Solar Bear
Case Study
Client
Solar Bear is a small indie start-up that combines weather forecasts with alarms allowing users to plan walks, runs, and excursions.
Product
An app to notify dog walkers of the weather in advance of walking/running times, reducing the possibilities of its users getting caught in bad weather when taking their pets for a walk.
Steps
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Product research - Competitors, market.
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User research - Survey, personas.
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Designs - User flows, prototyping.
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Handoff - Iteration, repeat.
Requirements
Develop the dog walker aspect of the app. Periphery goals are to widen the user base and improve the flow of the experience through redesigning Solar Bears style and layout.
Time Allotment: 2 Weeks
Product research
As of 2018, there are 471 million pet dogs who need walking every day. That is 471 million potential customers. Consider how many of these customers have had walks delayed or interrupted because of the weather.
Is There a Market? Going through studies and research was not enough, I created a survey and relaying it to dog owners to try and get a grasp of the opinions and needs from within the community:
Roughly 64% of dog owners surveyed believe that walking their dog is an expression of love for their dogs. However, 57% of owners admit to skipping walks. Mostly due to bad weather and bad planning.
Potential users and customers walk the dog for 8 hours and 54 minutes a week, the time is perfect for socialising and meeting new people, it is an incentive to exercise, and the walks have left their dogs seeming happier, more energetic, relaxed, and de-stressed. Seems like justifiable reasons to get dog owners out for walks!
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There is no exact presence of direct competition in the market. Timetable apps and alarms are the closest competition to Solar Bear, which holds an advantage as it will let you know what the weather is like for your walk. It also is fully functional as a weather app as well as an alarm reminder.
Analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the different alarms and weather apps on the market allowed me to develop a framework for the design that best approached both roles. Compiling all of my research through an affinity diagram I was able to map out and boil down to the most essential requirements of the app.
Competitive benchmark:
User research
To fully grasp the requirements for the app I developed user personas to run through early-stage scenarios and figure out what might be missing from the app. These were used to determine the pain points and issues in the suggested flow with customer journey map.
The Personas were based around the general responses to the survey.
Personas and customer journey map:
With the personas and customer journey maps done, I took the research data gathered and created an affinity diagram grouping the required information into the relevant sections.
Factoring in the feedback and what came up in the customer journey mapping we were able to hammer out the journey.
And start plotting out the flows.
The flows expanded from the existing work would also need some updating here and there.
I also wanted to make some slight changes here and there to improve the visual style. But the biggest issue to be faced was justifying the sign up flow.
Who wants to sign up for an alarm. But it is important for coming developments and plans for the product. Expanding also means adapting the product to work on smart watches as well as just the mobile setting.
With the flow mapped out, we were ready to start the designing.
Prototype
Opening for the first time, the user meets the landing page, is asked to register or sign-in, give the information above, then begin by setting up their first alarm. The Home page will present the weather in an easy to read fashion and allow users to view set and edit alarms. The notification will appear 30 minutes before the set time and then again 5 minutes beforehand. Through a simple graphic and phrase, the user must know if it is safe to go out.
Phrases like:
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You're good to go!
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Maybe not today.....
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It is a mixed bag
Of course, all of this is to be confirmed by the content writer.
Meanwhile I jump on sketching the designs and improving some of the brand and marketing identity.
On a side note, this is something i love doing for fun, I know its old school but it feels good to sit down and just draw things ourt
Creating the prototype through Adobe XD and Axure allowed me to play around with the interactivity and layout.
The only question that remains is to do with selecting the time for a user’s alarm. Throughout my research, I saw several examples of how to design it, unable to settle on one I decided to AB test both solutions.
Finally on to some user testings, field testing (out and about) and testings at any time of day with any possible weather to gather the effectiveness of the app. As this is such a quick to use app, the user testings took 20 minutes and happened in different opportunities to see where the app could be let down. Users were warned to highlight any potential issue they might foresee the app having as well as weighing in on the positives.
Testing
Overall the tests were successful with 100% of the Users being able to navigate the app.
There was confusion when trying to check the weather in-depth. 25% of those tested need access to more details on the weather.
The users liked the visuals, colour scheme and the simplicity of the app. Some were not sure why an alarm would need an email address, but, with the promise of new features, all of them agreed they would provide their email address.
All that is left is to create a full wireframe for the designers to know what they are making.
What's Next?
With the first iteration ready, the reviews can be studied to develop more features, researched from a wider audience of users.
Possible features to be considered:
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Can the sign-up page be merged into a drop-down on the landing page.
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The weather details on the Home screen need to be expanded.
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A potential map feature so users can adjust their location or destination.
Reflections
The troubling part of researching this project was how individual people are about how their alarms and notifications should look and interact. So, my In-Depth questionings were off as everyone was suggesting different interfaces to suit them. If I had a bit more time, I might have developed a customisable interface for selecting times and viewing your alarms. I would investigate further is the idea of the tones and alarms themselves. Customisable noises to let you know the good news or bad news, for instance, a dog whining if it is raining or howling if it is stormy. Users can be alerted before even looking at their phones or watches.
