RSPCA

Challenges

A key challenge in the RSPCA website redesign is ensuring that standardised abuse report forms are smoothly integrated across all states. This involves maintaining consistency while accommodating different legal frameworks and regional reporting requirements. Balancing user-friendly design, legal compliance, and local variations will require careful planning, collaboration with stakeholders, and thorough testing to ensure that the platform empowers users to report abuse effectively without confusion or barriers.

Solution

To overcome this obstacle, we will design user-friendly abuse report forms that comply with regulations across all states. Our approach involves crafting a unified form that considers diverse legal frameworks and regional variations. Through collaboration with stakeholders and rigorous testing, we'll ensure the platform enables users to report abuse effectively, promoting clarity and accessibility while maintaining professionalism.

Approach

Our approach to addressing the challenge of integrating standardised abuse report forms across all states for the RSPCA website redesign project involves three key steps. First, we conduct usability testing to assess the ease of use and effectiveness of the redesigned forms. Second, we use affinity diagrams to organize and prioritise feedback gathered from usability testing sessions. Lastly, we perform website analysis to identify areas for improvement based on user behaviour metrics. Through this iterative process, we aim to refine the forms to meet both regulatory requirements and user needs, empowering users to report abuse effectively across all states.

Interview Findings

6 people were interviewed and observed browsing the existing RSPCA Report Cruelty website and 70% of completion rate for the usability testing.

Users express the need for follow-up after submitting a report.

Many users feel stressed upon encountering the current forms.

They value receiving confirmation after submitting a form, especially when including attachments.

Users desire a more streamlined and concise process, without unnecessary repetition.

Affinity Diagram

We organise the interview findings into categories using an affinity diagram and then use a feature prioritisation matrix to identify the most significant findings.

Desire for Video and Photo Uploads: Users appreciate the ability to upload videos and photos directly to the form, enhancing the reporting process.

Request for Email Confirmation: Users express a desire for email confirmation or a copy of their reported case for their records and peace of mind.

Need for Follow-Up Information: Users wish to receive updates on reported abuse cases, indicating a desire for transparency and closure.

Importance of Quick Response: Users value prompt responses to reported cases, suggesting a need for a 24-hour reply system to provide reassurance and efficiency.

Website Analysis

After analysing the website and conducting user testing, a notable issue became apparent: the primary navigation on ABC News webpages lacked clarity. Users found it confusing because there was no secondary drop-down menu to give more details about each topic. This meant users had to rely solely on the main navigation to understand the topics, making it harder to find what they were looking for.

Competitor Analysis

Based on our analysis using SimilarWeb's data on the most viewed animal websites, we evaluated two key competitors: Animal Welfare and Animal Australia. Animal Welfare demonstrates a strong information layout, providing valuable content for users. However, there is room for improvement in terms of user interface design. On the other hand, Animal Australia stands out with its impressive UI design, offering a visually appealing browsing experience. However, there is a notable weakness in their web design's responsiveness. By combining the strengths of Animal Welfare's content layout and Animal Australia's UI design, we have an opportunity to create a superior user experience that caters to both informative content and visual appeal, ultimately setting us apart in the market.

User Persona

Sarah Robinson, a 30-year-old Data Scientist residing in Melbourne, Australia. She is happily married and has a young child. Sarah's interests include a love for animals, engaging in outdoor activities, and dedicating her time to volunteering. She holds a strong commitment to vegetarianism and is a fervent advocate for animal welfare. Sarah aspires to be a positive role model for her son, emphasising the values of compassion and kindness. Her main goal is to adopt a rescued animal, yet she encounters difficulties when it comes to reporting cases of animal cruelty. Sarah is eager to access trustworthy information on proper pet care.

Business Goals & Features

Based on the research findings and synthesis, and considering the business needs and goals, I have developed a feature blueprint aimed at achieving success.

Business Goal

Ensure regulatory compliance and user satisfaction by seamlessly integrating standardised abuse report forms across all states on the RSPCA website, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of abuse reporting nationwide.

User Goal

Enable users to report instances of animal abuse easily and effectively, providing a user-friendly experience that encourages transparency and accountability while ensuring their reports comply with relevant legal frameworks and regional requirements.

