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A User Experience Case Study
A User Experience Case Study
Due to the challenges I encountered in ensuring suitable care for my rabbit during holiday trips, I have chosen to focus this case study on the difficulty of finding appropriate alternative care for exotic animals. To address this issue methodically, I began by refining my problem definition.
Problem Statement
For exotic pet owners, it’s a constant challenge to find care, especially during the holidays. Every time when owners need to leave their pets for an extended period of time, these people need to find family or friends in order to get care for high maintenance and often times complicated pets. This is especially true if you’re an owner of an exotic animal.
Research Methodology:
> Conducted research through exotic pet forums on Reddit.
> Acknowledged the potential skew in results towards online resources and remote areas.
Participant Demographics:
> Over 30 surveys collected.
> Significant portion of participants in the 20-30 age group.
> Diverse range of exotic pets, including rats, conures, rabbits, snakes, and geckos.
Many participants had a care plan in place for their pets. About 70% relied on friends or family for pet care. Smaller portion used local pet boarders, rescues, or vet offices. Approximately 18% faced difficulties in finding care or resources in their area.
25% expressed concerns about their pet's comfort. 21% highlighted the lack of specialized knowledge in caring for their pets.
62% of participants were uncomfortable with the idea of using a pet-sitting app. None of the participants had ever used a pet-sitting app.
Establishing trust and promoting communication were identified as key factors for creating a successful app.
Through competitor analysis, I was able to distinguish how my platform was to be different from other platforms on the market.
While Rover is primarily focused on cats and dogs, there are individuals who offer their services for exotic pets, as evident from posts and comments on internet threads.
However, a significant number of these caregivers may not possess the necessary expertise to handle pets with more sensitive issues. The absence of a dedicated platform for finding specialized care options for exotic pets makes it less trustworthy as a suitable choice.
Similar to Rover, its audience is aimed towards dogs. It offers similar functionality to Rover, although it is clearly focused on the education of dogs and dog owners, along with other dog-related services.
Due to its limited audience, it is easier to create specific content and services, which is more challenging for an exotic pet caregiver app when considering the diversity of exotic pet care.
> Thoroughly considered user's concerns and anticipated challenges.
> Identified issues like lack of resources, travel plans, and exotic pet care.
> Pinpointed critical pain points, emphasizing the need for trust between user and caregiver.
> Utilized empathy map to explore user's emotions, concerns, and potential problems.
> Combined with user persona for comprehensive insights.
> Informative for subsequent prototyping process.
User Persona
Empathy Map
When analyzing the user flow, it became apparent that certain features were essential to enhance the overall experience.
These included:
> Recognizing the need for the ability to swiftly match and filter through user searches.
> Emphasizing making the process user-friendly and familiar with intuitive interactions.
> Identifying the importance of facilitating effective communication between caregivers and users.
> Acknowledging that matching before confirming the booking is critical for ensuring the alignment of needs and expectations.
> Understanding the necessity for a platform supporting comprehensive pet profiles.
> Recognizing the importance of accommodating users with multiple pets by allowing the input of information for various pet types and the option to add more than one pet to their profile.
During user testing, which included key interactions with the low-fidelity prototype, feedback indicated that users appreciated the overall functionality and readability of the app.
Feedback Summary:
Matching Phase: Concerns were raised about the intuitiveness of the app's matching phase and what to expect from the process.
Solution: Created a tutorial section to familiarize users with navigation motions and the matching process.
Flexible Search Filters: Feedback emphasized the need for flexible search filters, particularly regarding dates and pet-related parameters.
Solution: Added and iterated on a "Starting Search" feature, allowing users to ease into the search process before diving into detailed filters.
These are crucial interactions that played a key role in achieving user goals of building trust and creating a seamless user experience.
Features:
> Looking for Caregivers
> Interaction Tutorial
> Finding a Match
> Search Filter
> User Information
> Matching service for quick and efficient selection of caretakers for pets.
> Emphasis on reviews to build trust between users and sitters.
> Reviews provide valuable insights into the caregiver's reputation and service quality.
> Fosters a sense of reliability within the community.
> Implemented tutorial feature based on user feedback.
> Tutorial designed to guide users in navigating the interface and teaching key interactions.
> Aims to enhance user familiarity with the matching system.
> Matching system introduces a two-step process: expression of interest and confirmation of booking.
> Separation of expression of interest and booking confirmation allows for establishing a communication line between sitter and user.
> Facilitates discussion of needs and expectations before finalizing the booking.
> Aims to create a smoother and more reliable pet care experience.
> Search system emphasizes "what," "where," and "when" for user guidance.
> Allows users to specify search criteria, including order of caregiver matches.
> Criteria may include ratings, services offered, and proximity.
> Provides users with flexibility and customization in their search experience.
User Information Management:
> Crucial for keeping pet care plans up to date.
> Focus on managing pet profiles and personal details.
> Essential for addressing changing needs, especially for more sensitive animals.
Wide Selection of Pet Types:
> Allows for accommodating a diverse user group.
> Enables specifying the type of exotic animals.
With additional time for development and consideration, I would like to add:
> Addresses potential resource gaps in communities.
> Provides comprehensive information for users with varying needs.
> Facilitates connection with local pet owners, specifically targeting those with the same type of exotic pets.
> Promotes connectivity, trust, and a stronger sense of community.
