melissa stocco

melissa stocco

melissa stocco

buddi - smart feeder

buddi - smart feeder

UX Design, Graphic design

the problem

Pet owners are not sure how to examine or monitor their pets health so they can be a good advocate for them. Owners do not have good options for virtual examinations which would allow them to have a cost effective way to see the vet more frequently. The problem statement for this concept project is how may we help pet owners monitor their dog or cats’ health from home?

Pet owners are not sure how to examine or monitor their pets health so they can be a good advocate for them. Owners do not have good options for virtual examinations which would allow them to have a cost effective way to see the vet more frequently. The problem statement for this concept project is how may we help pet owners monitor their dog or cats’ health from home?

background research

background research

To start the project we began with market research on existing pet applications and solutions for monitoring pets' health. During market research we found apps that help track missing pets, keep track of vet appointments and medications, offer training advice and apps that offer pet sitting. Virtual examinations became more common due to the pandemic, but expectations on owners to aid in the evaluation of their pets health can lead to misdiagnoses. We discovered that the top issues affecting pets health are obesity, diabetes, dental disease and cancer. We also found that overall pets are medically underserved with dogs visiting an average of 2.6 times per year and cats 1.7 times per year.

To start the project we began with market research on existing pet applications and solutions for monitoring pets' health. During market research we found apps that help track missing pets, keep track of vet appointments and medications, offer training advice and apps that offer pet sitting. Virtual examinations became more common due to the pandemic, but expectations on owners to aid in the evaluation of their pets health can lead to misdiagnoses. We discovered that the top issues affecting pets health are obesity, diabetes, dental disease and cancer. We also found that overall pets are medically underserved with dogs visiting an average of 2.6 times per year and cats 1.7 times per year.

To start the project we began with market research on existing pet applications and solutions for monitoring pets' health. During market research we found apps that help track missing pets, keep track of vet appointments and medications, offer training advice and apps that offer pet sitting. Virtual examinations became more common due to the pandemic, but expectations on owners to aid in the evaluation of their pets health can lead to misdiagnoses. We discovered that the top issues affecting pets health are obesity, diabetes, dental disease and cancer. We also found that overall pets are medically underserved with dogs visiting an average of 2.6 times per year and cats 1.7 times per year.

Obesity is the number one preventable disease in cats and dogs.

Obesity is the number one preventable disease in cats and dogs.

“2022 Association
for Pet Obesity Prevention survey reports that 61% of cats (and 59% of dogs) are overweight”

“2022 Association
for Pet Obesity Prevention survey reports that 61% of cats (and 59% of dogs) are overweight”

primary research

primary research

Our survey results showed that most pet owners visited their clinic 2 times a year (43%) with 25% of participants visiting only once a year or less. 75% of respondents did not have an option to consult with their veterinarian virtually, but 50% of respondents would be interested in this option. Users expressed difficulties with understanding how their pet is feeling, when they are in pain, and expenses including vet bills.

Our survey results showed that most pet owners visited their clinic 2 times a year (43%) with 25% of participants visiting only once a year or less. 75% of respondents did not have an option to consult with their veterinarian virtually, but 50% of respondents would be interested in this option. Users expressed difficulties with understanding how their pet is feeling, when they are in pain, and expenses including vet bills.

interviews

interviews

The in depth interview we conducted was with a pet owner of 2 senior dogs and 1 senior cat. The respondent visited the vet frequently and had bad experiences with misdiagnoses, lack of consistency, and care from her vet clinic. The clinic did not monitor her senior dogs health closely which led to a side effect of a medication causing their blind dog to also go deaf.

The in depth interview we conducted was with a pet owner of 2 senior dogs and 1 senior cat. The respondent visited the vet frequently and had bad experiences with misdiagnoses, lack of consistency, and care from her vet clinic. The clinic did not monitor her senior dogs health closely which led to a side effect of a medication causing their blind dog to also go deaf.