Common Coal

Streamline the abuse reporting process for users across all states, promoting clarity, accessibility, and professionalism in the reporting platform. This involves collaboratively designing user-friendly forms, incorporating stakeholder feedback, and iteratively refining the platform through usability testing and website analysis to empower users and eliminate barriers to reporting abuse.

Technical Requirement

Develop a unified abuse reporting system for the RSPCA website that adjusts to different state laws. This system should feature user-friendly forms allowing photo and video uploads, email confirmations, and updates on reported cases. Implement a 24-hour response system. Test for usability and analyse user behaviour for improvements. Ensure compliance with regulations and prioritise data security.

Architecture

For the RSPCA project, we crafted a strategic plan by aligning Common Goals, Design Implications, and Product Feature Priorities. This helped us create a clear hierarchy for our potential product solution, focusing on the needs of both users and our business objectives. We mapped out our plan and created user and task flows for each application to ensure that they met the needs of both consumers and the business.

Task Flow

Sarah, a user, discovered an instance of animal cruelty in her neighbourhood involving a 4-month-old injured puppy in need of shelter, food, and water. Consequently, she opted to report the incident to RSPCA.

User Flow & Sketches

After creating an initial sketch and design for the RSPCA form, aligned with the task and user flow, we observed that completing the process on a single page might be overwhelming for users. To improve the user experience, we opted to ease the task load for each step by dividing the process into multiple manageable steps, as illustrated in the User Flow Iterations below. This approach aims to enhance user satisfaction and engagement throughout the reporting process. We sketched various ideas and tried out different formats based on the task and user flow to ensure optimal usability and effectiveness.

User Flow Iterations

We've divided the RSPCA Report Animal Cruelty form into seven steps, each indicated by a prominent breadcrumb trail:

Step 1: Report Animal Cruelty (YES/NO)

Step 2: Select Category

Step 3: Contact Details

Step 4: Provide More Information about the Report

Step 5: Leave a Message

Step 6: Upload Photos/Videos

Step 7: Confirmation - Email/Follow-up

This organised approach aims to streamline the reporting process for users.

Lo-Fi Wireframes

Usability Testing Insights

Confusion with radio buttons on Step 4 - suggests consolidating into a single option for clarity.

Font size perceived as too large, potentially affecting overall readability.

Issue with calendar overlay on Step 4 - unable to scroll down or proceed to the next step.

Request for improved animation/hover state for the prominent Animal Cruelty Reporting tab.

Preference for relocating the "Report Cruelty" button to a more visible position, possibly at the top of the page for better accessibility.

Problem

Step 2 - Select A Category

During user testing, participants expressed confusion during step 2 - selecting a category. They found it challenging to grasp the specific meaning behind each individual category and sought additional information to better understand their options. This feedback highlights the need to provide more detailed explanations or descriptions for each category, ensuring users have a clearer understanding of their choices.

Solution

Information Cards

To address the issue of insufficient information in Step 2 - selecting a category, we have implemented information cards. Now, users can simply click on the information icon located on the right side of each category to access additional details through a pop-up message box. This enhancement ensures that users have easy access to comprehensive information about each category, helping them make more informed decisions.

Hi-Fi Prototype

Design Thinking

In our redesign of the RSPCA report cruelty form, we deeply incorporated design thinking principles and made continuous improvements based on feedback from users. We carefully examined what changes would have the greatest impact for both users and stakeholders. Considering the input from a specific group of users and their challenges, we emphasised creating a clear and easy-to-use form interface. We introduced drop-down menus for addresses and included a calendar feature to improve the user experience. Furthermore, we added a drop-down message box that can be accessed from the entry button. Our main focus was on ensuring a logical flow within the form, so users can understand the entire process from beginning to end. To show the duration and progress of the reporting process, we found that time stamps and a progress bar were the most effective tools. These adjustments collectively aim to make the reporting experience with the RSPCA smoother and more user-friendly.

User Privacy

We have included two completed pages for the form. If a user chooses to report anonymously, it will not show that a copy of the report is sent via email. However, if the user provides personal details and requests a follow-up, a copy of the report will be sent to them, followed by a subsequent call or email. This design adjustment was made based on feedback from user interviews, where users expressed the desire for both follow-up on the reporting case and the option to report anonymously for privacy reasons.

Prototyping & Testing

Click the photo to explore the Hi-Fi prototype.

Branding

Branding Exploration

UI Design

RSPCA UI Kit

Final UI Design

RSPCA Homepage & Responsive Design