Overview
Value Proposition
Tom Pet Health Center is dedicated to providing exceptional pet care services. As part of our commitment to excellence, we have embarked on a project to design a user-friendly website that aims to simplify, expedite, and enhance the pet care process. Our goal is to make it easier for pet owners to access a wide range of services, ensuring the well-being of their beloved furry companions.
Pain Points
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Managing multiple appointments and services: Pet owners may find it challenging to coordinate multiple appointments and services for their pets, especially if they require different types of care or treatment from different providers.
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Limited availability and long waiting times: It can be frustrating for pet owners to encounter limited availability for appointments, especially with veterinarians. Long waiting times to see a veterinarian can also be a pain point, particularly when their pet needs immediate attention.
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Lack of convenience and accessibility: Some pet owners may face difficulties accessing pet care services due to location constraints or limited transportation options. This can make it inconvenient to access necessary care for their pets.
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Limited information and guidance: Pet owners may feel overwhelmed by the vast amount of information available regarding pet care, nutrition, and training. They may struggle to find reliable information and guidance to make informed decisions about their pets' well-being.
Features Overview
The core feature of the pet care website is to provide pet owners with convenient access to multiple services for their pets, all in one place. This feature aims to address the pain point of having to visit multiple locations or websites to find the necessary care for their pets. Here's how the core feature works:
Research
Method
Questionnaire
We designed a short questionnaire to gather quantitative data and better understand our potential users. The goal of this questionnaire is to gather insights and learn about the following aspects:
Who
Who are users?
How
How do they take the pet caring process?
What
What are their challenges?
User Interviews
We conducted remote interviews with five individuals to gain deeper insights into their experiences and stories. While the questionnaires provided us with valuable information to identify pain points, the real stories shared by our interviewees allowed us to develop a deeper understanding and establish empathy for our users.
During these interviews, we listened to their personal accounts and experiences related to pet care. By actively listening to their stories, we were able to uncover valuable insights that go beyond mere data points. These real stories provided us with a more holistic view of their needs, challenges, and emotions associated with pet care.
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Pet's behavior problems
Pet owners often face the challenge of dealing with minor behavioral problems exhibited by their pets, and they are eager to understand and correct these issues as quickly as possible. These behavioral problems can range from excessive barking, separation anxiety, aggression, or destructive behavior.
Pet's boarding problems
The boarding facility has a vaccine requirement, which means the pet needs to be up-to-date on vaccinations before they can be boarded. Pet owners then need to make another appointment with a veterinarian or a pet clinic to have the necessary vaccination done for their pet.
Emergency care
Pet owners prefer not to take their pet to an emergency room unless it is absolutely necessary. However, sometimes they have no choice but to go to the emergency room due to long wait times to see their regular veterinarian. The inconvenience and potential higher costs associated with emergency visits are a concern for pet owners.
Findings
Based on the questionnaire responses, we identified two distinct user personas among pet owners. The first persona, let's call them "Efficiency-focused Spenser," represents the majority of participants (49.8%). Spenser's main concern is the smooth and easy process of pet care. She values convenience, user-friendly interfaces, and streamlined experiences. Spenser wants to minimize any complexities or obstacles in managing her pet's needs.
California, CA
California, CA
The second persona, let's call "Cost-conscious Thomas," represents 42% of the participants. Thomas is primarily concerned with the amount of time and money spent on pet care. He wants to ensure that the services provided are efficient and cost-effective. Thomas is more likely to compare prices, seek discounts or affordable options, and prioritize value for money.
By establishing these user personas, we can tailor our pet care services to meet the specific needs and preferences of Efficiency-focused Spenser and Cost-conscious Thomas, enhancing their overall experience and satisfaction.
Use cases
Categorizing use cases into different categories can help identify common themes and challenges. Based on our brainstorming session, we have identified three categories of use cases, each with its own unique set of challenges. These categories are:
Medical Emergencies and Urgent Care
Challenges: Dealing with sudden illnesses or injuries, finding nearby emergency veterinary services, making quick decisions in critical situations, and managing the associated costs.
Travel and Boarding
Challenges: Planning for pet boarding or pet-sitting services, ensuring vaccination requirements are met, managing paperwork for travel, and addressing any anxiety or stress associated with separation.
Routine Care and Maintenance
Challenges: Ensuring timely vaccinations, managing medication schedules, maintaining proper grooming and hygiene, providing nutritious meals, and addressing minor behavioral issues.
Challenges
Operational
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Staffing and Capacity: Ensuring that the facility has an adequate number of trained staff members to handle the demand for services, especially during peak times or emergencies.
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Resource Management: Efficiently managing and allocating resources such as equipment, supplies, medications, and vaccines to meet the needs of the pets and maintain smooth operations.
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Scheduling and Appointment Management: Managing appointments and scheduling to accommodate the varying needs of pet owners while minimizing wait times and maximizing the utilization of staff and resources.
Psychological
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Emotional Bond and Attachment: Pet owners may experience emotional attachment to their pets, leading to concerns about their well-being and seeking the best possible care. They may feel anxious or worried when their pets are unwell or require medical attention.
