Google Design Challenge : Table Of Contents
The Exercise
Designing better 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. Provide a high-level flow and supporting wire frames.
Research
What solutions are out there today?
First, I listed ones that came to mind. Here are some obvious ones:
- Shelters
- Friends helping find a home for pets, sometimes using social media
- Community adoptions events, at farmers markets or pet stores
- Rescue and foster efforts, often specializing in certain breeds
- Bulletin boards, signs, and posters
Then I looked around for ones that I wasn’t aware of. And I found quite a few sites.
petfinder.com — Shopping for adoptable pets, with a nice tagline ‘Where pets find their people’. The site has pretty typical searching and browsing, filtered by photos, tags, stats, and distance.
getyourpet.com — A great tool for matching potential pets with people that want to adopt. Uses a lot of dating site features for compatibility.
adoptapet.com —Largest pet adoption site in the U.S. and Canada that has pets from over 12,000 shelters. This site also offers a lot of great information and resources.
MuttVille — Senior dog rescue with great bios written about each pet. This organization takes the time to make each pet have a better chance for adoption.
Local SPCA — San Francisco has a great SPCA site. I was impressed with this donation based nonprofit. I liked the call to action to help by donating or even further by volunteering.
Individual animal shelter web sites: These feature a mixed bag of tools to connect people to pets.
Wow, most of these sites share about 80% of the same DNA, and their browsing experiences are extremely similar. There isn’t a clear winner in terms of offering the best experience.
Assumptions
Identify constraints.
- This solution doesn’t have a limited scope, development cost, or budget.
- The solution doesn’t have a revenue or profitability goals.
- There is room for some magical thinking. I can dream.
- These are good and relevant problems to solve.
Ideation and Brainstorming
Time for some divergent thinking.
First, some sketches:
These sketches helped focus my thoughts, producing a lot of ideas.
The Ideas:
- Easier introductions between the family and pets. Maybe meet-ups at dog parks with the goal of allowing the family to spend time with the pet. Could these also be virtual? Using some method of tele-presence?
- Activity driven profiles. More focused on what great activities you want to share with this particular animal.
- A tool with the intent of generating better adoption profiles. More pet videos and ones that have the pet playing with people. Suggestive of locations that are fun and friendly, such as a sunny day outside on a grass field.
- What about giving each pet a probability of getting adopted? Basing that on factors like age, population density, and temperament. Showing more popular dogs would be delayed for new adopters. They would be shown dogs that have been on the site for longer first. This could be used to give less popular pets a greater chance to get adopted.
- How about a family tree that could give a more educated guess of the temperament and characteristics of each pet? Most pets put up for adoption are mixed breed. So if we had an idea of what breed the parents were, we could list details on what their offspring will be like. Think of a Beagleman (Beagle & German Shepherd). This dog would be smart, energetic and loyal.
- Eugenics for pets. Could genetic information distinguish lifestyle traits for pets? This dog will play fetch. This cat is a lap cat. By the way, my cats are not lap cats. I wonder if that is genetic or conditioning?
- Less browsing of large lists of available pets. Looking at a large list of pets that will most likely not get adopted is depressing and morbid. But if we use similar mechanics that dating sites use, we can replace lists with individual results — pet by pet, for consideration. OkCupid was more list focused, and Tinder provided individual people one by one — the swiping phenomena we are accustomed to. Currently, OkCupid has been moving to this more popular method.
- Specialized hardware tools to make listing pets easier. Shelters have a lot of turnover, and I would imagine profiling each pet for adoption takes a lot of time. Spending time on pets that up euthanized because they weren’t adopted quick enough is emotionally draining. Could a robot with a camera capture lifestyle videos? Live feeds? Ones of the pet playing and being interactive? A tripod that is smart enough to follow a pet?
- List pets across all adoption sites, automagically. I post the details once, and a tool propagates those details across all the great adoption sites.
- Continually improving pet profiles. Imagine if a family meets a pet but determines that pet isn’t right for them. That family could leave some feedback, both publicly and privately. The public feedback might be something like ‘Spot is a lovely dog, a bit too much energy for us, but would be perfect for a family with young children.’ Or private feedback for the person that manages the profile, i.e., ‘Spot has a great profile, but maybe you could add some more photos.’
