INTRODUCTION
This 2-week passion project, in collaboration with "Forget-Me-Not" Dog Shelter—a non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing and rehoming dogs through events and programs— faced manpower issues due to insufficient volunteer sign-ups due to a lack of social outreach awareness.
To address this challenge and boost volunteer retention rates, we designed a mobile app to streamline the search process for volunteering opportunities, empowering volunteers to find roles that align with their skills and interests, ensuring a rewarding and enjoyable experience.
ROLE
UI Designer
Responsible for translating research findings into design solutions, and iterating wireframes based on user testing feedback.
TIMELINE
2 Weeks
PROTOTYPE LINK
Click to view Prototype here
DESIGN PROCESS
Our team used Trello as our Project timeline management tool and separated our deliverable tasks into 3 sprints, accompanied by the 4 design principles in each sprint: Discover, Define, Design & Iterate. It helped us to plan ahead and deliver promptly, we could visually plan with the versatility of Trello’s drag & drop function.
SITE VISIT
Our team went down to an Adoption Drive hosted by Forget-me-not in collaboration with Hope for Animals to speak to some volunteers, Adopters, and organizers. We conducted a few on-site interviews to get to know more about the organization structure regarding on volunteering, fundings as well as its adoption process.
OBSERVATION
“Why are dog shelters facing labor issues when there are so many dog lovers that is willing to contribute and help?”
SYNTHESISING PROBLEM
12
Users Interviewed
To find out their pain points, process journey experiences, and highlighting their challenges faced in both volunteer and shelter organization contexts, we gather research insights through Affinity diagramming.
These users consists of Volunteers, Organization staff, Adopters & Advocates of the Canine community
RESEARCH FINDINGS
More than 65% of first-time volunteers did not continue volunteering due to these reasons…
Due to inadequate training and unclear instructions, these users felt that their efforts were not appreciated. As volunteers, their knowledge was limited to only helping out in the kennel but some found the shelter dogs too skittish/difficult to handle.
>80% of volunteers seek more information before signing up
They are observed to look up more information regarding the event to consider how their contribution would be valuable to help the community before making the decision to volunteer.
100% of long-term volunteers lookup opportunities via social media or word of mouth
Unfortunately, these opportunities seem to not be made known to new volunteers as there is no one-off platform to receive information.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Shortage of Resources
The Shelter is observed to rely heavily on volunteers due to the lack of signups and funding.
Lack of information
There are many types of volunteering jobs, but it is misunderstood that volunteering means just cleaning the kennel.
Misconception of Roles
Volunteers are observed to sign up to help not knowing what tasks to expect, causing a mismatch of expectations.
OUR USERS
VOLUNTEERING PROCESS
OUR SOLUTION
A way to identify their volunteering expertise & passion, so that they can feel good about their contribution, leading to improved volunteer retention for the organization.
HOW TO TACKLE
01
Identify volunteers’ Expertise & Passion
How might we direct volunteers into helping in areas where their skills are most valued?
02
Manage expectations of volunteering experience
How might we help users feel fulfilled and have a sense of purpose whilst volunteering?
How might we keep volunteers coming back/within the Forget-me-not community?
03
Provide guidance through the Volunteering Journey
How might we help potential volunteers explore volunteerism with our organisation in a guided way?
HOW OUR SOLUTION WILL HELP
Our app will help volunteers discover and personalize their volunteering experiences to Increase volunteering opportunities and create a family of like-minded volunteers.
WHAT TO PRIORITZE
Our team used the prioritization matrix to determine which features, fixes, and enhancements to work on next. It is also useful to identify the limited features needed for a minimum viable product (MVP).
This will make it easier for the team to de-emphasize or eliminate ideas that are unlikely to bring value to our users, allowing us to deliver fast while eliminating waste of time.
Our Design + Features
01
Profiling Volunteers
User’s Personal details, strengths, interests & passion
Matches volunteer to events of their interests where their skillsets are valued
Increase sense of purpose & accomplishment
02
Increase engagement & form communities
Show different types of volunteering information, tasks, scopes
Personalized Recommendations on Activities
Helps set expectations for volunteers looking to explore
03
Guided Exploration of
Volunteerism
Sign up for Recommended Activities easily
View extensive event information, tasks, and attendees to match expectations
View Personalised Calendar for upcoming events
OUR FINAL WIREFRAMES
END