John deere operations center mobile redesign
Helping small and novice farmers manage their products and daily operations (class project)
Problem Statment
My Roles
UX Design: Sketching, Feedback Sessions, Prototyping, Usability Testing
UX Research: Literature Review, Competitive Analysis, Survey creation + distribution, Affinity Mapping, Journey Map
Tools Used
Figma
Miro
Qualtrics
Project Context
Fall 2022
Research-based class project- industry sponsored
Team:
Me!
Kathi Tran
Namit Kapoor
CJ Marguin
Target Users & Stakeholders
Small farms (TU)
Novice farmers (TU)
Commercial farms (S)
Farming manufacturing companies (S)
This redesign of the John Deere Operations Center Mobile Application is an approachable and accessible solution for small and novice farmers to manage their work.
With more time and knowledge since completing this project, here are updates I would make to the Analyze tab based on user feedback:
To gain a comprehensive understanding of the topic and context, my team and I conducted an extensive research process. After conducting the initial research, we continued to progress through our research methodology, using a variety of methods to gather information and insights.
Primary Research
9 survey responses
Gathered information on users’ demographics and background knowledge
4 user interviews
Gained a deep understanding of the needs, wants, gaps in knowledge, and pain points of users and stakeholders
7 task analysis
Broke down the steps of a common user-task in the problem space to find places of opportunity
Survey
We distributed paper-based questionnaires at local farmer's markets to collect data from a variety of participants. The survey data was entered and analyzed in Qualtrics looking at percentages and the most highly mentioned words.
36% of farmers use paper & notebooks as a management tool allowing opportunity for a useful electronic solution.
This word cloud shows that farmers use a range of electronic tools, there is not one central tool they can use for their work.
Interviews
To obtain a more generalized population of users, we posted on Reddit and Facebook forums. This allowed us to understand their needs, preferences, and experiences. Each of our users were based in varying locations, so our interviews were conducted virtually over Teams, or on the phone.
To centralize our interview findings and understand broader themes from our research, my team and I created an affinity map using Miro. We created a hierarchy of categories from 127 sticky notes. We ended with three overarching themes: 'Farming experiences', 'Technology interaction', and 'Getting familiar with the farming industry'.
Dealership Visit
During our research phase of the process, my team had the opportunity to visit a John Deere dealership! Here we were able to see the equipment up close and learn more about the interaction between customers and the company.
Brittany, Kevin, and my team at the dealership
Me sitting in a tractor!
Task Analysis
Task analyses were performed to analyze the specific actions and steps that users took to complete their daily tasks using the current application. This helped our team recognize the needs of the current users as well as visualize the step-by-step process each task takes.
Secondary Research
After thoroughly analyzing and compiling our research findings, our team continued to delve deeper into the problem space to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the issues and challenges at hand.
2 journey maps
Visualized a users process to complete a goal, finding places of opportunity
2 storyboards
Communicated a sequence of states a user passes through, understanding the use of the product in context
product analysis
Broke down the features and components of the product to better understand its use
Journey Maps
A farmer taking inventory of his cucumbers
A farmer documenting seeds on-site in the field
Storyboards
Our storyboards were made as visual representations of the user experience to show actions a user would take while working. This allowed us to visualize how our product could be implemented to improve certain tasks.
A farmer taking inventory of her cucumbers
A farmer documenting seeds on-site in the field
Product Analysis
Key Insights
Our 5 key insights informed our design and development of a more user-friendly and effective product.
Pen and Paper
Farmers typically prefer to use pen and paper
Interviews
Survey
Task Analysis
Technology Users
Farmers are comfortable using technology
Interviews
Survey
Task Analysis
Product
Analysis
Continual Learning
Farming practices are often continual learning processes and utilize multiple resources
Interviews
Taxing Work
There are many physical and mental challenges of being in the farming industry
Interviews
Task Analysis
Reuse
Resources get reused or recycled
Interviews
Design Requirements
Time Efficiency
Working on the farm often leads to long nights and early mornings. A planner integrated into the farming application would serve useful for managing time.
Interviews
Task Analysis
Research
Insight 1
Research
Insight 3
Research
Insight 4
Accounting
“I would like a program that includes accounting…” - U1
Interviews
Research
Insight 1
Research
Insight 2
Research
Insight 3
Inventory
“I would like to see a restocking checklist for supplies needed” - U2
Interviews
Survey
Journey Maps
Research
Insight 1
Research
Insight 3
Research
Insight 5
Planning
“I would like to see a recommendation list of plants to grow based on soil.” - U2
Interviews
Research
Insight 1
Research
Insight 3
Concepts
Based on our requirements, two mobile application concepts were created:
1. a redesign of the John Deere Operations Center Mobile with changes based on research
2. all new layouts and features that we believed would help our users based on our research
John Deere Operations Center Redesign
Farmers can manage their land by placing flags, creating work plans, and analyzing their tillage, seeding, and harvest.