- Brokers that help facilitate the adoption. A lot of pets are put up for adoption when people have to move. A lot of this movement is due to job changes. Could companies that displace these pets offer adoption services? They spend the money needed to increase the chance of adoption? I know that Google offers pet relocation as part of their employment package.
- Ebay for adoption: Using a trusted platform that would allow the listing and featuring of adoptable pets. This idea led to finding Ebay Live Pets.
- How about an Uber for adoption? Using private resources and the trust of a community to help facilitate adoptions. Connecting pets to people via private homes. Incentivized with a money payout if an adoption occurs.
- What about some type of crowd sourcing? Younger pets get adopted at a much higher rate than older pets. Could we tug on the heart strings of generous people that love pets to help solve the most difficult part of this equation — the older pets? These people can’t help with adopting, but they do have disposable money. Could they advocate for the adoption of animals, using money as leverage? Giving the animal more time or more exposure? Helping with the expenses that foster families are incurring?
- Charitable options? Is there a method to have adoption related contributions be tax-exempt? I had a hunch that children related adoption expenses were exempt, and they are. Could generous folks that want to advocate for an animal to be adopted be further tempted to contribute via a tax incentive?
- What about ‘premium’ adoptions that could feed the expense of smaller adoptions? Think of free-to-play gaming. In these games, there are players that are engaged enough to pay to make the game progress faster. The paying players essentially keep the game free for players that are unwilling to pay. Could the very popular pet that could easily produce a bidding war between families that want to adopt feed the ecosystem — helping the chances of less popular pets finding homes?
- The goal of this exercise focuses on the adoption side. But what about bolstering the security for the people putting their pet up for adoption? For example, my brother adopted two adorable kittens. As part of that adoption, the family required a visit to his condo to verify the kittens would have a comfortable life. Are there tools that will increase the comfort and security of people that are putting pets up for adoption, possibly by using some sort of tele-presence?
- The larger adoption sites generate a lot of data. Could this data inform a neural network of what works and what doesn’t? This pet profile produced an adoption versus ones that didn’t. What are the differences?
These are all great ideas. However, I also wanted to get a sense of what is and isn’t working from people who are closer to this than I am, with the hopes of finding some gems to spark even more ideas.
Below, I also put together a quick idea board that captures some of these:
Interviews
Leveraging different perspectives
Bold Beat: Going out into the world to learn about a process that I knew almost nothing about from folks who have recently experienced it.
I visited a food truck park called Spark, where many people with pets hang out. I chose a Sunday to capture a more diverse set of folks. First, I sketched up this idea, outlining two browsing methods that would hopefully spark some interesting discussion.
After sketching, I randomly found a couple waiting for coffee and approached them. They were Whitney and Tiffany, a couple in their late twenties. Whitney was actually in the process of looking for a dog to adopt.
I explained route A from a high level, and then proposed route B. I kept the explanation fairly vague, to help prompt a discussion.
Both liked route A. Here are my paraphrased notes:
- ‘Choice A is better, I don’t mind seeing a lot of choices.’
- ‘I like finding a better match.’
- ‘Videos would be great; I can’t tell the personality with just photos.’
- ‘A long list of dogs reminds you how many dogs are out there for adoption. This encourages you to keep looking.’
- ‘Better choices helps to break the cycle of neglect that leads to adopted pets up for adoption again.’
- ‘Don’t focus on the wrong filters, like breed or size. I like the activity based questions better.’
Next, I found Sylvia. Sylvia works in HR, engaged, in her early thirties and adopted a chocolate lab named Leho. Again, she liked approach A better.
- ‘Route B is more like what the in-person adoption process is like with SPCA.’
- ‘However, with MuttVille, there is a good chance that if you limit down to just a few pets or one. That pet might be gone by the time you get to meet them. I had one dog I liked that was gone so quickly that I didn’t get to adopt them.’
