Bonded
Bonded
Bonded
Bonded is a mobile app improving the foster and adopter experience at The Bond Between, an animal rescue organization.
Solo Project
Solo Project
Role
Role
User Researcher
UX Designer
UI Designer
Role
User Researcher
Visual Designer
Tools + Methods
Tools + Methods
Figma
FigJam
Affinity Mapping
User Interviews
Usability Testing
Background
Background
Background
The Bond Between (TBB) is a non-profit animal rescue organization based out of Minnetonka, Minnesota. Tens of thousands of animals get saved every year thanks to the help of hundreds of volunteers, fosters, and adopters.
Problem
Problem
Problem
As a foster and volunteer at TBB, I've seen firsthand the issues both fosters and adopters face. First, there are multiple touch points fosters and adopters have to go through: the website, email, and text. That makes it confusing and difficult to keep track of important information. Second, many animals end up being returned due to the animal not being how the person expected them to be like, which is stressful for the animal and the person. Third, there's a lack of information throughout the entire process for both stakeholders, leaving room for misunderstandings.
Solution
Solution
Solution
Bonded is an all-in-one platform that allows fosters and adopters to carry out the entirety of their processes and communication within the app. Thus allowing TBB to find homes for their animals faster. By streamlining the foster and adoption process, TBB can focus on doing what it does best, saving animals' lives.
My initial low fidelity wireframe of the gallery page
My initial low fidelity wireframe of an animal's profile page
Process
Process
Process
Initial Research
I conducted 7 interviews with every stakeholder involved in fostering and adoption at TBB: 5 fosters, 2 adopters, and 1 person who works at TBB (who is also a foster). That allowed me to gather data on the current foster and adoption process and identify possible pain points along in each stakeholder's respective journey's.
Key Findings
Upon interviewing, people mentioned things like animals being returned to TBB both by fosters and by adopters, or difficulties in communicating with another stakeholder. They also shared complaints with the new application process for adopters being too lax. It soon became evident that there were many glaring issues fosters, adopters, and TBB face.
I categorized the pain points into 3 main groups:
Communication overload
Animal returns due to poor fit
Lack of information
Communication was due to the multiple touch points mentioned earlier: the website, email, and text, which led people to feel confused, frustrated, and felt that many emails were cumbersome. For example, in the 7 day timespan I had my foster dog, I received over 30 back and forth emails with TBB alone.
Animals being returned was mentioned by 5/7 people interviewed, with 4 of those people being fosters whose experienced an adopted animal returned to them or having to return a foster themselves to TBB.
The majority of people interviewed (5/7) also had issues with a lack of information in some capacity, whether it be wishing they had some sort of progress bar or more information on an animal, or just more information on both the adoption and foster process as a whole.
Another key piece of information I found out was that everyone I interviewed favored using their phone when browsing animals and communicating with adopters/fosters. A couple people also mentioned that they found the mobile version of the website to be "glitchy" or "not user-friendly".
Wireframing & Prototyping
Based on the information gathered from my initial usability testing, I sketched out low-fidelity wireframes that focused on addressing the 3 main pain points.
To reduce communication issues I included the ability to message each other within the app, so that all stakeholders (fosters, adopters, and TBB) can communicate with each other on one platform.
To reduce animal returns, I provided more educational features throughout. 1) Fosters can upload photos and videos directly through the app, the latter allowing more of an animal's personality to come through (and isn't currently an option). Fosters also have the ability to update an animal's profile themselves, which isn't currently an option either. This ability can lead to more updated and accurate animal profiles. 2) The app also shows an animal's personality characteristics in a visual way with a scale, which is easier and faster for someone to digest rather than the current long paragraph people have to read. Now, users will have an easier time understanding if an animal will fit their lifestyle. 3) A notice of responsibility was added to the foster application process, alerting users of the serious responsibility of fostering and caring for an animal, in hopes of decreasing the amount of returns by fosters.
To increase information throughout, I included a resources section of the app, for both fosters and adopters, in addition to including a progress indicator for adopters, and including an overview of both the foster and adopter process before beginning the application,
Initial Research
I conducted 7 interviews with every stakeholder involved in fostering and adoption at TBB: 5 fosters, 2 adopters, and 1 person who works at TBB (who is also a foster). That allowed me to gather data on the current foster and adoption process and identify possible pain points along in each stakeholder's respective journey's.
