Pet Registration
Website
I created a conceptual registration process for a Veterinarian office while completing my Google UX Design Professional Certificate. The goal was to design a way for pet owners to register their pet on the My Pet Vet website utilizing knowledge in UX research, design, and testing.
Role: Individual project; UX researcher and designer
Time: May-July 2022
Tools Used: Pen and paper, Adobe XD, Google sheets, Google forms
DESIGN THINKING
PROCESS
Empathize
Define
Ideate
Prototype
Test
INTRODUCTION
My Pet Vet is a fictional Atlanta Veterinary Office, specializing in the care of senior pets. In order to meet growing client need, they plan to implement an online registration and appointment booking option on their website.
Busy pet owners want the ability to register and schedule their pet for vet visits without having to call the office.
Problem
Create an easy registration and appointment booking process for My Pet Vet.
Goal
EMPATHIZE
I conducted foundational research to learn about the users I'm designing for. I gathered feedback on their perspectives about scheduling vet visits for their pet to help figure out their needs.
Methodology
For my initial survey to understand the user, I conducted remote, unmoderated studies with 5 individuals who currently have pets. I decided to utilize this research method to ensure it was accessible to our target audience, and would meet the needs of those who are looking for veterinarian services.
Empathy Map
Using qualitative data, I mapped what the user says, thinks, feels and does to identify pain points in scheduling pet visits.
Persona
Taking what I learned from empathy mapping, I created a fictional persona that represents potential users.
The main group that was identified was busy pet owners who want a transparent, easy to navigate website that offers an online scheduling option. Many pet owners are stressed about pet visits and want more information about what a visit includes, including costs.
Grace is a busy teacher and mom who needs to schedule her pet’s vet visits online because she doesn’t have time to call the office during her work day.
Mapping Grace’s user journey illuminated the need for several specific considerations to account for in the appointment booking process: the temperament of the pet, type of visit to schedule, notification for due services, and specific list of available time slots. Additional elements included: cost for services, how the office accommodates pet needs, and addressing common pet parent concerns.
DEFINE
After crafting the persona, writing user stories, and considering edge cases, a problem statement was developed and pain points were identified.
Problem Statement
Grace is a busy teacher and mom who needs to schedule her pet’s vet visits online because she doesn’t have time to call the office during her work day.
Pain Points
Time.
Users think calling an office to schedule an appointment takes too much time.
Considers the pet.
Some pet owners are stressed about taking their pet to the vet due to their behavior.
Informative.
Vet sites should have an option to register their pet, but should have helpful information, like FAQs and common concerns for user.
I D E A T E
Taking these user needs into consideration, I began the brainstorming process to find feasible, desirable, and viable design ideas.
1
Competative Audit
I conducted a competitive audit with national competitors and local vet offices with websites. Below are gaps that could be addressed.
Ability to book appt from “about staff “page so if you find a vet you like, you don’t have to remember name of vet while you search site to book appointment.
Easy registration of pet, including option to upload forms.
Language that is clear for even the newest pet owner.
Smaller competators do not have the ability to schedule appointmetns online.
Competitors are not upfront about what services include and prices associated with services.
2
How Might We
Focusing on the registration and booking appointment feature, and considering my usability research, I brainstormed using how might we.
How might we provide an online pet registration for busy pet owners so that they can be confident in the services their pet needs before they get to their visit?
How might we provide online scheduling for busy pet owners so that they can schedule visits that fit their schedule?
How might we create an online registration process for busy pet owners so that they can do it on their own timeline?
How might we create an online pet profile for busy pet owners so that they can have tailored information for their pet?
3
Created Site Map
4
Created a User Story
PROTOTYPE
Using what I learned about users, I began the design process of the responsive website.
1
Paper Wire Frames
I began with paper wireframes to ensure I included all the needed elements. For the home screen, the ability to book an appointment is within the hero image for easy access. The pet portal is also featured as well as the vet office team. The mobile and tablet app have similar features with smaller, or pared down images.
Desktop
Tablet
Mobile
I designed the rest of the desktop pages, keeping in mind the need for a responsive website. Specifically, how these designs would have to be modified for different size screens.
2
Digital Wire Frames
Using Adobe XD, I transformed my paper wireframes into digital wireframes. During this process I realized I was adding too many features to the site. Since registration and booking are the primary functions, I re-focused and continued the ideation process, focusing on button placement, text size, and image location of primary site functions.
3
Low-Fidelity Prototype
The next step was adding interaction to my design, creating a low-fi prototype. Focusing on one user flow, the prototype takes the user through registering their pet and scheduling a well visit appointment.
TEST
I conducted a remote usability study with 5 users who currently are a pet owner, asking them to review the lo-fi app and give feedback about their experience.
Overall, users thought the process was easy and liked the ability to schedule appointments online. Though users seemed to have a positive experience with the app, the study showed a few design elements that needed further iteration.
Is it when you log in? Um it was under the specific page earlier when I was scrolling. It wasn't hard to find but when I was trying to look just for that.
I don't see that on there; if there were icons or images that represented each.
Ok, I like this. Ours doesn't have actual scheduling, thats neat.
1
The log in portal feature should be added to top nav bar.
Priorities
2
Visit types on the services page need to be more clear and paired with a visual.
3
Vet specializations should be included on the homepage in addition to the about us page.
4
The book appointment process should include a “first available appointment” as well as a “no preference for vet” option.
REDESIGN
Using the data gathered from my surveys, the following changes were made to the My Pet Vet responsive website.
Adding a login option to the top navigation bar (P)0 was my first design change, followed by adding images to services age (P1) and including vet specialization on the home page (P2). Finally, I focused on the booking appointment feature (P2), adding a no preference option on select a vet page.
1
Portal Log in added to Navigation bar.
2
Added specialization to homepage.
3
Added images to accompany text.
4
Added no preference option (for vet) in booking appointment pages.
Key Learning Point- I did not have the registration feature fully working for this part of the usability study. Unfortunately, this feature was not something I went into depth about on my initial surveys, leading to this feature lacking in user feedback.
Final Key Mock-Ups
Describe your image
Describe your image
Describe your image
Describe your image
Accessibility Considerations
1
2
3
Combine text with images
High-contrast text
Different size font for visual hierarchy
FINAL
THOUGHTS
Importance of multiple usability studies.
For this project I had the booking appointment feature ready for users, but not the registration process. Since I only did one round of usability studies, the registration process did not get user feedback.
One goal at a time.
I found myself trying to focus on too many aspects of the website, wanting it to meet too many needs of the user. It is best to tackle one area at a time.
Focusing on the user.
I had so much helpful feedback from my usability studies. Some of the design layouts I created weren’t working for the user like I thought they would. The user comes first!
Using Adobe XD.
Learning how to design, prototype, and iterate in a new and different tool.
Next Steps in the Responsive Website
Conduct another usability study on the current version of the desktop app.
1
Add even more text and image pairings to increase accessibility.
2
Include an option for user to get alerts sent to them via text or email in addition to being alerted in patient portal.
3