A case study

The Pet Matchmaking Service

Completed in 2017-2019, this project focuses on creating a new and unique interactive design.
From conception to user/market research to sketches to final design, this project encompasses the entire design process.

View the PDF

The Pet Matchmaking Service, adaptive process video

Explore a UX case study, from start to finish.

While this case study occurred a few years ago, its process, development, revision, and iteration taught me much about web design.

Phase 1: Research & Proposal

The Pet Matchmaking Service would be a responsive desktop and mobile service to match humans and pets.

Phase 2: Analysis & Research

What competitors are out there, and how do they compare? Who would the target audience be?

Phase 3: Design, Revise, Rebuild

Designing is the fun part – actually building those ideas is the hard part.

Mission/Proposal Abstract

The Pet Matchmaking Service will be a responsive desktop and mobile-accessible service in which any pet lover can go and find the perfect pet for them. After a free (and optional) lifestyle and personality matching quiz, the user will be able to see adoptable or fosterable dogs in their area.

Any pet lover or person searching for a new addition to their furfamily will be able to find the perfect canine companion for them.

You will be able to take the quiz to be matched with a dog breed, skip over it and go straight to filtering for the type you want, and get alerts for a certain type if there aren’t any available.

I am committing to this project due to my love of dogs. I am a current dogmom, foster home, volunteer dog event coordinator, and overall lover of all things canine.

The Why

Inspiration

My dogs
Jeff Nix – Boxer Rescue
Katelyn – Dogs & Other Unsolicited Advice (featured right)
Dog Rescue of America

Problems

People will adopt dogs and not realize that breed may not be suitable for their living situation or lifestyle.

Additionally, the process of adopting a dog can involve multiple steps and multiple sites. There needs to be one destination that can handle the process from beginning to end.

Solution

The Pet Matchmaking Service.

This service matches people with available, local canines based on their lifestyle. Rather than go through multiple services to adopt a dog, this all-in-one service has everything a potential dog dad or dog mom could need!

Rationale & Unique Proposal

How is this unique?

Mixes an old adoption process with a fun and unique matchmaking service.
Creates an all-in-one service not currently used.

How does this help me?

I have to work on something I will love and want to finish.
I have a lifelong passion for dogs, and can really commit to this idea.
I can learn how to create quizzes and add functionality

Unique Positioning

This matchmaking and adoption service is for dog lovers and enthusiasts.

Finding the perfect canine companion can be cumbersome – the Pet Matchmaking Service, a technology and pet product, will eliminate multiple steps and create a smoother transition.

The key benefit is simplicity, which is what this service provides that Petfinder or The Dog Matchmaker do not: a one-stop-shop for your next furever family member.

Consult an Expert

Experts consulted for this project.

Expert 1

Katie King

Woman who owns a dog rescue
Has experience searching for and adopting dogs
Has experience with fosters and applications
Katie is a dog matchmaking professional. She helps to pair people looking to adopt dogs with the right dog for their family.

Expert 2

Shannon Miles-Smith

Dog Owner
Woman searching for a new dog
End-user
Experience adopting a dog
Shannon has a lot of experience adopting dogs.
She has adopted six dogs on death row, helping to rehabilitate them or just give them a loving home at the end of their lives.

Expert 3

Michelle Nowack Lucas

Dog matchmaker
Michelle is a professional dog matchmaker and helps to run a matchmaking Facebook group.
She works with couples looking for adoptable dogs to find them the perfect canine companion.
Michelle has two dogs of her own.
Michelle helps to pair adoptable dogs with Facebook members

Target Audience

Target Audience Research

Overall, users were very positive about the proposal. Users liked how it would match you to a dog breed, and how it would encourage people to adopt a dog they might not have previously considered.

The results were favorable, with recommendations on how to improve, select who gets to take part in the app, and how to correctly identify personalities of dogs in shelters.

The audience researched also liked the RSS notifications, and asked that those be a push rather than an email.

Target Audience Breakdown

Millennials – highest group of dog adopters in 2018
Both men and women
Has disposable income
Dog lovers
Those who prefer apps to people
People who like swiping

Audience Research Results

Results from the audience research shows that this kind of service is not only necessary, but wanted.

