Advanced pet healthcare solutions
MyVet
2021 Google UX Design Certificate
Challenge
Project Vision
Design a mobile ordering app for a veterinary practice
Duration: June - July 2021
Design an app that will allow pet owners to carry out key activities around the healthcare of their pets easily and conveniently, without the need to call or visit a veterinary practice in person.
Design a responsive website for pet registration
Duration: July - August 2021
Role: UX Designer
Professional pet healthcare is of great importance to pet owners who see their dogs and cats as valid family members who have a right to quality goods and services. Although they are highly committed to the well-being of their pets, working professionals only have limited time to dedicate to pet care related activities.
The relatively low level of automation in the Polish pet healthcare sector leaves pet owners with few technological options for integrating their pet care responsibilities into their busy schedules.
User Research Summary
In order to gather all the necessary data to create the user empathy maps and personas, I began the project with a series of interviews. The primary user research group for this study was professionally active pet owners with busy schedules and limited time to dedicate to pet healthcare activities.
The research revealed that users face issues with general veterinary service accessibility. Most veterinary clinics can only be reached by phone and, by and large, only within the operating hours. Making inquiries or scheduling a veterinary appointment by phone often requires several attempts to access the service. Pet owners form strong emotional bonds with their pets and consider them an integral part of their lives. Any struggles around providing their pets with the right type of care at the right time can be a source of major stress and significant emotional discomfort.
Project Personas
Competitive Audit
Applications designed specifically for use by veterinary practices are a relatively new offering in Poland, and two pioneering products are currently being launched onto the market. Consequently, I focused the competitive audit on the large pet care retailers, who offer a wide range of specialist pet care merchandise.
I researched the ordering functionalities of the web and mobile applications, analysing the user flow for ordering specialist veterinary pet diets, which otherwise can only be purchased in veterinary practices. While testing the apps I was interested in how easy it is for the user to navigate the rich product offering and ultimately complete their order.
In my first designs, I concentrated on the features that would allow pet owners to quickly and conveniently access the veterinary service offerings and easily navigate through the options.
Using paper wireframes, I tested several alternative layouts and arrangements to adequately display the core functionalities of the app:
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ordering prescription medicine refills
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shopping for specialist pet care products
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scheduling veterinary appointments
The aim was to make each of these equally accessible to the user.
Starting the Design
Low-fidelity Prototype
The chosen designs served as the basis for the low fidelity prototype.
To validate the app for its three major functionalities, I designed three distinct user flows for comprehensive testing in a moderated usability study.
Refining the Design
Incorporating the insights from the usability study, I enhanced the user flows and corrected the app navigation.
I then moved on to designing high fidelity mock-ups, adding pictures and colour to the original layouts.
Hi-fidelity Prototype
The refined mock-ups served as the basis for the creation of a high-fidelity prototype that encompassed the complete set of app functionalities.
Accessibility
The app features large, amply spaced buttons in contrasting colours, labelled with icons and text to increase readability and limit the error rate.
I targeted simple and straightforward user flows to ensure an enhanced user experience. A photo of the product, displayed during each step of the ordering process, aims to reduce the potential for accidental purchase.
Following the observations from the second round of usability testing, I added an additional product filtering option to support the user when browsing for and selecting their desired products.
Responsive Website
After finalizing the mobile application, I proceeded with the design of a responsive website for online pet registration.
The goal was to keep the registration form lean and interactive whilst collecting all the data necessary for successful pet registration prior the first veterinary visit. Along with user testing, I consulted a local veterinarian about this product to validate the scope of information to be gathered. The result was a sleek yet comprehensive form, allowing the user to register their pet with a veterinary clinic quickly and conveniently.