Petbook

Designing a Pet Appointment Booking App

Petbook is a mobile app that aims to develop an online pet appointment booking app system that addresses the challenges faced by pet owners in managing their pets' healthcare appointments. The goal is to create a centralized platform that offers convenience, ease of use, and streamlined appointment management for pet owners, ultimately enhancing their overall healthcare experience and improving efficiency in scheduling and organizing pet healthcare appointments.

Overview:
The project scope includes creating a mobile application that supports multiple pet types and enables pet owners to book appointments with the nearest veterinary clinic, appointment scheduling, and helpline on call.

Project type:
General Assembly Course Project supervised by UX/UI designers, Product Designers, UX Consultants

Duration:
6 weeks

Tools:
Figma, Miro, Illustrator

Contribution:
User research, User journey mapping, user personas, Ideation, Wireframes, High-fidelity prototypes, Interaction Design

My role:
UX/UI Design

/01

Problem Statement

Being a dog owner myself, I've noticed that many of my friends and other pet owners have trouble organizing and managing their pet’s medical appointments.

I realized this may be due to time-consuming traditional methods in walk-ins, overcrowded clinics, or the lack of a centralized platform. This raised the question - why was there this frustration or disconnect for pet owners failing to accomplish managing their pets' healthcare needs.

/02

Project Goals

1.

Design a mobile app that allows pet owners to book appointments with nearby vet clinics.

2.

Enhance convenience with a location-based search feature to find the nearest vet clinics.

3.

Improve accessibility by offering multiple pet types to cater to a wide range of pet owners.

4.

Enable easy and efficient appointment scheduling for pet owners.

5.

Provide a helpline feature for pet owners to access immediate assistance and support.

6.

Design a user-friendly and intuitive interface for a seamless booking experience.

Solution #01

Search your nearest vet clinic

Benefit

Easily find nearby veterinary clinics with detailed profiles, reviews, and ratings.

Helps

Pet owners save time and effort by quickly locating reputable clinics in their vicinity.

Value

Provides peace of mind, knowing that the chosen clinic has positive reviews and a history of successful appointments.

Solution #02

Schedule your appointments

Benefit

Conveniently schedule appointments for different types of animals at preferred locations, dates, and times.

Helps

Pet owners have control over appointment scheduling, accommodating their busy schedules and specific pet needs.

Value

Saves time and ensures timely healthcare for pets, leading to better pet management and well-being.

Solution #03

Emergency Hotline Call

Benefit

Access immediate assistance and guidance through a hotline, connecting with veterinary professionals.

Helps

Pet owners can seek expert advice during emergencies, providing timely care and potentially saving lives.

Value

Offers peace of mind, knowing that professional help is just a call or chat away, ensuring prompt attention to urgent pet health concerns.

/03

Research

Interview & Questionnaire 

To begin with, I conducted a questionnaire with five pet owners at a nearby vet clinic to gain insights into their needs and preferences, as well as to understand their experiences with veterinary services, pain points, and expectations for a booking system. We asked them about their experiences scheduling appointments or walking in, finding information about their pet's health, and paying for services.

Findings 

Based on our research, we have identified several key findings:

1. Pet owners often have difficulty making an appointment with a veterinarian due to long wait times and unavailability due to over-crowded.

2. Many pet owners struggle to find reliable information about their pet's health online.

3. Pet owners appreciate the ability to schedule appointments online and get reminders about upcoming appointments.

4. Many pet owners are willing to pay for convenience, such as the ability to schedule appointments outside of regular business hours.

5. Pet owners care about the safety and health of their pets and are looking for a reservation or booking system to ensure they receive high-quality care.

/04

Competitive Analysis

Considering the findings, I analysed the three most popular applications associated with this vet appointment scheduling system. In my opinion, most of them lack this part with the results/ profile / reminders/ booking history feature that can assist pet owners in managing their appointments.

/05

User Interview

Though I was clear that a centralised booking system was necessary, I carried out user interviews with ten students who owned pets and would visit the vet clinic regularly.

I asked them the questions below to learn about their process for taking their pets to the vet clinic and then used the outcomes to organise the data using affinity mapping.

Research Questions
1. Tell me about the last vet you have been? How did you find the clinic?
2. How did you book a vet appointment?
3. How was your process for trying to book a vet?
4. What was the most difficult part about trying to book your vet? why?
5. Share with me about a time you had frustrations on booking a vet?

/06

Insights & analysis

Neither of the apps my interviewees used worked because the app lacked a feature.

Based on the findings in the affinity map, I discovered how inconvenient it is for pet owners to find a dependable booking system for pet owners to use the apps to manage their pet's health care. As a result, poor navigation and confusing interface make it difficult for users to find nearby clinics and schedule appointments. Lack of clear instructions, cluttered and overwhelming layout, limited search filters. Apart from the app, pet owners regularly face overcrowding, long wait times, and trouble finding nearby vet clinics.

Main Insight

→ Scheduling Difficulties:

Pet owners experience difficulties booking appointments with vets due to long wait times to large lines and a lack of availability.

