We Save Each Other is the final product of a 3 month UX Design Intensive course with General Assembly. During this bootcamp, I was tasked with creating a product in which I was responsible for delivering the full host of UX artifacts. I wanted to focus on something that combined two of my passions: dogs and mental health. To begin the process of creating this product, I first began with hypothesizing a problem statement.
Problem Statement
Initially I wanted to solve the problem of pet owners and their expectations of a certain breed. Upon conducting an Exploratory Analysis, I discovered that solutions for that specific problem already existed. Furthermore, I noticed a gap for users who need to locate and adopt a service dog.
Final problem statement
Users need a way to effectively adopt service dogs or dogs that can be trained for service, without increasing anxiety symptoms via different avenues (websites, animal stores, shelters).
Initial Problem Statement
I suspect is that there is a disconnect with potential dog owners and their needs and expectations, leading to more dog returns, abandonment, and euthanization.
Research
Research was a huge factor in creating the final product. I identified several competitors and did a thorough comparison of them through the use of Exploratory Analysis (competitive analysis, feature comparison matrix, and competitive mapping). Alongside researching different competitors, I also conducted several interviews to identify my target audience as well as their needs.
Exploratory Analysis
findings
Through research, I discovered that the target audience for this product are individuals aged 19-65 with both diagnosed and non-diagnosed anxiety. Interviewees were interested in finding both trained and trainable dogs who live near their area and fit their needs. The key motivations for these interviewees were to have peace of mind, increased quality of life, and companionship.
“I don’t go out as much, and having a dog be there for me would change my lifestyle - Anonymous”
Personas
James
Bio and Demographics:
28 year old African American male Army Veteran.
Deployment: Afghanistan
Diagnosis: PTSD and Panic Disorder
Behaviors:
Isolates self in house and goes out for necessary tasks due to anxiety and fear of triggers.
Uses exercise as a form of controlling responses to triggers.
Stories and Scenarios:
There are moments where I go out to the store to buy some milk, but then I become startled by the noise of a car back-firing, when this happens, I go back into war mode and am instantly panicked. I need help in controlling this and becoming “normal” again.
Goals and Needs:
Help in reducing anxiety and fears
To adopt a dog that can be trained to help in the recognition of triggers
Alice
Stories and Scenarios:
“Living away from home and going to school can be hard. I find myself getting sad easily and super anxious when I have to study for an exam. I would love to have someone to come home to.”
Goals and Needs:
To have companionship, and to have a dog that is able to cuddle after having a stressful day
Bio and Demographic:
22 year old Caucasian graduate student.
Living away from home for the fist time.
Diagnosis: None
Behaviors:
Goes to school full time and spends most of her time at home studying.
Stays at home during free time due to anxiety
Artifacts
With my initial research process complete, I set out to create the bones of the We Save Each Other App. I began by sketching out a user flow and a site map. I later moved on to sketching out low fidelity wireframes and creating high fidelity wireframes through the use of the Sketch App.
User flow
The intentions behind creating a user flow were to understand the step-by-step process a user may experience in order to have a successful service dog adoption. Also, the user flow was created to predict any roadblocks that the user may have while utilizing the product.
Site Map
I wanted to simplify the navigation to ensure that the user always knows where they are and can recover from errors quickly.
Wireframe Sketches
While sketching the initial wireframes, I wanted to focus on the happy path. The sketches focus on on-boarding, viewing dogs in your area, viewing dog details, messaging the owner and receiving a confirmation message.
Lo-Fi Sketched Wireframes
At this point in the process, I created low fidelity wireframes to solidify the information architecture, layout, and overall functionality the application.
Hi-Fi Wireframes
