The Challenge

The challenge of this project was to design a dog walking app by going through process of trying to improve on existing dog walking apps which would persuade other dog walkers use the online portal over a face-to-face service. My take on this app was to strip down the app so the process of booking a dog walking would require the least amount of keystrokes without compromising on communication and payment security.

Research and Findings

I used a questionnaire to find out why a face-2-face boarding service was the users preferred choice over the a technology based system.

User persona

The next stage was to build up an understanding of what profile of person would make this app a success looking at it from both side; the dog walker and the dog owner. This required building set amount of trait a successful user of the app would carry and in my case I looked at it from a dog owners point of view.

Wireflow

The wire flow is one element I particularly enjoyed as I could begin to think about how a user would progress through the app, showcasing both a positive and negative pathway.

How is my design different?

The first major change I have taken is to not enforce users to hand over their personal details at the very first point of interaction with the app. The risk I see with this is the drop off rate if they are not able to find some one suitable based on their working hours or special requirement their pets may have. They will instantly have signed up for a service which they will never use.

The change I made was, the user would apply their criteria in terms of when they need the service, the frequency and having the ability to ask the potential dog walker any question before there is any process of sign up.