CityPups One Person Design Sprint

A collaboration with Springboard and Bitesize UX

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The Problem

People living in densely populated cities face barriers to adopting a dog, including small living areas, schedule/transportation methods, and access to dog-friendly outdoor environments. CityPups aims to help city-dwellers find dogs that fit their home and lifestyle in order to increase adoption rates, and find more happy forever-homes for adoptable dogs.

Research

Bitesize UX Provided background information on primary user research that has been conducted including user interviews with 7 participants and one in-person usability test on a website prototype.

After reviewing the primary research I created a user map to determine a path for a user to achieve their end goal. I then set out to conduct my own competitive research. I found that some of the most popular pet adoption websites such as AdoptAPet.com and Petfinder.com do not offer any guidance on which breed of dog would best fit your lifestyle needs. With more searching, I came across several websites that use a quiz to match you with a suitable dog breed, but do not provide you with actual dogs to browse. These sites included IAMS.com, AKC.com, and Dogtime.com.

Then, I came across Paws Like Me. This site quizzes you to match you with specific dogs. Once you submit the quiz, rather than giving you a list of breeds like the other websites, this one takes you directly to a search results page with real dogs! Since this website is most similar to the service CityPup is aiming to offer, I decided to dig deeper into their website.

PawsLikeMe’s simple home page with a clear call to action. More info about the process is listed under the “How It Works” tab.
The first step to get your match is to take a brief quiz, which took me about 5 minutes or less. Some of the questions seemed redundant.
After spending a few minutes taking the quiz, I was frustrated that I couldn’t see my results without creating an account first.
Search results page gave many options for filtering and sorting the results as an opportunity to refine your matches
I was surprised that my top results were all under a 40% match, but liked how they show which areas the matches are in
Initially I thought there wasn't enough info about the dog, but then I realized I had to click on Match Details to see this info

Day 1: Map

After being briefed on the project background and research to date, I began by drafting a possible end-to-end experience a user might have with the product by making a map

Day 2: Sketch

With the inspiration from my secondary research, created some quick sketches using the Crazy 8’s method to brainstorm ideas for the most critical screen, which I identified as the “select filters” step in the user map. I selected this step as the most critical because choosing a dog to fit your preferences and needs is the main goal of the CityPup Service. Without the ability to find the right dog for you, the app would be no different than its competitors.

From the 8 quick sketches, I chose the second one to create a three-panel board. I decided on this sketch because I think that a quiz is the most thorough and effective way to gather all of the information needed to provide the user with the best matches.

Day 3: Decide

In a normal design sprint, I’d spend Day 3 sharing my ideas with my team and selecting the idea that we want to focus on. Because I did a modified solo design sprint, I went with my solution sketch. I sketched a quick 9 panel storyboard to maps out each step of the experience that I’d want to test and clarifies what I need to prototype to get accurate and informative user feedback. This flow shows a user first finding the site through a google search, and then using the website to take their quiz and find their perfect dog match.

Day 4: Prototype

Day 4 was dedicated to prototyping my solution with a minimum viable product to gauge users reactions. For this design sprint, I only created prototypes of the screens that are absolutely necessary for a user to interact with to complete a specific task.

Figma Prototype

Day 5: Test

Participants:

5 participants were recruited through social media.

Usability Testing:

Remote moderated usability testing, 20-30 minutes each.

Summary of Findings:

The flow is simple and easy to follow
Users liked the quiz in order to get tailored search results
Users like the filters on the results page to further narrow search

Conclusion

This project was a modified version of the Google Ventures design sprint. This was a quick and efficient way to propose a solution to a problem without conducting any in-depth user research. Performing a GV design sprint alone faces challenges and constraints, as I was unable to collaborate with a team to brainstorm and ideate. I can see how this design structure would be beneficial for a team working in a lean agile environment.