This dog walking app case study is part of the Dribble Certified Product Design Course that I have completed.

Problem Statement 

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen a lot of shifts in people's lifestyles and behaviours. According to the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association, over 30% of young adults between the age of 24 to 35 have become new pet owners during the pandemic.

In 2022, we are seeing a lot of restrictions being lifted and some normality resumed. Young adults who are now pet owners are finding it difficult to balance between caring for their pets while resuming their pre-covid activities such as going back to the office and attending social events.

Pet owners want a quick, simple. and easy solution to find a trustworthy dog walker to take their dogs out for walks and care for them, which accommodates to their busy schedules.

My Role

My role is to find a solution to this problem by designing a dog-walking app which includes the onboarding process. This includes market & competitor research, conducting user research, creating a user flow, wireframes, visual design with components library, prototyping, and testing & iteration.

User Persona

From the user interviews I have conducted, dog owners with busy schedules want a quick, easy, and simple way of finding a trust-worthy dog walker whenever they need to, even on short notice without having to review multiple profiles and finding suitable availabilities. The biggest challenge they face with existing dog walking services are the lack of availabilities within the area, lack of flexibility with timings, and unresponsive dog walkers.

User Flow

Upon ideation, I created a simple user flow which includes a quick and simple onboarding process.

Wireframes & Visual Design

I created simple hi-fidelity wireframes based on the user flow, before developing the visual designs for the app.

For the visual designs, I chose a fun yet neutral colour palette to represent simplicity and positivity. The overall design is kept clean and minimal to avoid clutter, with personalisation for the images on the landing screen where users can upload photos of their own pets.

Testing & Learning

I conducted user testing by sharing the prototype with multiple dog owners to gather feedback and made iterations based on their feedbacks.

One of the iterations made on the booking confirmation dialog, where I've only included one CTA and the user struggled to find the cancel/exit button on the top left to close the dialog. Based on this observation, I have included another CTA with 'Okay' to enable the dialog to close, bringing the user back to the home screen. This completes the happy path for the user.

Prototype can be viewed here 📱

Future Development & Lessons Learnt

For future development, the app will include a home screen for users to manage their scheduled walks, as well as include other pet services, such as pet grooming, pet training, and pet sitting. PAW PAL will be a quick & easy solution to finding a trustworthy dog walker whenever and wherever.

As a non-pet owner, I have learnt so much about dog walking by empathising with pet owners. The Dribble Product Design course has enabled me to learn and practice the different stages through the product design process in a structured manner. 

Massive thank you to Dribble! ✨