Key Findings
Upon interviewing, people mentioned things like animals being returned to TBB both by fosters and by adopters, or difficulties in communicating with another stakeholder. They also shared complaints with the new application process for adopters being too lax. It soon became evident that there were many glaring issues fosters, adopters, and TBB face.
I categorized the pain points into 3 main groups:
Communication overload
Animal returns due to poor fit
Lack of information
Communication was due to the multiple touch points mentioned earlier: the website, email, and text, which led people to feel confused, frustrated, and felt that many emails were cumbersome. For example, in the 7 day timespan I had my foster dog, I received over 30 back and forth emails with TBB alone.
Animals being returned was mentioned by 5/7 people interviewed, with 4 of those people being fosters whose experienced an adopted animal returned to them or having to return a foster themselves to TBB.
The majority of people interviewed (5/7) also had issues with a lack of information in some capacity, whether it be wishing they had some sort of progress bar or more information on an animal, or just more information on both the adoption and foster process as a whole.
Another key piece of information I found out was that everyone I interviewed favored using their phone when browsing animals and communicating with adopters/fosters. A couple people also mentioned that they found the mobile version of the website to be "glitchy" or "not user-friendly".
Wireframing & Prototyping
Based on the information gathered from my initial usability testing, I sketched out low-fidelity wireframes that focused on addressing the 3 main pain points.
To reduce communication issues I included the ability to message each other within the app, so that all stakeholders (fosters, adopters, and TBB) can communicate with each other on one platform.
To reduce animal returns, I provided more educational features throughout. 1) Fosters can upload photos and videos directly through the app, the latter allowing more of an animal's personality to come through (and isn't currently an option). Fosters also have the ability to update an animal's profile themselves, which isn't currently an option either. This ability can lead to more updated and accurate animal profiles. 2) The app also shows an animal's personality characteristics in a visual way with a scale, which is easier and faster for someone to digest rather than the current long paragraph people have to read. Now, users will have an easier time understanding if an animal will fit their lifestyle. 3) A notice of responsibility was added to the foster application process, alerting users of the serious responsibility of fostering and caring for an animal, in hopes of decreasing the amount of returns by fosters.
To increase information throughout, I included a resources section of the app, for both fosters and adopters, in addition to including a progress indicator for adopters, and including an overview of both the foster and adopter process before beginning the application,
Initial Research
I conducted 7 interviews with every stakeholder involved in fostering and adoption at TBB: 5 fosters, 2 adopters, and 1 person who works at TBB (who is also a foster). That allowed me to gather data on the current foster and adoption process and identify possible pain points along in each stakeholder's respective journey's.
Key Findings
Upon interviewing, people mentioned things like animals being returned to TBB both by fosters and by adopters, or difficulties in communicating with another stakeholder. They also shared complaints with the new application process for adopters being too lax. It soon became evident that there were many glaring issues fosters, adopters, and TBB face.
I categorized the pain points into 3 main groups:
Communication overload
Animal returns due to poor fit
Lack of information
Communication was due to the multiple touch points mentioned earlier: the website, email, and text, which led people to feel confused, frustrated, and felt that many emails were cumbersome. For example, in the 7 day timespan I had my foster dog, I received over 30 back and forth emails with TBB alone.
Animals being returned was mentioned by 5/7 people interviewed, with 4 of those people being fosters whose experienced an adopted animal returned to them or having to return a foster themselves to TBB.
The majority of people interviewed (5/7) also had issues with a lack of information in some capacity, whether it be wishing they had some sort of progress bar or more information on an animal, or just more information on both the adoption and foster process as a whole.
Another key piece of information I found out was that everyone I interviewed favored using their phone when browsing animals and communicating with adopters/fosters. A couple people also mentioned that they found the mobile version of the website to be "glitchy" or "not user-friendly".
Wireframing & Prototyping
Based on the information gathered from my initial usability testing, I sketched out low-fidelity wireframes that focused on addressing the 3 main pain points.
To reduce communication issues I included the ability to message each other within the app, so that all stakeholders (fosters, adopters, and TBB) can communicate with each other on one platform.
