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PAW PAL
Fun Project 

CHALLENGE - PET ADOPTION 

Millions of animals are currently in shelters and foster homes awaiting adoption. Design an experience that will help connect people looking for a new pet with the right companion for them. Help an adopter find a pet which matches their lifestyle, considering factors including breed, gender, age, temperament, and health status.
 
 
FACTORS DETERMINING PET ADOPTION -
 
 
 
Emotion?              Health?               Care?               Cost?
 
 
 
 
 

Design Assumptions
 

The following assumptions support my designed solution. Research suggested that if a goal pet is matched to the owner's characteristics, adoption is likely to go up. this is the basis of our solution.

 

• The research focused on dog ownership by owner personality types can be extended to other types of pets

• Human personality can be a reasonable indicator of pet ownership preferences

• The “Cute Factor” from a human standpoint outshines any preference based selection of desired pets

• The “PAW Pal” application does not take evolving human preferences with factors such as age, income, living standard, education, etc. into consideration

• The design wireframe is meant to only display a subset of unique wireframes, and not the complete selection criteria

• For the purpose of this exercise, my Pet Focus Group = Dog

• An adopter personality match to the pet-type may help overcome people’s reluctance to adopt a pet from a shelter.

Initial Findings 
 

Why don’t more people adopt than buy a pet? During the Research Phase, I discovered that people considering a pet held incorrect preconceived notions when it comes to Shelters

 

• Shelter dogs have behavioral issues, while breeder dogs do not

• All Shelter dogs are a mixed breed

• Shelters are dirty and the shelter animals are unhappy, and I do not want an unhappy pet

 

So, why then should one adopt a pet?

• To save a life

• To save money since adoption costs a tad less than buying net new

• Every animal deserves a second chance and it’s not their fault that they landed up in the shelter

• The older a pet, the more likely it will its personality is already well determined, whereas a new pup can be very different in the years following it’s purchase

How it worked ?

APPROACH & RESEARCH

The following presents sample questions (on personality and lifestyle) that I plan to ask the adopter to find him/her the best pet.

​

  • PERSONALITY QUESTION

  • PET FOCUSED QUESTION 

  • SELF FOCUSED QUESTION 

PET FOCUSED QUESTIONS 

 

THE DOG'S BACKGROUND/HISTORY IS IMPORTANT TO YOU?(NOT AN ABANDONED PET)

• YES

• NOT IMPORTANT

 

I WOULD LIKE A DOG THAT IS NOT CONSTANTLY SEEKING

MY ATTENTION?

• YES

• NOT IMPORTANT

 

MY DOG IS LIKELY TO BE HOME ALONE WHILE I AM AT

WORK?

• AGREE

• DISAGREE

 

I WOULD LIKE A WELL MANNERED AND FRIENDLY DOG

• AGREE

• DISAGREE

 

 

SELF FOCUSED QUESTIONS 

​

I LIVE IN

• HOME

• APARTMENT

​

I WILL WALK MY DOG DAILY

• AGREE

• DISAGREE

​

MY FAMILY IS ALLERGIC TO DOG HAIR

• YES

• NO

​

WHAT PETS DO YOU CURRENTLY HAVE?

• A DOG

• CAT

• BIRD

• OTHERS

​

WHAT AGE RANGE BEST DESCRIBES YOU?

• < 20

• >20 & <35

• >35 & <45

• >45 & <50​+

APPROACH & RESEARCH

Real brainstorm facilitation requires lots of reps, trial, and error. As a design thinking practitioner, I found the Ideate phase of design thinking particularly challenging since things are changing every day. 

 

It took me some time to plan my first brainstorm after my initial design.In design, thinking observation takes center stage. Observation can discern what people really do as opposed to what you are told that they do.

 

Getting out of the cube and involving oneself in the process, product, shopping experience or operating theater is fundamental. 

PET FOCUSED QUESTIONS 

 

THE DOG'S BACKGROUND/HISTORY IS IMPORTANT TO YOU?(NOT AN ABANDONED PET)

• YES

• NOT IMPORTANT

 

I WOULD LIKE A DOG THAT IS NOT CONSTANTLY SEEKING

MY ATTENTION?

• YES

• NOT IMPORTANT

 

MY DOG IS LIKELY TO BE HOME ALONE WHILE I AM AT

WORK?

• AGREE

• DISAGREE

 

I WOULD LIKE A WELL MANNERED AND FRIENDLY DOG

• AGREE

• DISAGREE

 

 

SELF FOCUSED QUESTIONS 

​

I LIVE IN

• HOME

• APARTMENT

​

I WILL WALK MY DOG DAILY

• AGREE

• DISAGREE

​

MY FAMILY IS ALLERGIC TO DOG HAIR

• YES

• NO

​

WHAT PETS DO YOU CURRENTLY HAVE?

• A DOG

• CAT

• BIRD

• OTHERS

​

WHAT AGE RANGE BEST DESCRIBES YOU?

• < 20

• >20 & <35

• >35 & <45

• >45 & <50​+

PERSONALITY QUESTIONS 

 

WHAT BEST DESCRIBES YOU?

  • SYMPATHETIC OR LOGICALLY MINDED

  • RULE FOLLOWER OR PLAYFUL

  • SENSITIVE OR MACHO

  • INPATIENT OR CHILLAXED

  • EXERCISE OFTEN OR SELF MAINTAINED

  • PLANNER OR FLEXIBLE

Final Design 

We have determined the user’s needs about the mobile banking functions with the analysis. We know what people expect to get from the mobile banking app main screen and the way they will use it to solve their problems.

Other Google Considerations 

The flagship Google search engine can enable smart research ranging from human personality and pet matching to, current occupant trends at various shelters and foster homes around the world. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
 
• Integrate PAW PAL with Google Virtual Help to Adding Human Interaction, through a simple two-way video chat, help in the adoption process to make more engaging with an experts
• Google Maps can help to look for shelter or foster home location with your google login.
• Picasa shared via Google to keep more photos of pets.
• Facial recognition capability at some point in the future.

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