- ‘I would like any approach that doesn’t add barriers to the adoption process. My impression is that dogs get adopted quickly, so I think Route A would produce better results.’
Amy was next. She is in her late twenties and single. She has two dogs that she adopted. Route A resonated with her also.
- ‘I used Muttville and found the adoptable pets were gone very fast. Being able to see the most available pets easily is very important.’
- ‘Route A, with the list of dogs. That feels like Muttville, where you will also see a lot of dogs that you are pretty sure won’t get adopted.’
- ‘The people that have to list the animals for adoption are over worked. They are mostly volunteers.’
- ‘When you take the step to meet a dog, there is a good chance you are taking that dog home. So having a very qualified dog selected is super important.’
Next, I got very lucky and scored a random bonus. My friend invited me to critique his students’ thesis projects at CCA. And I was pleasantly surprised because one of the projects was about adopting dogs. I recognized it as a valuable opportunity to get some more feedback.
The critique sparked a meaningful conversation about my Google project, and Alicia provided valuable insights into the local SPCA and Muttville. She emphasized the importance of these sites creating bios for pets, describing how it significantly aids the adoption process. Alicia, who volunteers with the SPCA, expressed the emotional impact of witnessing dogs that may struggle to find homes due to various reasons.
In her thesis, she utilizes her artistic skills to showcase the unique qualities of each dog through expressive drawings. We explored the possibility of achieving a similar effect with photos, perhaps by framing them to highlight distinctive features like expressive eyes. Our discussion also touched upon creative ideas for filters in videos and photos, drawing inspiration from platforms like Snapchat, envisioning options like placing silly hats on dogs or adding colorful rainbows around cats.
Takeaways
What I learned from the interviews
- To produce better matches, show as many results as you can.
- Focus on the activities to be shared between the family and pet.
- Pet videos show personality and activity levels.
- Adoption Managers only have so much time to spend per animal to make a compelling adoption profile.
Having done research and brainstorming, I switched into design mode.
Design
Converging to a possible solution
I wanted to define the following participants and how they feel. What are their emotional qualities and goals?
- Families or individuals searching for the perfect pet. These are empathetic people that are considering adopting and are perhaps even open to taking in an older pet. They generally have an idea of the pet they want, based on their activity level and housing situation. They feel like something is missing and want to fill a void. And they’re optimistic they will find a great pet.
- Foster families hoping and helping their foster pets find permanent homes. They are generous families helping pets avoid ending up at shelters. They feel empowered to help the larger problem, fostering one pet at a time. These families can be private or be part of a rescue network.
- Adoptions Managers at animal shelters, advocating on behalf of animals. Typically having to manage a lot of pets with limited time. They are quite aware that these pets are going to be adopted or euthanized, this takes a toll on them emotionally.
- Displaced pets, homeless for a myriad of reasons. A mixed bag with different needs and activities they enjoy. Each raised differently, resulting in different temperaments.
With the stage set, research completed, and brainstorming undertaken, I experienced a moment of clarity where everything seamlessly came together.
Bingo! Could we take a similar approach that Google Shopping and Express does?
All available pets listed on one site
By leveraging the expertise and scale of Google, we could homogenize all of the pet listings and profiles. This allows a family to find the perfect pet from all sources, from neighborhood bulletins through large adoption sites, being inclusive of all listings.
Plus, adoption managers could easily add new pets directly on this new Google site, Petpal. This would help to eliminate the duplication that I saw across all the current sites.
The icing on the cake would be that we can analyze all of these sites. Pulling what works from each one of them and leaving out what doesn't. For example, the bios work well for senior pets — let’s make sure to include those.
Using this API is basically reversing what Petfinder is suggesting above. Don’t list pets on more sites; instead, direct people to the most comprehensive listing of pets.
Next, I crafted a story — one that gives a short narrative for all the players.
Spot is a middle aged Labrador. He is house broken and loves children. His favorite activities are eating, napping, playing fetch, running at the dog park and pooping.
He enjoyed the first 5 years of his life with his family. However, Spot now finds himself in a confusing place. Being in the shelter, he misses his family. They had to move away for job changes and couldn’t take Spot along.