→ Information Difficulties:

Finding trustworthy information regarding their pet's health on the internet is a typical problem for pet owners.

→ Important Features:

Pet owners like the option to schedule appointments online, locate nearby clinics, and receive appointment reminders.

Many pet owners are ready to pay for convenience, such as the opportunity to book appointments outside of normal business hours.

→ Concerns:

Pet owners are concerned about their pet’s safety and well-being and want a booking system that is dependable and assures high-quality care.

→ Design Priorities:

To satisfy the demands and expectations of pet owners, a good UX design solution should prioritise convenience, reliability, and exceptional treatment.

Core Pet Owner needs

Convenience

A booking system that offers flexibility, allowing them to schedule appointments at their convenience, even outside regular business hours.

Access to Info

A booking system that gives them accurate information regarding their pet's health, as well as any necessary upcoming, current or past medical records.

Reminder

This includes the ability to make appointments online and receive appointment reminders from the vet clinic.

Quality Care

A system to ensure that their pets receive high-quality care, including access to reviews, recommended and knowledgeable vet doctors.

Reliability

A dependable booking system that allows them to schedule appointments with vets without encountering long wait times or availability concerns.

/07

Insights & analysis

How might we help pet owners find the nearest vet clinic, easily schedule appointments without long wait times or availability issues while also providing their pet's health and medical records and receiving appointment reminders?

Petbook

We were able to design a customer journey and persona after conducting consumer interviews and analysing several ideas. These exercises created a solid foundation for moving forward with feature ideation and prioritisation.

“ A location/date/time thing that can allow you to book in anytime of the day would be great. Something you can still choose based on ratings, like a app, that can see what people say about the vet, cause like not every clinic is good you know, the wait-time in walk-ins..omg, i dont have the time to wait, is so uncertain.. and not all clinics are specialist in other animal species too. Something fresh would be awesome.”
Quote from a user interview

/08 — Feature ideation

The Making of Petbook

From the data I collected, I designed an ideal user flow based on the data I gathered to represent how I considered the application would turn out and what my intended user experience would include. It later evolved into an experience mapping, which documented the user's journey and emotional responses to each touchpoint within the application.

An experience map showing a user journey.

From this point, I could assess which activities and features were necessary and helpful, and then develop a sitemap based on the findings. I wanted to provide my target consumers a seamless experience by focusing on its simplicity while keeping a balance between making an appointment and managing their appointment.

/09 — Testing & setbacks

Challenges and a Revised Approach for a Veterinary Appointment Booking System

Initially, I spent the first few days trying to play with 3 different directions.

A smartwatch is not a good idea for this type of booking system as it may not offer the necessary screen space and functionality to support the booking process.

A website may not be a priority as it may not offer the same level of convenience and personalization as a mobile app, and may not be as accessible to pet owners on-the-go.

Finding, best option for an App solution

Convenience:

A booking system that offers flexibility, allowing them to schedule appointments at their convenience, even outside regular business hours.

Personalization: 

A booking system that offers flexibility, allowing them to schedule appointments at their convenience, even outside regular business hours.

Accessibility:

Mobile apps can be accessed easily from anywhere, anytime, making it easier for pet owners to schedule appointments when they need to.

Push Notifications:

Mobile apps can send push notifications to remind pet owners about upcoming appointments, making it easier for them to manage their pets' schedules.

Offline Capabilities:

Mobile apps can be designed to have offline capabilities, allowing pet owners to book appointments even when they don't have an internet connection.

/09 — Testing & prioritisation

Petbook

After extensive research, it was decided that instead of trying to educate people to inquire and call-in to book their vet’s appointment for weeks in advance. we should make the process easy to access and available to pet owners via mobile app.

A booking system that offers flexibility, allowing them to schedule appointments at their convenience, even outside regular business hours.

The app’s initial design involved a navigation of 3 choices on filtering date options: by typing in Location, by date & time, and selection of pet type by tagging for who in the case of user wants to bring more than 1 pet.

Testing + Improvements

However, after conducting user testing with a small group of participants, it became evident that the app was losing its primary focus: generating search results easily.

It was suggested that guiding user directly to the home page would be the most engaging, simpler and flexible option for users. The flexibility of keying in any info on the search bar either location, date & time, type of animals and type of service should be the main feature. I redesigned the flow with this change in mind to make sure home page route were a lot faster to access, while improving the search bar more user-friendly. I started pulling user interface inspiration from popular search apps to study how they guide users through complicated journeys.

/10 — Branstorm app design

Focusing on 3 main flows:

Final solution & designs

3 Major improvements in design

We engaged in usability testing with to validate the design and collect feedback for further improvements. Participants were assigned tasks such as booking appointments, search for nearby clinics, and managing their pets' healthcare schedules. Taking into account the feedback received, we iterated on the design and enhanced the user experience.

Search your nearest vet clinic

Interface that has been improve Vet Profile, Reviews & Ratings, Booking History

Schedule your appointments

Interface that has been improve Select the type of animals, Location, date & time

Emergency Hotline Call

Interface that has been improve Select the type of animals, Location, date & time

Finale

The Final Product