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Overview
Fostering Connections is an app designed to help new dog fosters feel more confident and prepared to care for their dogs. This app connects fosters of all ages and experience levels through an organized forum, as well as provides training and informational resources.
Role
This was an individual project, so everything showcased in this case study is my own work. I did everything from user research to concept ideation to prototyping and testing.
Duration
4 months
User Interviews
I started this project with some user research. I was looking for any discrepancies in the pet adoption process. I conducted a total of 9 interviews with a mixture of pet owners and former dog fosters. I found that becoming both a pet owner and a dog foster is really easy, and shelters and rescues don't provide enough resources to help with acclimation and training. For this reason, I decided to shift my focus to dog fostering.
User Survey
Continuing with my research, I sent out a Google survey to several dog fosters and got over 100 responses. Apart from letting the dog go, the most difficult part of fostering is dealing with dogs who have behavioral issues. I also learned that the most helpful resource to new fosters is other/older fosters. This is why Facebook groups and mentors were the most common resource mentioned.
How Might We Statement
Based on the amount of people I encountered who felt ill-equipped to handle their foster dogs, as well as the surprisingly few resources that rescues provide to their fosters, I decided to move forward with this problem statement.
Brainstorm
I conducted a brainstorming session with one other designer. We brainstormed for 30 minutes and came up with 57 ideas that were sorted into 4 different categories. From these concepts, I narrowed down and refined 3 concepts, all of which I got user feedback on.
Refined Concepts
From my brainstorming session, I narrowed down to 3 concepts and refined them. Then, I sent out a survey to several dog fosters asking them to express their concerns with each concept and rank them from best to worst. Based on the results, I decided to move forward with the Connecting Fosters concept.
Wireframes
Once I had the final concept nailed down, I began sketching some analog wireframe ideas for the main pages. Then, I converted them into digital mockups with Adobe XD. Once I settled on a layout, I moved on to the other pages of the app.
User Testing
After creating my first prototype, I set out to do some user testing. I ended up doing 2 rounds of user testing, making the suggested improvements on the app along the way.
Final Prototype
Here is the final prototype! The main features of this app include the rescue home page, an organized forum, training resources, and a 24/7 help request button.
Testimonies
I got very positive feedback from the dog fostering community - people saying they wished the app were available, and that they can't wait to use it.
Takeaways
Working on this project has taught me the importance of not having any biases or solutions in mind when entering the research phase. The interviews and user research may provide pivotal insights, and that is where the solution should be derived from.
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