Key Research Insight
Ever since the COVID19, the number of the household adopting a pet has been significantly raised (Bernier, 2021). Meanwhile, veterinary hospitals and clinics across the world had to adopt new safety measurements during the pandemic (Blue Valley Animal Hospital, 2021). Pet parents experienced a long waiting time due to the late arrivals from the previous appointments, and emergency arrivals (Union Lake Veterinary Hospitals, 2018).
Secondary Research
Preliminary Research (Look, Ask, Try Method)
To better understand the problem, I also applied “Look, Ask, Try Method” to understand what would the users do in the real world. The qualitative research helps me to understand what pet parents cares and what they would do and what concerns they have.
Look
When pet parents wait in the vet clinic, most of them wait quietly and patiently. They will take a good control of their pet. Most of them visit alone. Most of them looks pretty clam and relaxed. They enjoy patting other dogs and cats as well while waiting in the wait room. However, some parents even cried and seems so worried for emergency visits.
Ask
I also interview 4 pet parents. All of them considered their pet health as the most important thing. They don't take their pets to a vet very often since it's quite expensive. They wish to give their pet an annual body check, but most of the clinics doesn't offer such service. All of them feels tedious about the wait time in the clinic, but they will still keep visiting, since it is essential for their pets' health.
Try
When pet parents wait in the vet clinic, most of them wait quietly and patiently. They will take a good control of their pet. Most of them visit alone. Most of them looks pretty clam and relaxed. They enjoy patting other dogs and cats as well while waiting in the wait room. However, some parents even cried and seems so worried for emergency visits.
user empathy
User journey
The user journey helps me to break down the user’s experience. Listing out each steps of their journey helps me to think about the possible design intervention, analyze the cause of the problem, and what users need.
Explicit Pain Points
People feel boring when waiting in the clinics
People don't know how much they still need to wait
They are worried for their pets while waiting
The vet appointment is time consuming
Latent Needs
Pet parents need some distraction and entertainment while waiting, such as using cell phones, grabbing a cup of drink, chatting with other pet parents.
Pet parents need to take care and clam their pets down while waiting.
Problem Statement
ideation
Persona
User story
Possible design intervention
The persona and user stories have helped me to empathize with my potential users. Further aids me to ideate the functionalities below.
Allow users to book vet appointments online
Provide a virtual vet appointment option for users who do not want to travel
Prescription Delivery
Keep track of pets’ health records
Connect the veterinarian with the pet's parents
design process
user task flow
Users could book different types of appointment, but this task flow mainly focuses on booking an virtual appointment.
What User’s Want?
Save time, money, and get an instant / convenient veterinary appointment for my dog, as well as medication refill, and vaccination bookings
Tasks
Booking a virtual vet appointment
Completing an video chat appointment
Purchase Prescription
legend
Mid-Fidelity Sketch
I translated the above user task flow into the sketches and wireframes.
Testing Result
I completed two rounds of user testing. Each round consists of 5 users and iterated the wireframe.
Target User: Pet parents in North America
Tasks: Each user requires to complete the task of booking an video call appointment, having the appointment itself, and purchasing the prescription.
Round One User Feedback - Design Prioritization Matrix
Round One Iteration
Based on the user's feedback, I also revised some minor issues that do not affect the prototype's functionality. Such as changing the wording of "remaining balance" to "total,"; adding a cancellation policy section at the end of the payment screen; saving the user's credit card and personal information for quick access; replacing the "rate doctor" button to "recheck" button at the homepage to better meets the users' needs, etc. Now let’s move on to the major updates!
Round Two User Feedback - Design Prioritization Matrix
Round Two Iteration
The second iteration improves the video appointment experience and personalization, such as indicating the previous booking history when searching for a vet. The new iteration also builds a stronger connection with vets for the pet parents since they can message the vet after the appointment.
UI Decision
Branding
I named the app Vetsy because people would immediately know it is a veterinary telemedicine app by looking at the name. Moreover, I chose mint as the primary colour because green is widely used in the medical industry and matches the app's delightful vibe.
Brand Name & Typography
I came up some possible brand names. Eventually, I chose Vetsy because it’s very straight forward and implying a sensse of innovation in the veterinary experience.
Logo & App Icon
I've tried several designs, but think the light green background with the darker green logo looks more comfortable for human eyes. The design of the logo is a combination of a paw and a humanized face.
Typography
Color Pallete
Prototype
Reflection
Overall, the mission of this app is divided into three major points:
1. Save time for users
2. Provide users more vet options
3. Build user behavioral database for business
By using this app, users don’t need to wait hours for a diagnosis in the clinic, and the app provides more vet options for users because you can see different ratings and reviews of the doctors. Most importantly, the incremental increase of users (both the doctors and the pet owners) will help us to create a behavioral database, and the database would help to promote the efficiency of the pet services industry in North America.