NeuterNow

Better Cities for Outdoor Cats

Free spay/neuter service for reducing
and managing outdoor cat population.

PROBLEM

Volunteers face challenges joining the government's free spay/neuter campaign to improve the well-being of community cats.

Effective cat population control is significant to increase the well-being of outdoor cats. Despite the availability of free spay/neuter services, and volunteers' willingness to help outdoor cats, government spay/neuter campaigns remain unsuccessful. This sparked the question: What challenges do volunteers face in committing to the spay/neuter campaign in the long term?

SOLUTION

Awareness, accessibility and a sense of community are keys

The goal was to create a user-friendly platform that connects volunteers with free spay/neuter clinics. Creating a sense of community, encouraging sustained participation, providing easy access to the booking system, sharing knowledge on TNR and offering guidance on cat care during the process.

Encouraging Long Term Commitment: Goal Setting & Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic Motivation Integration Integrating badges, achievements, and progress milestones, providing users with tangible rewards for their ongoing commitment.
Volunteer Profiles & Import Trackers Enhancing user engagement and community sense by offering community profiles, allowing users to showcase their dedication and progress.
Goal Oriented User Profiles Enabling users to set personalized goals within the app, creating a roadmap for their long-term commitment to TNR processes.

Empowering Through Education:
Animal Care & TNR

Emergency Vet access Ensuring users have immediate assistance and guidance when needed reduces the fear of participation in TNR processes.
Building Confidence & Increased participation Learning about the TNR process empowers users, making them less afraid and more willing to actively participate in TNR initiatives.
Knowledge Hub Enabling volunteers to access information on animal care before&after surgery, TNR practices, fostering learning and skill development.

Have a Sense of Strong Community Bond

Enhanced Volunteer Engagement Encourages sustained volunteer commitment, ensuring a consistent effort in participating in spay/neuter activities.
Increased participation Encourages more community members to participate in spay/neuter activities, leading to a broader impact on controlling cat populations.
Efficient Communication & Increased Motivation Enabling volunteers to share their success stories, engage with other volunteers and as a result increase motivation to commit.

PERSONA

Compassionate Carol - Animal Lover & Cat Owner

"I just want to help community cats to have a better life, and I know that only way to do that break the cycle through spay/neuter activies.

User Story:

Ceren, a compassionate animal lover and cat owner, passionately take cares for the cats in her community. Motivated by her love for animals, she involved in TNR processes a few times, but she finds it hard to control over population in her community leaving her feeling unsuccessful and discouraged. Ceren looks for support, guidance, and a sense of community in her mission to enhance the lives of outdoor cats.

Demographics:

Age: 30-45

Gender: Female

Location: Suburban Area

Psychographics:

Attitude: Responsible, caring, and concerned about outdoor cats well-being.
Challenges: Balancing her time and resources between rescuing animals and other responsibilities, dealing with the emotional toll of caring for neglected animals.
Lifestyle: Working from home, manages her own time, actively taking care of stray cats in her neighborhood.

Pain Points:

Struggling with the emotional toll of rescuing neglected animals
Finding suitable spay/neuter services and available appointments
Feeling lonely and overwhelmed during the process
Struggles with long term commitment
Feeling anxious about before & after surgery care and & animals health
Inexperienced about TNR processes

Motivations:

Driven by a deep sense of compassion for animals and a commitment to improving their lives.
Eager to connect with a supportive community and contribute to the success of TNR initiatives.
Decrease the expenses of animal care with the control population

Goals:

Contribute to the welfare of community cats through informed and responsible actions.
Connect with a community of like-minded individuals to share experiences and resources.
To control the increased cats population and break the colony cycle in her area.

HOW MIGHT WE...

Sustain long-term commitment in the spay/neuter campaign?

USER INTERVIEWS

Volunteers struggle when committing to the government's free spay/neuter campaign aimed at enhancing the well-being of community cats.