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Decision-Making and Responsibility: Pet owners may face challenges in making decisions regarding their pets' health and well-being, especially when dealing with complex or unfamiliar medical situations. They may feel a sense of responsibility for their pets' welfare and struggle with choosing the right course of action.
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Financial Concerns: Pet care expenses, including veterinary visits, medications, and treatments, can pose financial challenges for pet owners. They may worry about the cost of care and face difficult decisions when balancing their budget with their pets' healthcare needs.
Convenience
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Accessibility to Services: Pet owners may struggle to find accessible and convenient pet care services, such as veterinary clinics, grooming salons, or boarding facilities, in their local area. Limited options or long travel distances can make it inconvenient to access necessary services.
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Appointment Scheduling and Wait Times: Booking appointments for pet care services can be time-consuming and may involve long wait times. Pet owners may find it challenging to secure appointments at preferred times, leading to inconvenience and delays in receiving necessary care.
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Coordination of Multiple Services: Pet owners often need to coordinate multiple services for their pets, such as veterinary visits, grooming appointments, and boarding arrangements. Managing multiple schedules, locations, and providers can be complex and time-consuming.
Design Principal
Seamless
Flexible
Simple
Ensure a seamless user experience where pet owners can easily navigate between various functionalities without encountering unnecessary barriers or interruptions.
Create a flexible system that caters to the diverse needs and use cases of pet owners.
Emphasize simplicity in the design of the product to minimize complexity and cognitive load for users.
Ideate
Brainstorm
The team sketched wireframes to explore various design concepts for the pet health care website. These wireframes served as a starting point for further discussions and iterations. The team held whiteboard sessions, where they collaborated to refine and enhance the wireframes, incorporating the identified pain points and improvement opportunities.
Here are some examples of our discussions
1. Why would pet owners choose the full service pet health center? Would it be easier for pet owners if a pet clinic or some pet service was closer to their home, even if it only provided a single primary service?
It’s always nice to have a pet service facility close by, but the full service pet health center is always better if the pet owner has a choice.
Scenario #1 pet owner needs to send their dog to a boarding facility.
Most boarding facilities have specific vaccine requirement. If the pet doesn’t have it, then the pet owner might need to take the pet to another place to get the vaccines. In this case, the location is not a main concern anymore. The full service pet health center will be more convenient.
Scenario #2 The pet has a serious problem
Not all pet clinics provide full range pet services. For instance, some of them perform surgeries. The pet will be transferred to another clinic if the pet needs a surgery.
2. Can we have lower prices? Half of the users care about price.
No, there was a consensus that implementing lower prices might not be feasible or aligned with the primary focus of providing a smooth care process. The team recognized that while price is an important consideration, it should be balanced with the overall value and quality of the services provided. Offering lower prices could potentially compromise the resources, expertise, and level of care that the pet health center aims to provide. The primary goal of the product is to ensure a seamless and comprehensive care experience for pet owners.
The Sparks of Thoughts
Idea 1: More features
Idea 2: Pet training
Some pet boarding facilities don’t accept pets with bad behaviors. What if the facility could offer pet training services? Then, the pet’s bad behaviors won’t be a problem anymore.
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Dad told me that he is going to have a business trip, and he will send me to a pet boarding place. I’m so excited that I will make friends there and have others I can play with! Everyone will like me.
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I had an interview there. I’m so excited to meet friends there, but
people are afraid of me because I jump on people. I just want to play and snuggle, and show them that I like them. I failed the interview, and that place can not accept me. Dad and I are both very sad.
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What if the pet boarding place offers pet training services? The pet could take the class while the pet stays there. Then, the pet’s behaviors won’t be a problem anymore.
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Idea 3: Pet health insurance
Pet owners are often confused about how to get reimbursement from their pet health insurance. What if the pet health center works with the insurance company closely? Is it possible to make the reimbursement process smoother and faster?
Design
Plan
Experience Flow
Pet owners have difficulty with pet health providers which don't offer full services. That is a primary pain point for users, so we used that knowledge to create a sitemap. Our goal was to make things simple, clear and easy to use. We finalized our design into a sitemap for the team to clearly understand our design system.
Explore
Low-fidelity Exploration
Usability Study
Listening to user feedback and implementing their suggestions is a crucial part of the design process. It shows a commitment to improving the user experience and addressing their pain points effectively. Based on the feedback received, you made changes to various aspects of the design.
Findings
Page Organization:
- Restructured the layout and organization of pages to enhance usability and make information more accessible.
- Implemented intuitive page hierarchy and consistent formatting across different sections of the website.
Navigation Bar:
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Simplified the navigation menu by reorganizing and grouping related pages together.
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Improved the clarity of menu labels to ensure users can easily understand and navigate to the desired sections.
Home Page:
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Streamlined the content on the home page to provide a clear and concise overview of the pet health center's services and benefits.
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Incorporated visually appealing elements, such as high-quality images or illustrations, to create a positive and engaging first impression.
