For those good boys and girls who like to travel with Mom and Dad. A responsive web application that allows users to locate, research, review, and add places in their communities where dogs are welcomed with open arms.
Introduction
The Problem
"My dog is paralyzed. It is really hard to go do things without him because it puts strict time limits on how long I can be away, and I worry a lot. More often than not, he has to come with me, or I can't go. He is essentially a toddler."
-Rebecca, 29
-Rebecca, 29
If dog is man's best friend, why do we have to leave them at home? 53% of American's own dogs. The average dog per household is 1.6. Being a dog owner myself, I recognize the strain it can put on a dog owner when they have to leave their furry friend behind, especially when that furry friend needs a little extra help to get along. My dog, Bailey, became paralyzed in August of 2020 when he jumped off his previous owner's bed and slipped a disc. She gave him up for adoption and I happily welcomed him into my life (and heart) in December of 2020. Bailey has to manually go to the bathroom 4-6 times a day. When I am not home, he can't be left on any furniture because he can't get down on his own. If I am not around, he has to wear diapers to make sure he doesn't leak. For dogs like Bailey, able-bodied doggies, and anything and everything in between, I wanted to create an inviting design that flows well for users to find places in their local communities that allow dogs strictly in a non-service capacity.
Discovery
Competitive Analysis
I wanted to conduct a competitor analysis to begin, but there is exactly one other app on the market that allows users to find and share places that their dogs are welcome. The internet is riddled with articles about the topic, but with only one place dog owners can go to find location specific information, it can be hard to locate places. If a spot is not listed on BringFido, it is significantly more time consuming for the user to find what they need. Furthermore, the information pages on each place in BringFido, focuses heavily on the food offered there or the types of items they sell, not the accommodations offered for dogs. The flow of BringFido is very user friendly, but it is a little tricky to switch back and forth between location types. There are also a few listings in the app that do not have descriptions, it just automatically links the user to a different website or app without permission.
User Interviews
While some of the implemented designs came from my own personal experiences with my dog, BringFido, and web resources, I wanted to talk to some other dog owners to get their insights into what would make a new app on the market stand out.
"My dog is really great out in public, but when I leaveher alone at home, she is a menace. She has really terrible separation anxiety, so when I am gone for extended periods of time, she takes to chewing shoes a lot."
"It is honestly really frustrating that it is so hard to find places where dogs are welcomed. I have tried BringFido and I hated it because it didn't tell me a single thing about what is offered at these places that makes them more dog friendly than somewhere else. It is such a hassle too to look through websites to find listings of places that allow dogs because sometimes the best thing you can find is an article from 5 years ago."
"Even when I just try to Google it, I hate that the first options I get are always dog parks. Duh! It is so hard to sift through all the information on the internet. It would be so helpful to have it all in one place."
Summary
Users want a concise way to find places where their dogs are welcome. They want to see information relevant to their dogs listed in the information presented to them so they can make an informed decision. They want to stay in the app through their whole experience rather than being tossed around to other websites for more information. They want to be able to clearly identify where to go for things like changing the types of places they are finding, setting preferences, and adding places of their own to help the community.
Conception
This app was created in a bit of an unorthodox manner. No wireframes were created for this in particular because pieces of what were already out there proved to work very well. There was a clear direction and idea from the get go of how to improve upon the option users already had access to.
Usability Test
A usability test was conducted to validate my designs and see if Good Boy was effective and user friendly. Users stated the app was clean, user friends, easy to use, and the colors felt calming and made them feel like trying to find a place for them and their dog was not a stressful task.
Next Steps
I will continue expanding on Good Boy and run another round of usability tests. Further creating pages will allow me to get deeper insights into user's thoughts, feelings, and motivations. From there, Good Boy will be shared with design peers to further feedback.