The in depth interview we conducted was with a pet owner of 2 senior dogs and 1 senior cat. The respondent visited the vet frequently and had bad experiences with misdiagnoses, lack of consistency, and care from her vet clinic. The clinic did not monitor her senior dogs health closely which led to a side effect of a medication causing their blind dog to also go deaf.

framing the user

To frame the user we took our research and used tools such as journey maps, empathy maps, affinity maps, and prioritization grids. These tools helped our team understand and empathize with the user so we were able to develop a variety of solutions which we then storyboarded. We then chose the strongest idea from this exercise to move forward and started designing what would become the Buddi app.

wireframing & prototyping

After determining the features that we thought should be included in the app we created two wireframes to assess different features and user flows. After assessing the wireframe we simplified the features and improved the user flow and experience. Originally we included a community and articles tab, but found that tabs for monitoring the pets’ health and activity were more important to addressing the problem statement. We created an app that was designed to work with a smart pet feeder and collar. The collar worked with the feeder so the feeder would only allow the correct pet to eat from it. In the first prototype we included a profile table which provided an at-a-glance view of the pets health. We added a Buddi tab to show food statistics to the pet owner and show if they were meeting their diet goals. The health tab to track sleep, medications, vaccines and provide insights. Finally, the activity tab which would track their activity levels and step count. The collar could also be used to find lost pets since the collar included a tracking device.

usability testing

We conducted usability testing on the high fidelity prototype with five users by having them go through four scenarios which asked them to navigate through the main features in the app. We asked each user what went well and to describe their challenges with each scenario, finally at the end we asked for their SEQ rating. We then asked users to rate 10 post-questions for a system usability score. Four users had a score of 80 and over. One user had a score of 67.5. From there we took the feedback and implemented it into the final prototype.

final prototype

final prototype

For our final prototype we implemented the feedback from the user testing. We found elements (hitboxes, find my dog, sleep goal) could be more obvious or larger. Some areas could be rearranged or linked to each other better (tracking map could link to find my dog, features on the Activity page). Possibly monitoring for breeding could be included in health section. “Find my dog” feature could be placed on a homepage (so it’s found faster during emergencies)

For our final prototype we implemented the feedback from the user testing. We found elements (hitboxes, find my dog, sleep goal) could be more obvious or larger. Some areas could be rearranged or linked to each other better (tracking map could link to find my dog, features on the Activity page). Possibly monitoring for breeding could be included in health section. “Find my dog” feature could be placed on a homepage (so it’s found faster during emergencies)

buddi app

The final app prototype included these improvements and fleshed out some of the app features by adding more screens.

The final app prototype included these improvements and fleshed out some of the app features by adding more screens.

The final app prototype included these improvements and fleshed out some of the app features by adding more screens.

final prototype

Elements (hitboxes, find my dog, sleep goal) could be more obvious or larger. Some areas could be or linked to each other better (tracking map could link to find my dog, features on the Activity page). Possibly monitoring for breeding could be included in health section. “Find my dog” feature could be placed on a homepage (so it’s found faster during emergencies)

takeaways

This concept project was a lot of fun and our team got to work with a veterinarian who acted as a subject matter expert for our project, giving us feedback on each iteration. It was insightful to have both the user perspectives from our research and an expert in the field to help guide us on what information would be valuable for them to have tracked by pet owners.

This concept project was a lot of fun and our team got to work with a veterinarian who acted as a subject matter expert for our project, giving us feedback on each iteration. It was insightful to have both the user perspectives from our research and an expert in the field to help guide us on what information would be valuable for them to have tracked by pet owners.

This concept project was a lot of fun and our team got to work with a veterinarian who acted as a subject matter expert for our project, giving us feedback on each iteration. It was insightful to have both the user perspectives from our research and an expert in the field to help guide us on what information would be valuable for them to have tracked by pet owners.

more to explore

more to explore

more to explore

more to explore.