PROBLEM
OBJECTIVES
Design a centralized platform that simplifies communication, care routines, and visit tracking between pet owners and sitters.
DURATION
TOOLS
ROLE
TEAM
Individual Project
PHASE 01
THE DISCOVERY…
WHERE EVERY OWNER STARTS
Leaving a dog in someone else's care requires more than instructions and notes. It depends on trust, consistency, and communication.
WHERE IT STARTED
A sitter marketplace
ChatterPup began as a place for owners to search for and book pet sitters directly, with an enhanced messaging feature. Running it through the ZAG framework, I got stuck on one question: what actually makes this different? I couldn't answer it.
THE PIVOT
The real gap comes after booking
Rover and Wag already solve finding sitters well, and survey results backed this up. There's no structured way for sitters to track tasks, share updates, or give owners real visibility once a booking is made. That felt like the more honest problem to solve.
THE REFRAME
So I shifted focus to the communication and care layer that sits on top of the booking. Not a replacement for Rover and Wag. Something that works alongside them.
TARGET AUDIENCE
Pet Owners
Working pet owners who want more visibility into their pet's daily care and routines while away.
Sitters, walkers, family, or friends responsible for managing visits, routines, and updates.
POTENTIAL EXPANSION
Boarding facilities, vet practices, and professional pet care companies managing multiple clients.
PHASE 02
RESEARCH
SECONDARY RESEARCH
97%
49%
"
"
"
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
No single tool connects the full care experience
Analyzed persistent pet profile, owner-caregiver messaging, structures check-ins, and care transfer/handoffs.
SURVEY & INTERVIEWS
18 survey particpants
3 follow up interviews
Distributed & recorded via Maze
100%
never had a serious miscommunication, so it's low-grade friction, not a crisis
82%
biggest concern is not knowing if something went wrong
82%
rely on a friend or family member as their primary caregiver
71%
only use a sitter for travel, making handoffs infrequent and high-stakes
54%
rated their anxiety 3 or higher out of 5 when leaving their dog
71%
are concerned about their dog's emotional wellbeing while away
THE OPPORTUNITY
Owners aren't dealing with major breakdowns. They're dealing with constant low-grade anxiety, and most are handing their dog to someone they know personally with no structured way to stay informed.
PHASE 03
STRATEGY
INSIGHTS SO FAR
1
Information gaps at handoff.
Sitters arrive without basic info, forcing questions that should already be answered.
2
The anxiety of not knowing
Owners aren't anxious from distrust; they're anxious from the lack of confirmation of care.
3
A different app for every step
Owners and sitters piece together care info across texts, docs, and notes apps.
4
Communication breakdowns go both ways
Update expectations are rarely set before a visit begins.
5
Informal care is the dominant relationship
Most dogs are watched by friends or family, not professionals, unserved by existing tools.
HOW MIGHT WE
OWNER ANXIETY
…help owners feel confident their pet is cared for correctly, no matter who's watching?
CAREGIVER CLARITY
…give any sitter everything they need before they arrive, without repeated questions?
HANDOFF MOMENT
…make handling of a pet's care feel structured and trustworthy rather than rushed and informal?
PERSONAS
PET OWNER
Angelique Miller
"The Overcommunicator" | Full-Time Account Manager
"
I text my pet’s sitter the same instructions every single time. She already knows Luna but I still panic if she doesn't reply quick.
PAIN POINTS
Resends the same info every visit
Doesn't know if the sitter completed specific tasks
GOALS
Stay informed without hovering
Consistent sitter relationship, fast handoff
PET SITTER
Ari Thompson
"The Juggler" | Freelance Pet Walker & Sitter
"
I show up to every new dog ready to do a great job, and half the time I'm learning about the dog and rules as I go.
PAIN POINTS
Arrives with no care history
Info scattered across texts, notes, screenshots
GOALS
Know each dog before arriving
Clear expectations, less time chasing info
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
PHASE 03
BRANDING
COMPONENTS
COLOR PALETTE
Sitters pick a role, connect existing bookings from wherever they already work, and invite their first client to get started.
Sitters see their active visit, live task progress, and what's next, without opening a single pet profile
Tap into the full checklist to see task details, timing, and instructions, and check items off as the visit happens.
Conversations filtered by care status, photos, voice notes, and visit summaries sent right from the thread.
A structured end-of-visit summary, tasks, mood, notes, and photos, saved permanently in the message thread.
One persistent profile per pet, with routine covering feeding and medication, behavior covering temperament and triggers, and contacts keeping the owner, vet, and emergency contact one tap away.
A full monthly view of upcoming visits, tap any day to see which pets, visit type, times, and address.
Notifications, task list display, appearance, and integrations, all customizable, alongside account management and the ability to switch between sitter and owner.
USABILITY TESTING
9 participants across moderated and unmoderated sessions in Maze and Zoom & 4 ongoing professional mentors providing feedback throughout the full 10 weeks.
Tasks tested: Onboarding, find today's tasks, find pet profile, send an owner an update, free exploration
Pet profile access
Most users tapped the dog's photo on the home screen instead of the expected path through the "Pets" tab.
83%
success
70%
misclick
Sitters reached for the pattern they already knew from other apps, instead of a different path.
Fix: Added a direct tap-through from the home screen photo to the profile.
End-of-visit summary
33% expected to contact the owner by tapping their name on the home screen rather than the 'Messages' tab, and half tried sending a regular text instead of using the end-of-visit form.
83%
success
49%
misclick
When a feature isn't clearly differentiated from messaging, people default to what they already know.
Fix: Renamed "Log Visit" to "Visit Summary" for clarity.
REFLECTION
Looking at child daycare apps like Brightwheel and Lillio also showed me that the communication model I was designing already existed, just not for pets. That overlap became one of the strongest arguments for why ChatterPup fills a real gap.
The hardest part was being challenged on things I assumed were simple. Wording, flow, and feature decisions had to be rethought from both the user's and the business's perspective at the same time.
IF I HAD 10 MORE WEEKS…
1
Design the owner's experience; the current prototype focuses on the sitter's perspective.
2
Explore a B2B web layer for veterinary practices and boarding facilities.
3
Run a second round of testing with a wider pool, including professional and informal sitters.
4
Revisit illustrations and images for legibility at mobile screen sizes.
5
Develop the monetization model further, including pricing tiers and paywalled features.