Major Project I / Proposal Development

03.02.25 - 23.03.25 / Week 1 - Week 7
Name: ALYSSA AISYAH BINTI 'ARIEF NASRAN (0364017)
BDCM
Major Project I (DST61004) 

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INSTRUCTIONS

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MAJOR PROJECT I

Proposal Development

Project Timeline

Discovery (Week 1-3)

• What is PetNav 
• Problem Statement
• Project Aim & Objectives 
• Target Audience
• User Research 

Define (Week 4-5)

• User Persona
• User Journey Map 
• Proposed Solutions

Ideate (Week 6-7)

• Information Architecture 
• User Flow
• Brand Guidelines 
• Visual References 
• Sketches
• Concept presentation

Week 1

Discovery

Groups of 4 were formed. My group members were:

• Janice Marie Eng Chia Hui
• Chong Hui Yi
• Chooi Cheng Yue 

Then, after the briefing and being instructed to think about potential ideas/problems, we started brainstorming by jotting down whatever came to mind that could be interesting as a topic, or writing out problems we had/observed.

Fig 0.1 Initial Potential Ideas

Each of us then focused on a topic to individually research so we could discuss it on the next meeting. I decided to research on pet training and pet user experience as I have always loved and cared for the welfare of animals, and was particularly interested in how user experience can apply to pets/affect them. I also personally heard of some difficulty from other regarding training their pets.

Fig 0.2 My Research of Pet Training & Pet User Experience in Pet Toys

From my research I discovered/concluded the following findings:

Pet Training

• Many pet owners struggle with training, especially first-time owners or pets that have breed-specific needs and training resources often fail to personalize for a pet’s unique behavior or learning speed.

• Most pet-owners who prioritize training are those who own dogs.

• Professional dog training can be expensive, 94% of owners prefer to train their dogs at home

• Spending on pets is increasing as dog owners spend around $400-700 yearly on pet-related expenses, and Gen Z is more willing than other generations to invest in their pets.

• There is potential for interactive training apps/devices that offers personalized training plans based on breed/behavior/goals. Features could include progress tracking and step-by-step lessons.

Pet User Experience - Pet Toys

• Most pet toys are made for human aesthetics, not how pets perceive or interact with objects leading to poor engagement and underuse.

• Species-specific needs are often ignored although they differ in visual, olfactory, and tactile capabilities which many toy designs fail to accommodate.

• Applying principles of UX design to pet toys (visual perception, scent, texture) can make toys more engaging and stimulating for pets.

• Potential design considerations could include: vision (dogs struggle with red/green but see blue/yellow well; cats detect motion and contrast better), scent (toys with built-in compartments for scent materials like catnip to enhance interest), and touch/texture (dogs like chewy but resistant textures; cats prefer soft ones for kneading and rough for scratching)

• Potential development of multi-sensory, interactive toys that combine species-specific UX insights to enhance pet playtime enrichment.

2 of my other team members researched about pet-related topics as well, so in the end we decided to focus on a pet-care related topic and did market research on the pet industry in order to better understand current trends, consumer behavior, and potential gaps or opportunities in the pet market.

Fig 0.3 Initial Research

Week 2

Each member focused on different areas of pet market research. I researched on what pet care's biggest spending is and concluded the following:

Pet Care Market Research (Biggest Spending)

• Pet food and products are the largest spending categories in the pet care industry, followed by veterinary care.
• The trend is driven by the essential nature of pet food, premiumization trends, and the overall “humanization” of pets.

• While food, essential pet care products, and vet care are the primary spending categories, there are a few others that contribute to the overall expense of pet ownership, including:

  1. Grooming
  2. Pet sitting/boarding
  3. Pet insurance

Fig 0.4 My Pet Care Market Research (Biggest Spending)

Fig 0.5 Pet Care Market Research 

Since pet care as a topic is quite broad, we were a bit lost on what aspects to focus on, so we decided to carry out a short survey and send them to pet owners in order to identify their actual wants/needs regarding pet care.

Fig 0.6 Survey Questions

After collecting 40 responses, we then analyzed the survey findings and identified some of the main problems pet owners faced, as well as what they wanted regarding pet care. 

Fig 0.7 Survey Analysis

Their main challenges were:

• Concerns relating to pet-care services, such as the rising costs, locating them, or reserving them
• Health issues
• Being too busy to play with their pets

Their main wants were:

• Pet care service tracker
• Pet care guide
• Accessibility to vets/vet consultations

Since the top concern was regarding pet care services, we decided to focus solely on that topic and settled on the idea of a pet care service finder platform. Then, we moved on to creating the interview questions and carrying out the interviews. After identifying our target audience as pet owners and pet care service providers, we created separate interview questionnaires for them and each member was assigned to interview pet owners/pet care service providers to gather insights from both ends of the service experience:

• Alyssa(me): 2 pet owners + 1 vet
• Hui Yi: 3 pet owners
• Cheng Yue: 2 pet owners + 1 pet hotel
• Janice: 2 pet owners + 1 pet groomer

Fig 0.8 Interview Questionnaires

Week 3

In week 3 we transcribed our interviews and then listed the findings from each one, and made an individual affinity diagram to combine later into 1 overall affinity diagram. I ended up interviewing 3 pet owners and 1 vet, however, finding a cooperative vet was quite difficult as every one I approached said they would need to confirm with their management first, so the response for the vet came a bit later. 