But Spot is happy to have his favorite toys with him. Even now he is playful and full of good energy.
He is adapting the best he can to having his world turned upside down.
Pet’s Intention: To survive. Manage fear and change. Find security, comfort and food.
Now meet Sally, the adoption manager at an animal shelter. Her job is to process animals through this critical chapter. One that results in adoption or death.
There are too many animals and the shelter is almost always running at overflow capacity. Sally would describe her job as stressful and very emotional.
Today, Spot has arrived to be processed. She begins the listing process. But Sally had heard about a new adoption site called PetPal. So she decided to give it a try and installs the app on her phone. She finds the tool very easy to use and is happy that PetPal is a site that lists pets from all the adoption sites.
She is used to putting listings up on five sites, including the internal shelter’s site. This will save her a lot of time.
She is also happy that PetPal makes adding great action shots very easy. She finds these videos more expressive.
Manager’s Intention: Listing new pets for adoption. Introduce pets. Adopting out pets to acceptable families. Manage emotions.
Meet the Davis family, a typical mid-western family living with 2 children in a modest single-family home in a typical suburb. They would consider themselves middle class, and they live fairly comfortably.
The Davis children are now 5 and 7, and the parents are ready for a pet. They are aware of the current landscape of breeders, mills, and shelters. Therefore, they have chosen to adopt a pet. They are interested in adopting an active dog that has a friendly temperament and is housebroken. It will be critical that the dog gets along with their young children.
The Davis family starts the search. They had heard about a new tool from some friends, PetPal. They liked that it was powered by Google. They know and expect quality from Google. Knowing that this tool offers listings gathered from other sites is a huge plus. They see the most broad collection of pets and are ecstatic to not have to visit multiple sites.
So they visit PetPal on their laptop to give it a try. After browsing together as a family, they had some favorites selected.
After that and continuing to browse, the family was notified about virtual introductions. Spot was available for a virtual introduction. They found this exciting and clicked that notification. Then a video conference opened with Spot and Sally on the other end. The Davis family was able to ask questions and see how Spot interacted with Sally. They really enjoyed this.
After the virtual meeting, they arranged for an in-person introduction with Spot and Sally. They liked how responsive this was.
Spot maintained his friendly temperament and playfulness. Sally’s adoption listing was well done and easy to find online. The Davis family took the time to search listings and arranged a meeting with Spot.
PetPal helped and produced a positive ending to our story.
Family Intention: Enjoying the adoption process. And consider meeting pets to check their temperament and bring home the perfect companion.
The Product
Bringing it all together, it’s time to produce a solution.
Now the fun part, what does this product do better than existing ones?
From the story above, I picked one hero moment to focus on — the family browsing experience — and thought of what that could look like:
Think of Google Shopping for adopting pets.
Bold Beat: Demonstrating a design that offers a solution that uses existing Google technology to improve an experience.
Intention: Present every adoptable pet from every site, allowing adopters to focus on one site that has all the pets available.
Low-Fi Mocks
Fast sketches to organize thoughts.
UX Mock:
High-Fi Mocks:
Keep the browsing lightweight and simple, like the Google Shopping page. Focus attention on the videos and photos
I’ve pushed the mobile design and introduced some material design. I used some saturated colors to give this a more fun feel.
Without further usability testing, my gut told me that just applying the UX from the Google Shopping experience … works. The real value was having the API to provide more listings. Ones that all conformed to a common and simplified format and provided great filtering.
My Summary
What I’ve learned.
The most difficult part of this exercise was the research. There are so many tools out there for pet adoptions. It was a lot of effort to compare and contrast the features of each site.
I’m happy with my two product solutions. I believe that further usability testing would prove they offer solutions that improve the adoption process:
- Giving families the most pets to choose from. All clearly presented and available on just one site.
- Allowing Adoption managers to spend less time with the minutia of listing animals. So they could spend more time interacting with potential families and improving pet listings.
If I were to invest more time, I would love to elaborate on my third hero moment: designing a tool that facilitates easy virtual meet-ups between shelter pets and potential families.
Thanks for taking the time to review my Process!
