Competitive Analysis

To collect data, we distributed surveys to 50 pet owners and conducted in-depth interviews with 8 participants. During these interviews, participants were given behavioral tasks navigating the UC Davis Vet Hospital website to observe their processes in making appointments and accessing pet health information.

Survey says...

Hard Data Obtained

From our surveys and interviews, we gathered quantitative and qualitative data on several key metrics:

• Percentage of pet owners struggling with medical record keeping
• Preference percentages between telemedicine and physical check-ups
• User satisfaction ratings and pain points regarding current veterinary interfaces

Key Takeaways

1. User Pain Points: Identified significant challenges including difficulties in record keeping, variations in experience between telemedicine and physical visits, and complexities in accessing pet healthcare information.
2. Design Priorities: Emphasized the importance of creating a streamlined interface that minimizes sensory overload and enhances usability for users of varying ages and technical proficiencies.

Demographic Makeup

Participants in our research varied in terms of age, occupation, educational background, and pet ownership demographics. This diversity allowed us to capture a broad spectrum of perspectives and tailor our design solutions accordingly.

✋ Pause!

Pet health is a broad topic, and there was difficulty narrowing down the direction we wanted the app to go in. After much discussion, we changed our original How Might We Statement to fit the findings of the surveys and interviews more. Key features like record keeping, appointment scheduling, and vet messaging made it to later iterations - however, we decided to reduce our focus on the clinic finding aspect, as we felt that kind of research was not central to our app's purpose. Another simplification included consolidating pet profile editing to the home page alongside important notifications.

Usability Testing

For usability testing, we wanted to analyze any pain points and the overall user experience of the following tasks:

• Complete onboarding process
• View, reschedule, and cancel appointments
• View vaccinations
• View and add medical records of specific pets

We conducted 8 usability tests, with all of the participants being students, ages 19-22. From these tests we learned:

A/B Testing

After implementing changes in our prototype to reflect our findings from usability testing, we wanted to understand user preferences on the following features:

• Viewing a particular medical record
• Rescheduling/canceling an appointment
• Placement pop-up for additional vaccine information

We conducted A/B Testing with 11 participants by having them vote between different visual representations for each of these tasks and implemented their feedback into our final design.

Implementing Usability Testing Findings into the Prototype

Incorporating usability testing findings into the prototype was a critical step in ensuring our design met the needs and preferences of pet owners. Some of the findings included preferences for button placement, readability concerns with login screens, and the desire for a minimalistic yet professional aesthetic.

Transitioning from Mid-fi to Hi-fi

The mid-fi prototypes provided a foundational understanding of user flows and interaction patterns. As we progressed to hi-fi prototypes, our focus shifted to refining visual details, ensuring consistency across design elements, and enhancing the overall aesthetic appeal and usability of the app.

The biggest difference in transitioning to hi-fi prototypes was the level of detail and fidelity in design elements. We implemented the same components, colors, alignments, and typography styles across all screens to maintain visual coherence and reinforce brand identity. This consistency was crucial in establishing a unified user experience and reinforcing the professional image of the app.