Design
Requirement 1
Design
Requirement 2
Design
Requirement 3
Design
Requirement 4
Seed2Product
Farmers can check on field updates, take notes, analyze their tilling, seeding, and harvest, and find local markets to sell to.
Design
Requirement 1
Design
Requirement 3
Design
Requirement 4
Concept Feedback Sessions
We then asked our users for feedback on both concepts to see which one they preferred and made sure to counterbalance the concepts for different users.
Wireframes
After compiling the feedback on our sketches, we decided to continue with the redesign of the John Deere Operations Center. Here we created wireframes for each of the tabs and included gestures to show interactions.
Analyze Tab
Home Tab
Map Tab
Plan Tab
Wireframe Feedback Session
Next, we held feedback sessions on wireframes with three of our users and analyzed the main findings by annotating each of the screens with post-it notes on Figjam.
Here is how I organized the feedback for the screens I worked on:
Prototype
After our wireframe feedback sessions, we began creating our final prototype. The prototype has four main navigation tabs and a profile section.
Analyze Tab
Home Tab
Map Tab
Plan Tab
Accessibility Considerations
Throughout the process, my team investigated and worked to improve the accessibility of the product.
Audio Feature/Screen Reader
Screen reader issues with the Operations Center app will be addressed in our own app's development to ensure clear and unique element descriptions, as well as removing any unnecessary elements that the screen reader detects.
Inclusive Semantics
During our research, we learned that some end-users and stakeholders may work at community farms lacking a designated owner. To accommodate this, our prototype includes a feature allowing users to enter their own title and edit it at any time.
Usability of Icons
Our prototype's icons were inspired by those in the Operations Center, ensuring consistency with existing agricultural applications and ease of use for returning users. Names were also included alongside the icons for both visual and textual feedback.
Contrast Colors
Our team utilized the "Contrast" plug-in in Figma to verify color contrast. This tool checks foreground and background colors of each element against WCAG 2.0 level AA and AAA standards.
Color Blindness
To design inclusively for all users, the team incorporated visual tags/icons alongside color coding to accommodate those who may be color-blind.
User Evaluations
We chose to evaluate our prototype with a task-based user evaluation. This allowed us to simulate a sample size of our end user’s experience with the prototype before publishing it.
Goal: to learn if our prototype was successful in meeting the design requirements established previously. These feedback sessions were important to understand the information architecture and affordances that were intuitive for users in our redesign.
We evaluated each task based on its success rate, with 9/14 tasks completed successfully by all three users. One task was completed by two users, two tasks were completed by only one user, and two tasks were not completed by any user.
Using the standard procedure, we calculated the System Usability Scale (SUS) score for our prototype, with an average score of 70 among the interviewed users. This indicates that users had a solid comprehension of the prototype overall.
Expert Evaluations
We decided a heuristic evaluation would be the best method for our product because it is a complex and niche problem space. The app has many functions and the tabs in the main navigation deal with separate activities.
Goal: to find any issues with the prototype, pain points or confusing areas, and unclear UI. We wanted our expert feedback to focus on the flow and usability of our design.
We calculated the average scores of the heuristic severity ratings, which identified two high-priority issues and two mid-priority issues that require attention.
Key Recommendations for Iteration
Make terms consistent throughout the system and clearly describe what they’re labeling
Create a label or organization/layout of tasks to correctly identify when they should be completed (e.g. past, present, future)
Unify interactive elements to match (ex. ‘Revenue’ tab, filters, ‘add’ buttons)
Adding a fifth tab to the navigation that deals with tasks
Make labels larger/clearer, or rework the layout of the page to improve its organization
Iterate on the design to look more high-fidelity
Reflection
During the project, I gained insights into my leadership, teamwork, work habits, and the agriculture industry. I maintained focus and initiated work on my sections, while also mediating any conflicts that arose to ensure everyone felt heard. In exploring the agriculture industry, I gained an appreciation for the extensive maintenance and daily processes involved in fieldwork. Furthermore, I became aware of the diverse types of farming and the various ways people manage their agricultural businesses. Collaborating with an industry partner made this experience more authentic and enabled me to put my newly acquired knowledge into practice.
Regarding UX practices, I realized numerous techniques are available for the UX process, and it is crucial to select the most appropriate ones for a given situation. By defining the objectives and goals of each research method, it was possible to avoid drifting off-topic while conducting research. In the design phase, starting with a low-fidelity concept and gradually refining it while gathering user feedback at each stage was critical.
