Group Members: Aiden Bell, Daniel Hu, Cesar Romero-Gonzalez, Parthiv Deb
Sampling Strategy and Participants:
1) What were the criteria for your recruitment of the user evaluation participants?
● Pet ownership: Participants must own at least one pet.
● Diversity in pet types: We included owners of various pets (e.g., dogs, cats, birds,
reptiles) to ensure diverse perspectives.
● Active involvement in pet care: Participants needed to actively manage their pets' health,
including vet visits, medical records, and daily care.
● Age and tech proficiency: Participants ranged from 18 to 65 years old and demonstrated
basic proficiency in using mobile applications.
2) Who are the actual participants in your final sample in terms of the attributes of each
person?
Participant A: 19-year-old dog owner, actively uses a mobile app for tracking vet visits.
Participant B: 45-year-old cat owner, prefers traditional methods (e.g., notebooks) for
record-keeping.
Participant C: 20-year-old reptile owner, enthusiastic about new technology for pet care.
Participant D: 50-year-old cat owner, limited tech experience but willing to try new tools.
Participant E: 22-year-old student with multiple pets, heavily relies on digital solutions for time
management.
3) Does this align with the criteria you aimed to adhere to? If not, how might the
misalignment impact the takeaways you draw from the user evaluation results?
This sample largely aligns with our recruitment criteria. However, the group slightly skews
toward younger, tech-savvy individuals, which may bias the results toward digital solutions. This
misalignment could under represent the challenges faced by less tech-savvy pet owners,
potentially limiting the app’s accessibility for older users.
User Evaluation Preparation and Process:
Adopt at least two different methods from the list below:
1) The critical incident method
2) The think aloud method
3) The survey method to perform a rigorous UX evaluation of your prototype.
Present the protocol you have prepared for each method. The protocol should include but not
limited to:
1) The detailed instructions you provided to the participants:
● Recall a recent challenging or memorable experience related to managing your pet’s
health.
● Describe the situation, what made it challenging, and how you addressed it.
● Focus on any tools or processes you used and what you found helpful or frustrating.
2) The raw materials you asked the participants to work on.
A list of tasks for participants to perform.
A prototype of the app for participants to explore and evaluate how it could address their
described challenges.
Results and Reflections:
Present the complete raw data (e.g., videos and/or images, notes of critical incidents records,
transcripts of self-report, survey responses) you have obtained from the evaluation.
Critical Incident Method:
participant a:
● situation: needed vaccination records during an unexpected vet visit.
● challenge: could not locate the record quickly.
● tool used: mobile app for tracking records.
● feedback: “it would be great if the app had a quick search feature.”
participant b:
● situation: missed a medication dose for their cat.
● challenge: relies on memory for tracking schedules.
● feedback: “i need reminders, but i’m not used to using apps.”
participant c:
● situation: searched for reptile care instructions.
● challenge: found it difficult to locate reliable information.
● feedback: “the app could include care tips for uncommon pets.”
Think-Aloud Method:
participant d:
● task: navigate the app to set a vet appointment.
● action: struggled with the menu and returned to the home screen multiple times.
● feedback: “the navigation is confusing. i’m not sure where to go.”
participant e:
● task: add a care reminder for multiple pets.
● action: successfully added a reminder but noted limitations for pet-specific details.
● feedback: “the schedule feature is great, but it needs customization for different pets.”
likes and dislikes:
Quote the corresponding data to answer two questions:
1) What did the participants like and dislike about your current design prototype? How did
you come to such conclusions?
likes:
● easy-to-use reminders feature (participants a, e).
● centralized location for medical records (participants a, c).
● modern and visually appealing design (participants a, e).
dislikes:
● navigation issues (participants b, d).
● lack of customization for multiple pets (participants c, e).
● limited offline functionality (participant b).
conclusions:
Participants appreciated features that simplified repetitive tasks and centralized information.
however, usability challenges and lack of customization detracted from the overall experience.
2) Given the user evaluation results, what changes would you make if you were given more
time to improve the current prototype?
● enhance navigation: simplify the menu structure
● increase customization: allow users to set reminders and records specific to each pet’s
unique needs.
● add offline functionality: enable basic features, such as viewing records and setting
reminders, without internet access.
Contributions:
Data collection: Daniel Hu and Rohan Deb
Data Analysis: Aiden Bell and Cesar Romero-Gonzalez
For Presentation:
Sampling Strategy we will do random sampling of our data collection group. This allows for
unbiased participation because that group was already randomly selected. Also this allows for
easier understanding of the goals for this milestone because the sampling group is already
familiar with the intent of the project. We will utilize X and Y methods because of X and Y
reasons.