Palz - Adopt The Perfect Pal.
Retro Rabbit, 2021
The dog adoption rate in South Africa is extremely low. In 2019, the adoption rate was as low as 12% and in some cases the adoption rate has been even lower. Palz is a unique app where people can view dogs that are available at shelters and show if they are interested in adopting a dog. Once the user's profile matches the dog, the adoption process can be set in place.
The Process.
I used the design thinking methodology to approach this project. Firstly, I started with my research to get a better understanding of the project and to understand where there is a gap in the market. Secondly, I took my research and defined what problem I wanted the application to solve and I also defined the user flow that will allow the application to solve the problem effectively. Thirdly, I started to iterate a few different wireframes and screen layouts. I also spent time iterating on different features for the app and then ultimately selected my top features for this MVP. The last two phases go hand in hand with each other. I am building a prototype ing Figma and conducting user testing to further improve the application.
Empathise
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
Understanding the problem.
Initially the idea was to create an app that would match different dogs to other dogs for social and breeding purposes. However after doing my online research and sending out a survey, I realised that the need for such an app is very low. I continued to do research about pet related apps and I quickly found a potential gap. South Africa's dog adoption rate at shelters such as the SPCA is extremely low. I decided to change the whole purpose of the app to encourage more people to adopt dogs from shelters. In this phase I only focused on dogs, but the app has the potential to include other pets as well.
Interviews
I conducted interviews with shelter owners and managers. I wanted to understand the process of adopting a dog and I wanted to discover the pain points. Plenty of shelters struggle to get people to visit the shelters since it is an unpleasant experience.
Surveys
I sent out a survey to a group of potential target users to gain more insight on what they would look for in an app like Palz. I also wanted some insight as to what problems people have experienced when adopting from a shelter.
Data & Documentation
I did quantitative and qualitative research by researching statistics about dog adoption and gathering documentation used by shelters. I received the adoption documents as well as the home inspection documents which helped when I created the on-boarding process
Defining The Problem.
What?
78%
dogs don't get adopted
Why?
Time & Effort
Adopting from a shelter is quite a lengthy process, which includes a lot of documentation and protocols. Most people don't want to go through this process.
Unpleasant Experience
Going to a shelter is an unpleasant experience for most people. A lot of people cannot deal with seeing animals in those conditions.
Circumstances
People might want to adopt an animal but they don't have a suitable environment or lifestyle to take care of a pet.
User Flows.
After conducting my research, I started to ideate different user flows. The flow had to be as fast as possible, simple and easy to follow so that users can complete the action of adopting their new pal as quick as possible.
Ideation & UI design
Wireframes.
I drew up low-fidelity wireframes to try and ideate different solutions. One of the pain points I wanted to create a solution for is the endless pile of paper work that needs to get filled in, in order to adopt a dog from a shelter. After a few iterations I came up with a filtering system. This way a lot of the questions will already be answered once a customer is onboarded onto the system.
What problems did I face during my ideation process?
Problem 1
One of my main problems was the sign up process. I wanted to gather as much information from the user as possible.
I iterated on different methods of how this can be done. My final iteration was to have "filter" tags where the user first selects tags related to what type of dog they are looking for and secondly then selects tags that relate to them and their environment
Problem 2
Most animal shelters use a paper-based system which means that the adoption process cannot be implemented as I had planned. This meant that I had to find a different approach to how the users will apply to adopt a pal. I decided that the user's contact details will be shared with the shelter once they "applied" to adopt a pal.
Prototyping & User Testing
User Testing Feedback
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Add a filter by shelter option;
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Add an on-boarding process to explain the "Favourite"and "Sponsor" buttons on the detailed view screen;
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Increase the size of the input fields to help with usability;
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Indicate that the cards on the Discover screen can be swiped; and
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Users had a clear understanding of the initial sign up process and could easily navigate through the app.
Final Designs
Log In & On-boarding Process
The on boarding process is designed to capture a lot of information from the user. This is necessary for the filtering and matching process of the app. The user is requested to enter their details, share their location and to select tags which are relevant to them.
Log In
Sign Up
Location Access
Perfect Pal
Lifestyle
The Discover Screen
The home screen displays cards of dogs that match the criteria that the user selected during their on-boarding process. A user can change these tags by selecting the filter button on the top right corner. If a user is interested in a specific dog they can tap on the card to reveal a more detailed view and more pictures. From the detailed view screen users can like a dog by tapping on the "heart" button on the bottom right corner or choose to add the dog to their sponsor list by tapping on the "sponsor" button on the bottom left corner.
Home
Detailed View
The Adoption Process
A user can apply to adopt a dog by navigating to the Your Pals screen. The user can select the apply button which will then opens up a pop-up confirmation message. Once the user has confirmed their actions the shelter will receive an email with the user's information and the user should be contacted regarding further requirements. The list can be edited by selecting the edit button on the top right corner. If a user has already applied to adopt a dog, the card will be highlighted and this dog cannot be removed from the list.
Your Pals
Confirmation
Your Pals - Updated
Your Pals - Edit
Sponsor A Pal
I have created the sponsor a pal feature to be more like a shopping experience. Users can scroll through the list of dogs and add them to their cart. The dogs added to the cart can be removed if needed. The user can then pay their outstanding balance through the in-app payment "PayFast".
Sponsor Screen
Notifications
Checkout Screen