I conducted interviews with five volunteers actively caring for outdoor cats and having experience with free spay/neuter clinics; each had attended at least one appointment. The interview questions covered a comprehensive range of topics, including users' experiences, motivations, concerns, processes, challenges, and community engagement. The aim was to uncover trends and insights regarding the challenges they faced in participating in spay/neuter activities, as well as understanding their motivations and concerns. The data gathered from these interviews was then organized through affinity mapping to identify common themes and patterns.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1-Can you tell me your experience with caring for outdoor cats? and what motivates you to participate in spay/neuter initiatives for outdoor cats? 2-When seeking spay/neuter services for outdoor cats, what factors contribute to your trust or concerns, and what kind of assurances are important to you? 3-What is your process for spaying/neutering outdoor cats, particularly in government's free spay/neuter clinics? Are there specific difficulties you face in being a part of TNR processes? 4- What challenges do you face in controlling the overpopulation of outdoor cats, and how do you currently address them? and How this makes you feel? 5- Do you currently engage with other individuals or groups in your community to address the challenges of outdoor cat care? and how important is a sense of community in your efforts?

ANALYSES / THEMES

Volunteers encounter challenges in maintaining long-term commitment to Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) activities, a crucial element in breaking the cycle in colonies and controlling the outdoor cat population.

Based on the trends in my affinity map, I've noticed there are problems around three main different theme.

THEME 1: BARRIERS TO LONG TERM COMMITMENT

Volunteers express concerns about the lack of consistent support from government vet clinics.
Technological challenges hinder some volunteers from engaging in long-term commitments.
Anxiety about before and after surgery care impacts sustained participation.

THEME 2: MOTIVATION FOR PARTICIPATION

Volunteers are motivated by the desire to improve the well-being of outdoor cats.
Decreasing expenses in animal care and finding joy in helping animals are strong motivators.
The sense of community plays a significant role in sustaining motivation.

THEME 3: TRUST & CONCERN

Volunteers express concerns about the effectiveness and transparency of government vet clinics.
Questions about the trustworthiness of clinics are common, impacting participation.
Some volunteers struggle with a lack of information and guidance during TNR processes.

EMPHATY MAP

This process was done to define the target audience with more clarity, as well as illustrate their needs and actions. Emphaty mapping helped me to gain perspective on their thoughts and feelings. The data in the emphaty map are based on insaights from user interviews.

SAYS

- "There are so many cats in my neighborhood, even though I TNR as much as It's not enough, it's hard to break the cycle on my own."

- "I missed my spay/neuter appointment twice because I struggled with trapping the cats."

- "I have so many questions about TNR and I also don't really know how to care of the cat after surgery."

THINKS

- I would like to check reviews and be able to full trust the clinic with the spay/neuter surgery.

- I would love to learn all the tips to trap the cats. It's a big struggle for me.

- Seeing other volunteers work on TNR would encourage me to continue.

DOES

- Quit after 2-3 TNR activities

- Ask for reviews about clinics from volunteers if they can reach any

- Forgets the appointments, cancel in the last minute, hard to find consistent motivation

FEELS

- Excitement to contribute to the well-being of outdoor cats

- Anxious about cat's wellbeing, and how to take care of cats after surgery

- Feels lonely during the process, and find herself unsuccessful in the long run

USER FLOW

I created a flow using Miro to illustrate how the user will navigate through the application.

CARD SORTING

Card sorting was done to categorise all the features under different sections which fill further help in organising the information architecture.

Home - Success Stories - Blogs - Nearby Clinics - Community- How it works?

Edit Profile - About Me - My Colony - Goals Ahead / Profile - Impact Tracker - Ceren's Colony - Ceren's Goals

Appointments - Upcoming Surgeries - Check Up List Before TNR

Community - User Stories - Share Your Story Section - Community Monthly Leaderboard

Menu - Settings - Support -

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

The card sorting were further refined to fit the goals of application. Some of the features are re-organised to make them easier to find.

HIGH FIDELITY WIREFRAMES

First, I sketched the low fidelity wireframes using Procreate on Ipad. After making connections şn them as per İOS guidelines I moved on to designing these high fidelity Wireframes using Figma.

ONBOARDING SCREENS

LOG IN - SIGN UP SCREENS

MAIN SCREENS

PROFILE SCREENS

HOMEPAGE

COMMUNITY SCREENS

APPOINTMENTS SCREENS

THE STYLE GUIDE

This was my first-ever UX project! Working fully through this project taught me the importance of trying to think intentionally about every element of the project and how it can contribute to the end result. Iteration is the key so iterate as much as you can. I constantly asked for feedback from my peers. In the end, I pushed to have the app as best I could.

USABILITY TESTING

After the visual design was complete I tested the prototype with FIVE representative users to see how user friendly the application is. The test was conducted in person where the participants were given the following tasks while ı observed how they navigated through the application.

- Sign Up into the application

- Create A goal

- Add a Reminder

CONCLUSIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED