Case Study
MiAu Animal Shelter
This case study presents the outcome of my UX Design certificate project, from Google. In this project, I aimed to address the needs of an animal shelter by creating an innovative mobile application to improve the adoption, volunteeering and donation process and create a better experience for the animal shelter patrons. This case study highlights the design process, demonstrating the value and impact of user-centered design in the context of a real-world problem.
Product Overview
MiAu is a local animal shelter that rescues mainly cats and dogs but also helps with the rescuing and care of other small animals like rabbits, bunnies and birds. MiAu is a small shelter and depends on donation and help of volunteers to run as well some partner companies.
The Problem
The animal shelter lacks digital presence, with no website or app to provide information about the shelter's mission, services, or available pets. As a result, potential donors, volunteers, and adopters face difficulty reaching out to the shelter or learning about the shelter's needs, resulting in a significant loss of potential support and impact for the shelter.
The Goal
To develop a mobile application for the animal shelter that enables potential adopters, volunteers, and donors to easily access information about the shelter, including available pets, volunteer opportunities, donation options, and upcoming events.
The app must be user-friendly, visually appealing, and accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.
User research
summary
I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I’m designing for and their needs. I had 3 different user groups: people who have adopt or want to adopt a pet, people who already donates or want to donate to animal shelters and people who volunteers or have interest in volunteering in a animal shelter.
The research revealed that even people eventually being able to get in touch with shelters and help - by going there or social media - most found hard to contact the shelters to see the pets available and many people do not donate for not having a secure way to do it and do not volunteer because they don’t know how to do it.
User research: pain points
1
Donate Online
Most shelters don’t offer a secure way to donate online. They usually work with bank transfers or cash donations.
2
How to volunteer
Most people don’t volunteer because they don’t know how and don’t know what are the jobs they can do or offer.
3
Availability
​Most people don’t have enough time to be going to shelters and would like to be able to browse online before visiting the shelters.
4
Online Presence
Most shelters don’t have a very useful website and are present only on social media.
Persona
Aline Santos
Problem statement:
Aline is a busy doctor who would like to be able to donate and volunteer in animal shelters to spend more quality time with her daughter.
Persona
Renato Albuquerque
Problem statement:
Renato writes a blog about cats but don’t have one. He wants to adopt a cat without having to travel to many shelters so he can have a star for his blog.
Renato's journey map
Goal: To adopt a cat without having to visit many shelters.
​
Renato’s Journey map shows how can be hard for a busy person to find the ideal pet to adopt without having online support to browse the availability of pets before going to the shelters.
Paper Wireframes
By doing the paper wireframes I could have a more clear vision of the elements that I wanted to include in the design that would address the user pain points as well make each process easy and quick to complete.
Digital wireframe
From the user research I could understand that the users want the process to be simple and easy, so I have kept the same idea from the paper wireframes to keep all the buttons and elements easy to see and access.
Usability study findings
Round 1 findings
Users like the big buttons to navigate.
Users found simple to navigate.
Users found the app useful.
Round 2 findings
Users would like to have donation confirmation before paying.
Users would like to have on screen info for each main flow.
Users would like to have an option to make recurrent donations.
Mockups
The goal was to make the design simple, easy and quick.
The main changes were made in the flow of donation payment and the addition of a introduction for each section of the app.
I have also added a navigation bar at the bottom of all the internal pages to make it easier for users to navigate without having to be pressing the back button many times.
Accessibility considerations
1
All the buttons have clear instruction (copy) to where they lead or what they do, so users of screen readers can navigate seamlessly.
All the pet images will have alt text with a quick description of the pet.
2
The navigation bar at the bottom will help users to navigate through the 3 main flows from anywhere in the app. Users will not need click the back buttons many times. The icons are clear and recognizable
3
The sections are well defined to make the flow quicker and easier. The app doesn't require high knowledge of technology to be used.
The Takeaways
Impact
The app will help current and future patrons of MiAu animal shelter to have more easy access to the shelter services. Users will be able to donate, volunteer and start the adoption process in a easy and quick way without having to leave their homes in a first moment.
The shelter will benefit by being able to attend to more people, have the process done easier and focusing in the welfare of the animals.
What I learned
I've learned that simple design is key when creating an app for small screens. Complex functionalities and graphics are not necessary to make the app interesting. Instead, we should focus on the main flows that solve the user's problem.
Next Steps
1
Design the sign up, sign in screens and other profile page screens.
2
Design the introduction screens.
3
Conduct another round of usability studies to validate whether the pain points users experienced have been effectively addressed and app is easy to use.