To reduce animal returns, I provided more educational features throughout. 1) Fosters can upload photos and videos directly through the app, the latter allowing more of an animal's personality to come through (and isn't currently an option). Fosters also have the ability to update an animal's profile themselves, which isn't currently an option either. This ability can lead to more updated and accurate animal profiles. 2) The app also shows an animal's personality characteristics in a visual way with a scale, which is easier and faster for someone to digest rather than the current long paragraph people have to read. Now, users will have an easier time understanding if an animal will fit their lifestyle. 3) A notice of responsibility was added to the foster application process, alerting users of the serious responsibility of fostering and caring for an animal, in hopes of decreasing the amount of returns by fosters.
To increase information throughout, I included a resources section of the app, for both fosters and adopters, in addition to including a progress indicator for adopters, and including an overview of both the foster and adopter process before beginning the application,
My initial low fidelity wireframe of the gallery page
My initial low fidelity wireframe of an animal's profile page
Usability Testing
After building out the prototype to mid-fidelity, I conducted 5 usability tests to gain insights and feedback on the content, content placement, content value, and overall usability of my prototype. The usability tests revealed 5 findings:
Resources located in the settings wasn't easy to find
Overall completion of tasks on app was easy
Avg easiness rating of 9.1/10 with 10/10 being super easy to do
How to schedule a meeting with an adopter wasn't super obvious
Some language could be changed
Easy to understand functionality of prototype
Updated Prototype
Changes were made that addressed the 5 findings.
Usability Testing
After building out the prototype to mid-fidelity, I conducted 5 usability tests to gain insights and feedback on the content, content placement, content value, and overall usability of my prototype. The usability tests revealed 5 findings:
Resources located in the settings wasn't easy to find
Overall completion of tasks on app was easy
Avg easiness rating of 9.1/10 with 10/10 being super easy to do
How to schedule a meeting with an adopter wasn't super obvious
Some language could be changed
Easy to understand functionality of prototype
Updated Prototype
Changes were made that addressed the 5 findings.
Usability Testing
After building out the prototype to mid-fidelity, I conducted 5 usability tests to gain insights and feedback on the content, content placement, content value, and overall usability of my prototype. The usability tests revealed 5 findings:
Resources located in the settings wasn't easy to find
Overall completion of tasks on app was easy
Avg easiness rating of 9.1/10 with 10/10 being super easy to do
How to schedule a meeting with an adopter wasn't super obvious
Some language could be changed
Easy to understand functionality of prototype
Updated Prototype
Changes were made that addressed the 5 findings.
“The mobile view of the current website isn't user-friendly. That's why I don't foster dogs off [TBB's] site.”
“The mobile view of the current website isn't user-friendly. That's why I don't foster dogs off [TBB's] site.”
“The mobile view of the current website isn't user-friendly. That's why I don't foster dogs off [TBB's] site.”
Research Participant
Reflection
Reflection
Reflection
Next Steps
Complete Usability Tests with High-fidelity Prototype
I made changes to my initial prototype after conducting usability tests, so the new changes have been untested. In the future, I want to run usability tests with the updated, high-fidelity prototype and test it with a wider audience of at least 10 people.
I made changes to my initial prototype after conducting usability tests, so the new changes have been untested. In the future, I want to run usability tests with the updated, high-fidelity prototype and test it with a wider audience of at least 10 people.
Work with The Bond Between
As a volunteer and follower of TBB, it would be an honor to work with the organization to bring my app into existence and help animals get rescued! I reached out to the founder with my prototype and I'm hoping to get a conversation with them eventually.
As a volunteer and follower of TBB, it would be an honor to work with the organization to bring my app into existence and help animals get rescued! I reached out to the founder with my prototype and I'm hoping to get a conversation with them eventually.
Challenges
Multiple Stakeholders
The foster and adoption process has multiple stakeholders who all interact with each other at various points of their respective journeys, so aligning those points and creating a seamless experience for not one but three users in mind was an added layer of complexity.
The foster and adoption process has multiple stakeholders who all interact with each other at various points of their respective journeys, so aligning those points and creating a seamless experience for not one but three users in mind was an added layer of complexity.
