Digital Divide: Phoenix College UX/UI Lead
Worked with Phoenix College and Digital Divide to mentor 10 students in the UX Research process for Pet2Vets, a mobile app to help pet owners safely transport their animals to receive veterinary care.
Pet2Vets is a Phoenix-based pet transportation service that specializes in providing transportation for pets to and from appointments. Transportation and mobility issues may make getting pets the veterinary care they need difficult, and Pet2Vets works to help assist individuals and their beloved pets to their appointments.
Working with Phoenix College and Digital Divide to mentor 5-10 students in the UX Research externship for Pet2Vets over the course of 8 weeks. This externship is a program funded by the National Science Foundation to provide work-focused experiential learning as a way to increase STEM student retention and graduation rates at two-year Hispanic-serving institutions.
My Role
UX/UI Lead
Timeline
120 hours over the course of 8 weeks.
Tools Used
Figma
Figjam
Zoom
Although the externs were pursuing degrees in business and technology, none of them were focused on design, or had any experience with UX design.
I met with the business, Pet2Vets, and their stated desire was to optimize their mobile app. After discussing the limitations, we came to the agreement that we would conduct in-depth user research, and provide Pet2Vets with a research report and recommendations for app improvement.
Design thinking & understanding user needs. Intro to Figma.
Research plan and project roadmap.
Conducting user interviews and surveys.
Synthesize research and find patterns & opportunities.
Creating a research report and deck. Brainstorming solutions.
Brainstorming solutions & wireframes.
Presenting and communicating research findings. Articulating design recommendations
Research report handoff.
Students were divided into pairs and asked to conduct two, 30 minute user interviews. In total, 8 interviews were conducted. Notable insights were that pet owners were most worried about a stranger driving their pet to the vet without knowing who this person was, and what qualifications they have to handle their pet.
Patterns included the need for price transparency, communication between driver, owner, and vet, and access to reliable scheduling.
of surveyed pet owners stated regular check-ups as the most common reason they went to the vet.
of surveyed pet owners had more than one pet in their household.
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Externship participants were given weekly materials and assignments to complete. We met as a group in a synchronous, hybrid setting each Wednesday to check in and conduct group activities.
Additionally, I met with each student each week for the first four weeks, and then on an as-needed basis after that. We discussed any issues or questions they had about the content, and discussed career goals and strategy.
User completes task with relative ease and no significant errors.
User completes each task in a reasonable time frame.
Research report and presentation, along with pictures of the slide deck, report, and initial wireframes.
of users thought that the font was too small, and they wanted clearer hierarchy of text.
thought the intention of the landing page was unclear.
Social online spaces and systems are complicated and require thoughtful design to create a healthy space free from bullying. This, in turn, allows for a healthy way to share resources, ideas, and build on that knowledge collectively.