Petsbook Mobile App – Tarcan Yonel's Web Site

Petsbook Mobile App

Project for: Petsbook Information & Internet Services Joint Stock Comp.

Creating a mobile application for Petsbook which is one of the companies of Acunmedya.

The main objective of the project is to create a platform for the communication of animal owners and lovers.

The application will also include; a chance for communication between animal lovers, video and photo sharing options, contests, free animal adoption chances, lost pet ads, various information about pets & educational videos.

The objectives of this project are:

Creating good communication between animal lovers
Create a reliable & trusted platform for the users
Create a dynamic and collaborative environment

Approach:
Through research surveys, and user interviews a viable product was established according to users’ & stakeholder’s needs and expectations.
At the end of the project, I created a dynamic and collaborative environment like the product owners’ & users’ expectations.
In these visuals, you can see the following Methodology and my UX stages.

Design Methodology

I utilized “parameters for selecting methods” as a general guideline on what UX areas to emphasize when designing Petsbook.
With a hypothetical long time to market & low access to users in mind, I logically mapped out my design methodology which is divided into 3 phases each with milestones & objectives.
The design below will serve as the table of contents as each objective shall be covered in depth.

Parameters for Selecting Methods:

	Short Time to Market	Long Time to Market
Low Access to Users	Stakeholder Interviews Concept Testing Expert Evaluation Post-Launch Usability Testing	Stakeholder Interviews Concept Design Concept Testing Post-Launch Usability Testing
High Access to Users	Requirements Capture Prototype/POC Testing Post-Launch Usability	Stakeholder Interviews Requirements Capture Concept Design Concept Testing Pre-Launch Usability Testing

Competitor Analysis

Firstly I analyzed 2 main competing pet–network apps to better understand the features that users want and features that are lacking. My analysis of competing apps includes an overview, target market, swot analysis, usability, and navigational structure.

Surveys

Testing Hypothesis: The development team at Petsbook hypothesized that what makes an app successful is the creating good & solid sharing pictures & videos feature with zero error. The development team believed that it would be very useful to create an application using a good sharing picture & video option that would be so beneficial in the short term.

Users were asked to participate in an anonymous survey to help the Petsbook core development team evaluate the core Minimal Viable Product elements that users desired in pet networking apps.
The survey included initial qualifying questions to gauge the age range and employment status of survey recipients.
Additionally, surveyed users were also asked how often they use social networking apps.
The primary purpose of this preliminary survey is to identify a consensus from surveyed users as to what primary factor influences their decision to use a pet social networking app.
I will use this feedback when laying out the framework and prototype for the upcoming Petsbook app.
The answers to the question “What feature can be most important in a pet networking application” came out very close and users indicated that the most important feature is the sharing pictures & videos option.
In addition, the questions that were important in the survey were asked in different ways to ensure their reliability.
Interestingly, the visual aesthetic functionality was considered important only by %4 people.
Also, participants’ responses to the biggest issues with social networking apps indicate that it is difficult to learn how to use them and have different navigation types.
Petsbook’s development team believes that the overall sentiment presents an opportunity to address user issues and develop a better product relative to the competition.
Per user feedback, I will focus on making user interfaces easy to use, providing a simple & easy messaging interface, clear sharing pics & videos options with solid navigation.
In addition to having a user-friendly interface, I will also incorporate interactive support to make learning the app easy.

Stakeholder Interviews

After these steps, I arranged a meeting with the stakeholders in our company and tried to learn their expectations from the project. I just focused on 3 different things; their needs, business goals, and technical limitations. As a result of these interviews, I tried to get answers to these questions.

What are the short and long-term business goals?
Who are the users?
What are a few major competitors?

Are there any technological limitations?
What are a few product concerns?
What is the stakeholder’s definition of product success?

As a result, I combined the answers that came from the users & stakeholders and I have a better understanding of what is expected from the project.

Requirements Capture

Minimal Usable Product: After user needs were identified through surveys and interviews, I compiled the data into a list of the most requested features.

Problem
The biggest problem users face in social network applications is the different types of navigation and learning difficulties in each application.

Users also think that when using an application, it doesn’t have “all the features” they want.
In addition, users are tired of technical errors in the applications.

Target audience
Generally more young people will use this application.
This scale can range from students to all adults (16-49).

Solution
Create an application based on user feedback that contains the most requested features while providing a simple and intuitive user experience.

App Features
Based on survey and interview results as well as product requirements, the following features will be of primary focus:

Simple & Intuitive User Interface
Clean & Easy Sharing Pic & Video Options
Pushing Adopting Option Stressing Chance to Find Their Lost Pets
Giving Daily Info About Pets
Creating a Good Navigation Structure

With Petsbook, users will be able to share photos and videos easily, adopt pets, get notified of all news, and receive daily information through an easy and understandable interface.

