Bridging the gap between the farm and the software
Timeline
18 weeks
Client
SADEP, TaurusWebs
Role
Researcher, UX UI Designer
pROBLEM STATEMENT
Rural workers are failing to use a scientific, high-performance software
The TaurusWebs software has the potential of delivering great results for informed decision-making to farm owners, veterinaries and farm advisors. However, it’s rural workers who upload everyday the information to this system: that is too complex to be used and doesn’t match their daily activities.
BACKGROUND
A great opportunity to position Taurus as an easy-to-use, high-performance software.
TaurusWebs is an information management system for farms developed in Colombia. It allows the registration of all the relevant data of the farm and provides data analysis for informed decision making.
RESEARCH
Multiple stakeholders with very different jobs to be done
Using hands-on activities, guided interviews and walking through the software, I met the current users of the software and understood their journeys with it and the relationship between them.
OUR USER
The rural worker
The rural worker of a farm is the most important person inside it. He is the person that makes everything work and the one with all the information needed by the different stakeholders.
USER JOURNEY
Many tasks, many places, many devices & lots of data
The day of the rural worker is packed with very different activities that generate lots of data throughout the day, all this data is captured in different ways, increasing the complexity of the processes.
MAIN INSIGHTS
To get powerful results, we must ensure the quality and accuracy during the uploading of data.
🖼️
Context
Different users need to upload, analyse and access data in different contexts
🪢
Process
The key to accuracy is to decrease the number of steps for data upload
🖐️
Usability
The logics and ergonomics are designed for experts and are too rigid
THE SOLUTION
An app to bridge the gap between farm & software
This can be achieved by putting the rural worker under the spotlight and designing a product for them. This is why, I designed the phone based version of the TaurusWebs App.
THE IDEATION
Using the service blueprint as an idea generation tool
The service blueprint allowed me to understand the priority of the farm worker's tasks in relation to the farm system and thus define the key functions for this first phase of the application. Data collection, note taking and animal information are the basis of their work.
LO-FI WIREFRAMES
Clear flows & key functions
The development of low fidelity wireframes allowed me to quickly define the information flows and have a basic prototype to test with users as soon as possible before developing each function too much.
1ST of 2 ROUNDs USABILITY TESTING
Testing early to streamline the process
For the first round of usability tests, 5 farm workers participated in person and online. I focused on evaluating the clarity and simplicity of the information flows, the information architecture and the clarity and functionality of the microphone.
Task 1: Voice note entry
Tasks 2: Voice data upload
Task 3: Animal data check
🚀
Roaring success
1. The microphone is perceived as a great tool for the abilities of the users and the context
2. The functions and information included are key and enough for the purpose of the app
3. The flows are clear and easy to follow for all the different users
👎
To work on
1. The transcript of the note should include the voice note for users who do not read
2. A clear step by step onboarding is needed for data entry and the microphone
3. The flows can be simplified to make it as straightforward as possible
VISUAL SYSTEM
A UI that matches the Agritech sector
Colors
Typography
Iconography
Components
THE RESULT
Register notes, upload & check animal data with you everywhere, anytime.
1
On-site data registration
• Multiple data type registration at once
• Gamified interactions to ease input
• Easy check and fix of the data introduced
2
Voice-memo based notebook
• Quick registration through microphone
• Transcript of the voice memos
• Linked to calendar to set date & alarms
3
Animal key data on the go
• Multiple filters to search for an animal
• Last uploaded data ready to use
• Basic data visualizations to ease analysis
KEY LEARNINGS
Takeaways for future projects
📐
Design for the extremes
Designing for the most extreme user: with low motor skills, low mastery of digital tools and low level of schooling ensured that the design of the platform is usable by all other users of the software. This is definitely a principle that I will bring to all my projects to ensure the greatest inclusiveness in the products.
🎯
Insight driven > process driven
The process is key to structuring the project as each project needs to be approached with different tools. However, the focus and decisions on wether to use one tool or another should always be on the factors that are able to move the needle for the project, what is actually new rather than the obvious.
⛰️
Prioritise field usability testing
One of the steps to follow with this project is the field testing, taking into account that this is a product to be used in very specific conditions: rain, mud, water,... If the field testing had been done from the first round of tests, new challenges to overcome in terms of usability would have been discovered.
DELIVERABLE
Check the updated version of the app now!
For this first phase of the project, I provided the engineering team with a working prototype as well as a UI kit to guide them during the development of the application.
