Providing Assistance for Local Felines
As a UX designer, I focused on the assistance alerts and educational resources feature. I conducted research to understand user needs and preferences related to these specific functionalities. Based on my findings, I created wireframes and high-fidelity prototypes, iterating on design concepts to ensure they were intuitive and effective.
OVERVIEW
Forgotten Felines of Sonoma County (FFSC) is a nonprofit spay/neuter clinic focused on improving the lives of unowned cats.
PROBLEM
Cats reproduce at a remarkable pace, with just 1 unspayed or unneutered pair potentially giving rise to an astonishing 11,801 cats in just 5 years. This further fuels unmanaged, stray cat populations, which are highly dangerous to other wildlife and are prone to spreading diseases in the community.
OBJECTIVE
Design a mobile app to streamline Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) efforts for FFSC staff, volunteers, and community members, aiding their goal of altering 75% of unowned cats in targeted areas. The platform should facilitate coordination of TNR activities, educate the public about TNR, and inspire community involvement.
Final Designs
RESEARCH
What does trap-neuter-return (TNR) mean to people?
This app is the first of its kind, so it was essential to understand the complexities and sensitivities of TNR. We collaborated closely with the team at FFSC to gather valuable insights into their needs and investigate how our app can effortlessly blend with their existing systems.
We conducted three surveys aimed at our primary and secondary users.
A common misconception about TNR is the belief that it’s complicated and doesn’t create a meaningful difference—not only for cats but also for the environment and wildlife. The goal of our surveys was to identify specific obstacles that we can address in our ideation process.
General Public
TNR Participants
FFSC Staff and Volunteers
The survey results offered crucial insights that will guide our focus during ideation.
Majority of our users identify as women and are 65+ years old
We need to prioritize accessibility so that TNR participants and staff can make the most of the app.
Primarily motivated by their love for cats
Highlighting the cats that these users are helping can inspire and motivate potential volunteers.
Those new to TNR are open to the idea of participating
Improving the accessibility of TNR education can inspire users to engage more actively.
So, how might we…
... encourage users to seek help on the app to decrease office calls?
... streamline forms to make submissions easier to track for staff?
... inspire community involvement to increase TNR activity?
IDEATION
From paper to Figma, our design started to come to life.
SKETCHES
PROTOTYPES
TESTING
We crafted 2 user tests to gain feedback on our app design: one for community members and one for the administrative team.
Due to Develop for Good renewing their license with UserTesting, the release of the tests were delayed. We are still collecting test results from our users.
REFLECTION
Communicate consistently
Being able to actively engage with the stakeholders throughout the design process provided great insight into how business and design intersect. Talking to our client was a great chance to understand our design from a non-design perspective, catching small issues in our flow, design, and wording.
Design is not straightforward
Designing for an organization is vastly different from designing for a class project! I faced twists and turns throughout the past 4 months and learned how to face these challenges head-on.