User Personas

User personas were created to help remind me of the goals and behaviors of hypothetical user groups during the design process.
This was done after understanding the needs, desires & expectations of users through surveys and interviews.

User Journey Mapping

Stages	Starting Point	Initial Interactions	Task Input	Task Collaboration	Task Completion
Actions	Hakan started to research websites and apps to find a proper match for his dog.	Try to discover the app after login. Data input for pet profile & himself. Start searching the app for a proper match.	Open Petsbook and use the hamburger menu. Find & check out navigation & page structure.	Sorts all available users according to his criteria. Write messages to appropriate people.	Collect all answers from eligible candidates. Make an appointment using the site to discuss eligible candidates.
Thought Process	What is the best way for me to find a good match for my dog? How much time should I allocate for this process?	What should I use to find a proper match for my pet? What kind of pet do I want for my pet? I need to search online for top rated pet network apps.	Does the search section work as it should? Does it actually feel convenient to have everything in one place?	Does the site have all the necessary filters that I want? What is the difference between approved users and normal users?	How many days or hours will it take to get answers from users? What should I do if they want money for this?
Feelings	I’m excited to use this app but I hope it’s not going to be hard. What If I couldn’t find a good match for my dog?	It’s frustrating that no app has all the futures that I need. What if most of the profiles are fake or scammers?	From previous experiences, I was worried that apps do not have all the features that I need. My time is so limited, I am worried about this will be a waste of time.	I’m excited to finally find the application I’m looking for. I’m happy that the app has lots of users from my area.	I’m so happy to finally find the right dog for my pet. Reporting users who want money for this job is really good
	Planning & Research & Initiation Make the filter section more visible. Put an indicator to reveal that messages have been read.			Collaboration Make the filter section more visible. Put an indicator to reveal that messages have been read.	Last Step Visualize some important sections with using some icons & contrast.

Card sorting & Information Architecture

I created an initial card sort to organize the logical flow of Petsbook.
Then I conducted card sorting activities with users to understand what flow made sense to them.
The final site map iteration is shown below.

Self card sorting
Organizing feature concepts into logical flows

User card sorting
Users were tasked with sorting randomized card stacks in an order that seemed most logical

Site map creation
User feedback was reviewed to construct many iterations of site maps each simpler than the last

Paper wireframes

Digital wireframes

Final Designs

UI Kits

While designing the interface, I tried to create a simple but elegant interface.
Generally, I mostly focused on; the readability of the fonts, contrast ratios for colors, accessibility compatibilities, and designing icons that everyone can easily understand.

Color palette
To enhance ease of use bright backgrounds were applied to provide a foundation for dark texts. Dark foreground colors and text provide high contrast, allowing color-disabled users to see the text.

Navigation Icons

Action other icons

Modals

Typography

When designing this application, I preferred Ubuntu which is a Google Font.

Ubuntu is neutral, well-glyphed, and has been in use for a long time as a Google Font.

Also, Ubuntu font is readable in all sizes when used in mobile and desktop applications.
For a possible multi-language selection, Ubuntu is an appropriate choice in terms of the languages it supports.

UI Elements

A/B Test Summary

Question: ”Which version are you more likely to sign up for?”

Test Hypothesis
Users may prefer simplicity instead of variation A’s design with large buttons and a more complicated background.

Result
Based on a sample size of 50 respondents, 31 users (62%) chose the control design – proving my hypothesis.

The control design will be retained.

Conclusion
A simpler design utilizing more whitespace may yield higher signup rates among users.


Company Info	Name: YummyPets Platform: Android & IOS	Name: Petle Platform: Android & IOS
Overview	YP is a detailed application that allows users to create their own profile, communicate with other users via writing posts, publish their animal data & photos, find nearby vets, and read some articles about pets.	Pettle allows users to create a geolocation-based social network, and capture & share moments with loved ones. Also, this app has a section for missing pets.
MVP Features	Clear & simple interface Good navigation Creating a network (limited basis)	Missing & found pets section Active network
Cons	Some lazy load issues Fake & inactive profiles	Login issues DB error messages Not enough editorial support Sharing options is not working properly Bad for battery life
Target Market	Any user with a need to get some info about his/her pet, persons who love pets.	Any user with a need to want to share his/her pet photos with a community & want to shout for missing/lost pet situation
Usability	Has good usability with a clear & simple interface & good navigation	Does not have the best UI and has problems with the patterns, user amount, and navigation.