

The front-end developer designed an interface that presents the essential information users are interested in, drawing inspiration from dating apps and the questionnaire results. Furthermore, machine learning techniques can be employed to improve the accuracy of matching by analyzing labels associated with personality, appearance, and health history.

▍Product Iteration

I collaborated with a UX researcher to conduct a usability test aimed at enhancing our product. Additionally, I developed two prototypes for participants to evaluate and provide feedback on.

Usability Test

• Goal:
  Check whether the psychometric test and the pets matching flow have anything that might confuse users.
• Task:
  1. Complete the Psychometric test.
  2. Like the big dogs.

I. Homepage

• Dislike button:
  The X button could be interpreted as the user rejecting the animal and not giving them a new home, which could cause negative feelings. The new "Next" button is a more neutral option.
• Check pet details:
  Users were unable to understand the function of the eye button, so we redesigned it to a right arrow icon to indicate that it leads to more details.

II. Psychometric test

• Psychometric test options:
  Users were having difficulty choosing an answer because there were only two options, both of which were acceptable to them. Therefore, the psychometric test questions needed to consider more diverse options to facilitate easier decision-making for users.
• Previous question button:
  Users wanted the ability to revise their answers to previous questions, so we added a "Previous Question" button in subdued gray text to encourage intuitive answers. We also created a "Next Question" button to prompt users to review their responses before moving on.

▍Prototype

Psychometric test

Choose a stray dog

▍Takeaway

It was a challenging task for us to complete an MVP in two weeks, but we were able to finish the product design processes in UX research and UI design. Here is some feedback we received from the judges:

• Further research is needed to understand the factors that influence people to adopt pets and to define different personas.
• The interface design should consider how to prevent users from getting confused while using the product.
• The visual design of the logo should be simplified, and the brand colors are too strong.

I am glad to have collaborated with my teammates during the contest. We learned a lot about how to work effectively, prioritize our tasks, and present our design process clearly to the judges. Thanks to everyone's effort!

After reviewing our project details, here are some additional thoughts:

• We did not consider the adoption flow for users and public animal shelters to progress our solution "Adoption payment".
• We need to clarify the function of the "Like" button on the homepage, as users may be confused and think that clicking it will progress the adoption flow instead of saving pets.