Kobi. Case Study

— UI/UX, logo, illustrations

"Helping dog owners find trustworthy dog walkers from the comfort of their homes."

Picture: hot summer August, you are sitting inside a cottage at the top of a Greek island trying to cool off after breakfast. Just as you’re thinking of avoiding mid-day sun, Kobi - a dog you were asked to look after for a month - is getting nervous as she wants to be taken outside. Oh, how you wish someone else could do it for once. But, Kobi is wild and untamed, so it'll be hard to find someone trustworthy enough. This was me thinking out loud. At that moment I had this idea - what if I could design an app that connects dog owners with trusted walkers within the desired area?

The Problem: Dog owners need trustworthy dog walkers and caretakers to look after their dogs, and take them for walks when owners are on vacation, on prolonged shifts, or ill at home. They need to be able to find walkers within their area of living.

The Goal: Build a mobile-first minimum viable product that connects dog owners with trusted walkers in the desired area as seamlessly as possible.

My Roles: Interviews, Surveys, Competitive Analysis, User flows and Wireframes, High-fidelity UI designs, Prototyping, Logo and illustrations, Usability testing, and Iterations.

Timeline: 9 weeks + full-time job.

Research

My peers and I, together with a mentor, laid out goals for conducting research before we split ways on creating our own MVPs'. *In this process I learned: the importance of setting goals for conducting effective research.

Methods used: competitive benchmarking, user surveys, and individual interviews.

Inspired by NN Technique CIT, I dove deeper into the problem through qualitative and quantitative research.

I asked questions such as:

• Tell me about the last time you had to leave your dog with someone else.

• If you're using an app or a service what do you like about it?

• What are the most important traits you look for in someone caring for your dog?

After the data was gathered from the research phase, I was presented with the data that would create solutions that already exist in the market, so I decided to look further. I delved into reading forums, blogs, professional dog walkers' websites, Youtube video responses of dog owners, comments sections, and other social media content I could find for the time given. Two main pain points that I found repeating when observing pet owners using, and even deciding whether they want to use any pet-sitting platform, are:

1. Trust - Owners are finding it hard to trust a stranger with their precious pet.

2. Cost - Owners don’t have enough resources to use services as much as they would want to.

Analysis

To create an anchor from which I ideate, make user flows and prototypes, and the whole look and feel of the app, I created a Persona following my customer interviews synthesized with all the other research findings.

Meet Robyn.

Robyn is commuting and works all day at the office and takes a vacation twice a year. Sometimes, Robyn gets unexpected allergies and needs to run to the doctor’s office but worries to leave their pet unattended for longer periods.

Ideation

To fulfill Robyns' pain points, the idea is that in order to sign up for the service as a Walker, you need to be able to upload certifications such as:

✓ CPR     ✓ Animal First Aid     ✓ Clean criminal record

Also, Robyn will have the ability to use the service with no monthly or yearly subscription fee, instead only paying a fee with each hire.

Shaping the products' usability, I set three design principles:

Simple - Creating an experience for Robyn of successfully booking a desired walker is one that should easily be understood.

Fast - If in an emergency, booking a walker can be stressful, that is why the product should provide seamless paths from onboarding all the way to booking.

Familiar - The product is not inventing hot water, hence the experience should feel like second nature to Robyn.

Design thinking

When thinking about the design system, as well as brand positioning, I created two key points of reference:

Playful - Having a pet is, above all else, a fun experience so, booking a walker for your furry friend should feel no different.

Approachable - Just as much as anyone has the right to own a dog, they should also be able to approach a service without feelings of intimidation.

/ onboarding

Robyn just downloaded and opened "Kobi". Their dog has no idea they're about to meet a new friend!

The main idea is to, right from the introduction of the service, make sure to communicate Walker's qualifications that should be standing out from the rest of the market.

/ setting preferences

Robyn needs their dog to be taken for a walk at the same time and place two weeks in a row starting from March 9th. 

After Robyn set preferences, to ensure the browsing is fast and efficient, they can navigate through the filter bar either by proximity, highest-rated walkers, or by lowest price range.

/ scheduling a meetup

Robyn wants to meet with the person before deciding on hiring.

After Robyn sends a request to meet, there's a friendly reminder that they shouldn't forget about their intuition. Meeting with a stranger can be stressful. Every walker has legitimate badges of CPR and First Aid training, for Robyn's peace of mind.

Iterating

After testing with potential users, some changes were made such as message placement on Walker's profile screen, improved search filter, and "like" button placement.

Next Steps and Learnings

This stage requires further usability testing. Thorough planning and business financial dissection to make sure that a subscription-free service is a viable option.
If I were to start a project from the start knowing what I've learned going through this process, I'd conduct more in-depth user research and competitive analysis.

sanchossa@gmail.com   +381 (62) 6181086

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