Role: UX Research, UX Design, UI Design

Timeline: June – August 2022 | Tools: Figma, FigJam

Background

With life returning to a state of normality in a post pandemic world, our canine chums are being left home alone as owners are returning to office life and spending less time at home, with this in mind Walkies gives users the ability to set up furry dates with new friends through our trusted dog walkers based on location and availability we provide a simple platform to review and find the best match for the users pups. Walkies is great for not just for one time walks, users can also arrange multiple walks giving them peace of mind that their best mate is being exercised and having having a great time!

User Research

After defining our problem, research was the necessary follow up. This consisted of market research and analysis, design research, and—most important—user research. Working backwards, I wanted to know more about users and their pain points that when using other service providers, thus I conducted a user interview. 

I was able to interview 4 dog owners in person creating an environment where owners could give me an in-depth response on their needs and how walkies could create the best possible user experience.

The owners I interviewed seemed to have similar problems when it came to finding a suitable walker:-

User Persona

With the research completed I was able to put together a persona of a target user.

Market research came next.

What are other apps doing for their onboarding process? What's working for those apps? What's not?

A couple things to note:

• The onboarding process had too many unnecessary screens.

• Buttons were mistaken as images.

User Onboarding Flow

With the user persona created it's now time to help our target user get through onboarding on Walkies for the first time. Here I created a flow of how users will book a walk for their buddy.

Wireframe

After refining the user flows, I started looking at low-fi wireframing to conceptualise the basic premise of the walkies app.

An interesting note.

After creating multiple iterations of wireframes, I narrowed in on what design elements could aid in successful paths to booking a dog walker and began building out visual designs. With the help of some peer reviews, I was able to make some improvements to the screens.

This included:

• Editing repetitive data on the walker dashboard

• Making sure typefaces were a readable size

• Having constant information on the cards

The design.

Establishing a Visual Direction

Walkies needed to feel friendly but accessible to create a good user experience . I looked at other booking designs for inspiration and sorted out what was working to fit the vibe.

Prototype

With my high-fidelity wireframes mocked-up, I updated my original prototype to prepare for user testing.

Usability Testing + Iteration

TESTING USERS

Five participants were asked to complete the onboarding and booking flows . It was important to me to conduct my usability testing in-person so I could observe not only verbal cues, but behavioral cues a well. I made notes as each user navigated the site.

Post-Mortem

PROJECT TAKEAWAYS

Research is so important. My research phase got off to a bit of a rocky start. I was so overwhelmed with the task of creating an app for a new product, that I focused on loose goals thinking that a greater quantity of surface-level research would provide me with a clearer direction. But instead, feedback I received from users was somewhat vague, and left me with little direction. Luckily, because there is a strong service industry to pull inspiration from, I was able to get back on track. Next go-round, focusing my research will be a key goal.

Comfort appeals to users. Building a structure for Walkies that was similar to other service apps was expected from users. Research showed that users revisit apps they're comfortable with, just because it’s easier. When design deviated from common design patterns, users became lost or frustrated during testing. 

Testing and iterating is key. Had I more time I would've love to deep dived into user testing and got more info into how to create a more structured booking process

Want to try out Walkies for real?

You can do so here:

Feedback is welcome.

Also, you can visit: jamesmilton.net for more work.

Thanks for taking your time and reading my case study!