Non-profit website
Humane Society of Utah
Dedicated to the elimination of pain, fear, and suffering in all animals. The Humane Society of Utah saves the lives of over 12,000 pets annually—including nearly 10,000 adoptions into new loving homes and many more through transfers to trusted rescue groups to handle special behavior and medical cases, return to owners, and pet retention and shelter diversion services. The website is used to find out more information about pets and adoption.
Executive Summary
The Humane Society website focuses primarily on the adoption process within the Humane Society staff. Users indicated a need for more information and resources to help them successfully provide a healthy and nurturing environment for their adopted pet after they arrive at home. After initial testing, we proposed expansion of the at-home information that should be available on mobile responsive pages on the website.
Laura Dahl, PhD, Primary researcher and designer
The client wanted feedback on the site
The client asked for some user feedback on the site before they made updates to it. Updates were planned for the website, and feedback was needed to understand how to update it.
Platform
A volunteer-run website
Work Done
Localized feedback and design and content updates
Timeframe
We were allowed a three-week sprint during 2020 before delivering research findings and new designs to the client.
Overview
Initial usability testing was done with pet owners who had adopted at least one pet from the Humane Society of Utah. Feedback from these interviews informed our thinking and contributed to the designs we created. Further testing with users and stakeholders informed final design decisions and more information added for at-home pet care.
Exploratory Usability Research
Usability Testing
We did usability testing on the existing website with seven people, including four women and three men. All participants have animals in their home and have adopted at least one from the Humane Society of Utah.
Usability testing protocol – participants were given the following task scenario:
- Imagine that you would like to adopt a pet through the Humane Society of Utah.
- Show me what you would do.
- What works well from this website
- What does not work well from this website
Usability Findings
- During the adoption process, the information on the website is good and helps them understand what happens
- After adopting and bringing the pet home, users need more information and resources to successfully provide a healthy and nurturing environment for their adopted pet after they arrive at home.
Definition and Ideation
- We read through our notes and categorized the findings on Miro. A one-page research report was written for the client.
- This report was a springboard of ideas during a discussion with the client. We discussed the research findings and decided on necessary updates that include functional requirements and interactions.
- We then did a competitive evaluation of other animal adoption websites. We compared the interactions we saw on these websites with the feedback received from participants.
- Ideas from the discussion with the client, feedback from participants, and the competitive analysis helped start the sketching process.
- Using whiteboards and paper sketching, I worked on a user workflow and designs for new pages on the app.
Low-Fidelity Prototype
We created low-fidelity wireframes in Figma.
Low fidelity wireframes adjusted the following screens to meet the needs of initial usability participants:
- We added screens that navigated users to helpful articles about in-home animal care.
- We added screens of proposed article titles and content.
Pet Care - Select an animal with mobile navigation menu
Caring for cats landing screen
Cat Behavior article list
Proposed new article about pet socialization
Iterative Research
Iterative Usability Testing
We did full 30-minute usability tests with the same participants from the initial usability testing interviews. Participants usability tested with the low-fidelity wireframes
Usability tasks and questions:
- Imagine that you already have a dog and adopted a cat from the Humane Society of Utah.
- The cat and dog are not getting along, and you want to find information about handling the situation.
- Please show me what you would do.
Usability Findings
- Generally, the user flow made sense to participants.
- Labels and wording on buttons and cards did not always match users’ mental models, and they expected different wording for the content of the articles.
- Some button interactions were not as expected, and more Bootstrap design elements, such as cards, should be included.
- The home screen did not look like a home page, so we should add more information, including a “Pet of the Week.”
High-Fidelity Prototype
After receiving feedback from the usability tests on low-fidelity screens, we created high-fidelity mockups adjusted according to a greater understanding of users’ needs.
These updated screens included a new home screen with a “Pet of the Week,” and more explanation about the links contained therein.
New home screen with Pet of the Week and better text explanations
Updated caring for cats screen with requested articles on health and behavior
Updated cat article list with clearer article titles
Updated final article page with improved title and explanatory images
Conclusion and Future Opportunities
We sent the final, high-fidelity designs to the client for their review, and they decided to consider our proposed updates to interactions and information on the website.
Because wording on labels and article titles was close but still confusing to some participants, we recommended further research.
- Survey at least 100 people to find the most apparent wording for navigation and article titles
- Conduct A/B tests with two updated versions of the app