Fig 0.9 My Interview Transcript 

Fig 1.0 My Individual Affinity Diagram

Individual Interviews Summary

• Challenges faced: Concerns about pet health, high service costs, cleanliness of facilities, long waiting times, difficulty finding available or suitable vets

• How they find pet care services: Word-of-mouth, Google, Social Media, Online reviews, (but some distrust online platforms due to unverified or fake reviews)

• How they arrange for appointments: Bookings & Walk-ins (via phone, messaging apps, or in person)

• What they need: Trustworthy reviews, verified service listings, clearer pricing, more accessible vet options

Then, once we listed our individual findings, we then made an affinity diagram out of it and compiled all the data together to identify key patterns and insights.

Fig 1.1 Overall Affinity Diagram

Fig 1.2 Interview Summary

Then we summarized our research from the data we got from the survey, interviews, and individual members research.

Fig 1.3 Research Summary

We also worked on our competitive analysis this week. Since our interviewee findings were that they mostly find pet care services through google, xiao hong shu, facebook, and tiktok, each member did an individual competitive analysis on one. I did google.

Fig 1.4 Google Competitive Analysis in Finding Pet Care Services

We then were able to compile our overall competitive analysis summary into a chart.

Fig 1.5 Competitive Analysis Summary

The slides for task 1 submission were also finished this week.

Fig 1.6 Task 1 Slides

Week 4

Define

This week we came up with our user personas. We decided to come up with 3 personas which were:

• Pet owner who wants to bring their pet to the vet (Lily Lee)
• Pet owner who wants to bring their pet to the groomer (Vanessa Varden)
• A vet (Dr. Ahmad Adam)

Fig 1.7 User Persona 1

Fig 1.8 User Persona 2

Fig 1.9 User Persona 3

After confirming the user personas, we then split into groups to work on the journey map for each of our personas. I worked on Dr Ahmad Adam's journey map together with Cheng Yue.

Fig 2.0 Draft Journey Map for Dr Ahmad Adam

Fig 2.1 Draft Journey Map for Vanessa Varden

Fig 2.2 Draft Journey Map for Lily Lee

After further discussion we then refined the journey maps into:

• 3 user journey maps of our 3 user personas without solutions
• 2 user journey maps (1 for pet owner + 1 for vet) with solutions

Fig 2.3 Lily Lee Journey Map Without Solutions

Fig 2.4 Lily Lee Journey Map Without Solutions

Fig 2.5 Vanessa Varden Journey Map Without Solutions

Fig 2.6 Vanessa Varden Journey Map Without Solutions

Fig 2.7 Dr Ahmad Adam Journey Map Without Solutions

Fig 2.8 Dr Ahmad Adam Journey Map Without Solutions

Fig 2.9 User Journey Maps (Pet Owners & Pet Service Providers) With Solutions

Week 5

This week we compiled all our ideas for the app and voted on them to figure out which ones we should implement.

Fig 3.0 Idea Compilation

Fig 3.1 Grouping Ideas Into Categories

Then we grouped our ideas into categories to identify our main themes which ended up being:

• Convenience
• Community
• Pet-ivities (Pet activities)

Fig 3.2 Convenience (Key Theme 1)

Fig 3.3 Community (Key Theme 2)

Fig 3.4 Pet-ivities (Key Theme 2)

The task 2 slides were also finalised and submitted this week

Fig 3.5 Task 2 Slides

Week 6

Ideate

This week we focused on the user flow chart, card sorting, and information architecture. We first listed all the screens and functions of each of our features so we could put it together properly for the flow chart.

Fig 3.6 Screens & Features Compilation

For the user flow chart we first created the individual user flows of the main key features before compiling them into one user flow.

Fig 3.7 Individual User Flows

Fig 3.8 Combined User Flow

User Flow Chart

• Pet Care Service Booking
• Pet Care Provider
• Pet Taxi Finder
• Personalised Pet Date Planner
• Community Posting
• SOS Emergency Signal
• Adding a Pet Flow

Then, moving on to card sorting, we initially tried to do it on a site called UXBerry, but unfortunately they had a limit to how many responses there could be, so we decided to do the card sorting on Figma. For card sorting, each person had to recruit 3 participants.

