My Role
User Experience Designer
Time
Feb 27 to 29 - 2017
What is Retriever?
Retriever is a GPS tracking collar-based solution that ensures swifter retrieval of missing pets. It uses low energy consuming hardware to extend collar battery life to around 6 months and leverages the companion app user base to help in finding the lost pet.
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The following process summarizes the steps behind the ideation of a product in a 3-day hackathon with a team of 6.
UX Skills
UX Design - Wireframing - Prototyping - User Research - Usability Testing - Sketch - Balsamiq
Management Skills
Leadership - Market Research - Business Analysis - Public Speaking
Overview
Our idea was born while we were listening to animal health professionals give a presentation about new technologies and products in the field. We could see these people really loved their pets and there seemed to be no good solution that would prevent them from getting lost or at least help retrieve them quickly.
Being surrounded by vets and animal enthusiasts it was easy to sit down and talk to them. Our goal was to understand what they usually do when their pets get lost. Did they knew of solutions that would prevent this and what current products existed that we may leverage on.
Apart from the information obtained through interviews, research yielded these alarming figures:
10 million pets go missing every year in the US
1/3 of all pets get lost at least once during their life​​
User Research
Problem Definition
Our findings led us to understand that there were many issues faced by pet owners in the United States. We decided to focus on four of the most recurring ones:​​​
This stage also led us to define our target users/customers.
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It is very hard for owners to know if their pet has become lost and sometimes it takes hours before the pet owner becomes aware of this.
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Current solutions are not very convenient. Existing collars need to be recharged daily and internal chips require very specific scanners.
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When a pet is found, it is sometimes hard to know what to do. The more time a pet is lost the harder it is to find.
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It's very hard for outsiders to understand if a pet is lost. Sometimes dogs roam far from their owners in open parks, playgrounds etc.
This stage also led us to define our target users/customers.
Taking this into account we defined our primary persona as follows:
Primary Persona - Pet Lover & Owner
Tamara is a graphic designer living in Brooklyn. When she is not with Rodolfo, her beagle, she is working for a small design agency in midtown. She lives with roommates and sometimes they leave the door open and Rodolfo gets out. Last time he left the house he almost got hit by a car.
Tamara knows the feeling of losing a pet and how stressful the ordeal can be. She loves Rodolfo like family and has a very strong bond with him.
Problem Statement
"Pet lovers require a solution that will help them retrieve their lost pets and prevent them from ever getting lost again"
At first, these problems seemed difficult to tackle. But, after several rounds of brainstorming we decided that a collar based solution with a companion mobile app would be the best alternative. The decision seemed to make the most sense because of the fact that most pet lovers have smartphones and we can leverage the technology to help search for lost pets.
Once having decided on the modality of our solution we proceeded to brainstorm the minimum features our web application needed to have to be able to solve our user's problems.
The features we decided our MVP needed to posses were:​​
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A better battery life using a recently released chip
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An NFC failsafe to empower anyone with a smartphone, even if the collar battery dies
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A light and sound system that turns on when the pet leaves the wifi perimeter
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A free companion app that will recruit nearby community members that want to help in the search
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Once having decided on the modality of our solution we proceeded to brainstorm the way our idea would work and the minimum features our mobile application would need to provide a feasible solution for our user base.
Brainstorming & Ideation
Our first mobile app prototype was in a Balsamiq. There we laid out the flow we wanted in our application as well as the different screens involved. We then showed this prototype to our vets and pet owners and made a few iterations.
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Then created a high fidelity using Sketch and Invision and conducted trial runs with the vets in the space.
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As for the physical product, we created a 3d printed version of what the product would look as well as visual designs of how the product would go together and what components it would require.
Typography
Colors
Logo
Prototyping
Once our prototype was finished we were able to test it with a small group of subjects. We recruited mainly vets and pet owners in the place where the hackathon was held.
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After presenting the product to a panel of about +6 judges and +150 students and professionals we were awarded 1st Place.