More women than men were interested in being survey, and out of 32 people, the largest majority were in the 30-39 range. Many of the participants were eager to see this type of business come into fruition.

All 32 of the participants have adopted dogs, and some were in the process of currently adopting dogs. They agreed that the current process – search, go to a separate website, apply, do a home trial, hope it works out, finally adopt the dog – was long, cumbersome, and didn’t meet their lifestyle needs.

The Pet Matchmaking Service does. With the all-in-one platform, and streamlined adoption and matching process, it’s never been easier to be matched with your perfect canine companion.

Competitive Analysis

Create Personas

Three examples of our Target Audience Personas

Persona 1

Kati McKean

Name: Kati McKean
Age: 27
Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Other demographic information: In a relationship, lives in an apartment, works from home.

Comments: I love the idea of this project!!! The ability to match me with a dog that will fit my lifestyle and living situation is amazing. I also like the idea of being able to pick and file an adoption application right from within the app.
Feedback: Instead of swiping, I would suggest something more like OKCupid, where you can see multiple.

User Story / Task Flow: Kati

Kati has finally convinced her partner that they should get a dog. She’s not exactly sure of which breed will work best in her apartment, though, and where to even begin looking at adoptable dogs.

Kati visits The Pet Matchmaking Service online via her mobile device, and sees that she has an option to take a pet matchmaking quiz. She takes the quiz, filling out information about her lifestyle and living arrangements. She is matched with a dog breed that’s perfect for her!

Kati then uses the search function to find dogs of that breed in her location. She can see multiple different adoptable dogs in her area! Kati finds one that catches her eye, and submits an application and requests a meet & greet, right from within the page.

Expert 2

Logan Johnson

Name: Logan Johnson
Age: 29
Location: Huntsville, AL
Other demographic information: Single, Rents a home, works full-time and mother of 1.

Comments: What I like most about this idea is how I could totally get an idea of what breed of dog would work best for me and my son before I even saw it in person.
Feedback: I would make some kind of Meet & Greet feature, like Rover has, so you can meet the potential dog before you put in an application.

User Story / Task Flow: Logan

Logan has a four-year-old son that has been begging for a dog. He’s been well-behaved at daycare, and she’d like to bring that addition to their family home.

pretty sure she wants a larger dog. However, after taking the pet matchmaking quiz, she discovers a smaller dog would be better for her lifestyle and family.

From there, she searches for available dogs in her area.

Logan doesn’t immediately see a dog that catches her eye, so she sets an alert for that type of breed. When a new one pops up, she’ll receive a notification, and will be able to get more information later.

Expert 3

Kris & Joe Alexander

Name: Joe Alexander
Age: 38
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Other demographic information: Married, Lives in base housing, 3 children.

Comments: We’ve been looking to adopt a second dog, but because of Army restraints, it’s been hard to find the right one for us. We like how we can filter by lifestyle in this app.
Feedback: I hate downloading things. Make sure I can get on to the site on my tablet.

User Story / Task Flow: Joe

Joe has been searching for a second dog for months. He wants to make sure that it will follow Army constraints (breed restrictions, shots, etc.) He’s been having a hard time finding one that matches all of the criteria at the local pound.

Joe visits The Pet Matchmaking Service on his tablet after dinner. He already has an idea of what kind of dog he wants, so he goes straight to the search function to filter by breed type.

Joe finds multiple dogs that are available for adoption that fit his criteria! He’ll have to show them to his wife before he puts in an application, but now he has an idea of what types of dogs are available to him in his area.

Brand Guide

Brand Colors

See left

Typography

Arial
Lato
Helvetica Neuve

Whitespace

Logo Development

The logo development process started with brainstorming, before moving on to more refined designs.

Iteration 1

Iteration 3

Iteration 2

Original Scope

Ideally, my project will:

Have a desktop and mobile-friendly interface
Have a dog matching quiz that can match you with dog breeds based on your lifestyle
Have an rss feed function to keep users up-to-date on potential adoptable breeds
Have a sorting feature based on gender, age, and breed of dog
A full feed of adoptable dogs in the area
An all-in-one platform to find the dog, set up a meet & greet, and adopt the dog