Fig 3.9 My Card Sorting

Then we compiled all our individual card sorting results by calculating them with a matrix chart so we could see the agreed total for features for each category and then sort the information out into our information architecture

Fig 4.0 Card Sorting Matrix

Fig 4.1 Card Sorting Results Information Architecture

Once we had all the technical aspects of our app flow complete, we moved onto the design phase. We first all sketched out the lo-fi design for the booking process of a pet care service, however, we decided to switch to each member creating different flows of our app instead:

• Alyssa (me): Booking a pet taxi
• Hui Yi: Booking a pet care service
• Janice: Planing a personalised pet date
• Cheng Yue: Setting up an account for a pet care service business

Fig 4.2 My Initial 'Booking A Pet Care Service' Lo-fi Wireframe Sketch

I created the lo-fi prototype in Figma and the flow is read from left to right, top row first and then bottom. The pet taxi user flow functions similarly to something like uber/grab, but with the ability to input pet details for the proper ride accommodation for them as it is fit and customised towards pets.

Fig 4.3 My 'Booking a Pet Taxi' Lo-fi Wireframes

After that we moved on to the design guidelines. We tested out some different versions of the homescreen in figma to get a clearer idea on the key visualisation of our app and tested with different blue/yellow variations and font variations until we landed on a final design. We also did individual exploration for visual references and made an overall design direction in Miro, then we created the full design guidelines in Figma.

Fig 4.4 Key Visualisation Exploration

Fig 4.5 My Visual References

Fig 4.6 Miro Design Direction

Final Design Guidelines

Fig 4.7 Full Design Guidelines

At this point we had completed all tasks and the last thing left was to compile everything into the slides for presentation which we did. 

After the presentation feedback we received along with some feedback from Mr Shamsul, we modified our competitor's analysis and each member analyse an app that was similar to our app so we could add on to our competitors analysis. I analysed the app PetDesk.

Fig 4.8 PetDesk Competitive Analysis

Fig 4.9 Updated Competitors Analysis

Final Submission

Fig 5.0 Task 3 Slides

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FEEDBACK

Week 1

Dr Wong: 

• Since you have already shown that there are problems within those areas (pet travel, pet disease, etc.) you can leave them.
• So it seems that right now you have a total of 2 ideas (after combining the pet ideas). You can decide if you want to pick one from the 2 or explore more options.
• However, please reach out to your supervisor and confirm with him first.

Week 2

Nedu: 

• Pet service, and vet can be included to pet service (combine these two).
• Add in description in the project development.

Week 3

Mr Razif: 

• You want to have the reflection on what are the possible answers like why would they use it or why wouldn't they use it.
• Questions for interviews or surveys should not have a yes or no answer.
• The question has to be in phases or section.
• Affinity diagram is to match concerns.
• How might we is a driving question to help get ideas, its a structure way in a broad sense.
• What makes your app special?
• If you want to propose or get people to come, state what is special about the selling (Ex: My restaurant sells nasi lemak with chicken all day).

Week 4

Nedu:

• Not innovative enough. AI navigation? Based on current traffic and live location.
• Pet Tinder: A fun idea, good for pitching.

Week 5

• Our supervisor missed the consultation time.

Week 6

Nedu: 

• Don't say GPS, research APIS (google map search API) that can find shops around u
• Minimal homepage

Week 7

Dr Wong: 

• You can try exploring overseas platforms that have the same functions as yours. You can add it to your competitor's analysis.
• You can consider working with actual pet stores
• The outcome has to be 4 different end product

Mr Shamsul:

• Make sure the user reviews are valid
• Have some indicators that the pet centre is very good/verified
• Editing the problem statement to say user reviews are unreliable
• Only 1 or 2 features in the key feature section
• Or you could customise the key feature sections like touch and go
• Or use an algorithm to edit the key features based on your search history like Netflix
• The card sorting feature should be understandable we can redo it to find out our key features section
• Simplify the 'planning a date with your pet' term
• Feature in your home screen should not be too much
• Find out the key features of card sorting

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REFLECTION

Working on this project was extremely heavy as the time constraints for this semester were very short in comparison to the workload, though it was a good opportunity to experience firsthand what it is like working in a simulated, small scale version of a UI/UX team. The experience to me emphasized the importance of research in design, and also communication, and refinement in each step up until the final product. Communication is really important as everyone has different ideas, so it was important to communicate well and thoroughly, not being afraid to give suggestions or comments as we need to come to a consensus on essential aspects of the project. I only wish we were able to present fully as we had practiced lots before presentation day to fit the time limit (12 minutes), yet when it came, most of our slides were skipped, and I wish we had gotten more feedback from our supervisor, as we felt quite lost the entire semester and our supervisor also seemed unsure himself, so the feedback didn't seem reliable or conclusive.