AcrePlan
AcrePlan is our comprehensive crop planning tool, starting with users selecting their desired crop. The page is organized by Application Timing, covering key stages like burndown, pre, post, fungicide, and insecticide. Within each section, users can choose between pre-made passes or craft their personalized pass.
Our vision for AcrePlan is to revolutionize crop planning and input purchasing for farmers. We aim to address challenges such as diversifying cart content, aligning with farmers' mental models, and shifting towards selling solutions rather than products. By providing tailored crop-specific packs, expert-curated passes, and transparent pricing, AcrePlan enhances efficiency while offering a customized shopping experience.
Company: Farmers Business Network
My Role: Lead Designer
Timeline: 3 Months (2023)
Responsibilities: Design Direction
Research
UX & UI Design
Prototyping
My Role
This project represents the second iteration of Acre Pack, another tool that I had designed the previous year. In response to valuable feedback received during the initial launch, I engaged in extensive discussions with farmers, account executives, stakeholders, and conducted thorough user research. Subsequently, I took on the multifaceted role of designing, encompassing wireframing, interaction design, and visual design.
Additionally, I crafted prototypes to visualize the user experience.
Once the feature was in the development phase, I assumed the responsibility of Quality Assurance (QA), ensuring the seamless implementation of the design. Further reinforcing the user-centric approach, I conducted additional user research post-implementation to validate and refine the user experience.
What is the problem we are trying to solve?
Mindset Shift towards Selling Solutions:
The current planning tool lacks alignment with the farmer's mental model for annual input purchases, necessitating adjustments to better resonate with their thought processes.
Diversifying Cart Content:
There is a significant challenge in enhancing the diversity of carts and improving margin profiles for the inputs business.
Misalignment with Farmer's Mental Model:
There is a significant challenge in enhancing the diversity of carts and improving margin profiles for the inputs business.
Stigma of Discount Tool:
A discount tool stigma from the previous launch, and a requirement for customers to figure out combinations of products to select despite product organization by crop.
A CB from OH
“I know what products I need but could always stand to save time”
A farmer from IA
“It just doesn’t match how I plan out my seasons on the farm. I like to roll with the seasons, especially when it comes to application timing. ”
An account executive
“I think with discounts being tied into there, it got confusing for not just me but for growers too! They’re wondering what they’ve looked at it as another program for them to buy more stuff from us and people don’t like that as much”
Who are our users?
The primary users are :
Farmers, the heartbeat of our agricultural community.
Community Builders (CBs), independent sales contractors integral to the FBN ecosystem, leverage the tool to enhance product sales and contribute to community growth.
Account Executives (AEs) are pivotal in fostering strong client relationships. This multi-faceted approach ensures that AcrePlan caters to the distinct needs of each user group, fostering collaboration and efficiency across the agricultural landscape.
Key use cases
To address the specific challenges faced by our target users, we embark on a journey to explore effective solutions.
Before delving into the design phase, it is imperative to define core use cases and user stories that align with the needs of our audience and guide them seamlessly toward their objectives.
Farmers aim to efficiently plan crop purchases based on application timing, ensuring precision and timeliness in product usage.
Empowering farmers to select the most suitable pass tailored to their crops and region enhances their ability to apply the right agronomic solutions effectively.
Optimizing the purchase amount of chemicals across all applications is a crucial goal for farmers, seeking efficiency and minimal leftover inventory.
Brainstorming with stack holders
Brainstorming with stakeholders yielded crucial insights that have profoundly influenced our project's direction. Among the key conclusions and requirements identified are the need for tailored crop-specific packs, enabling users to select plans suited to their specific crops. Additionally, users can shop by application timing, benefitting from expert-curated passes for each section. The project incorporates a master acreage field, allowing for default acreage across all passes within the acre plan, along with the flexibility to choose multiple passes per section. Auto-calculated quantities with user-modifiable options ensure a seamless shopping experience, complemented by transparent pricing breakdowns per acre, gallon, and total. Integration of a seamless cart functionality further enhances the user experience, ensuring our project meets the diverse needs of our users and provides a customized shopping solution.
How does it work?
During our brainstorming sessions, we identified key insights for enhancing AcrePack, which we rebranded as AcrePlan. The concept revolves around empowering users to select a plan tailored to their specific crop. For instance, if a user chooses corn, they are directed to a dedicated planning page where they input the acreage they are working with. This allows us to calculate the required quantity of each product at the standard rate.
Next, we activate relevant sections based on the application timing specific to the user's needs, whether it's burndown, post-emergence, or pre-emergence. If users opt for burndown applications, they are presented with a curated list of products tailored to their crop selection and acreage. They can explore each item individually, viewing the recommended quantity for their acreage, and adjust as needed.
Once they have finalized their selections, users can return to the main page to add additional applications before proceeding to the checkout to complete their purchase.
Here is the link to the tool on FBN website
User Research Insights
As part of this project, comprehensive user research was conducted to ensure the efficacy and user satisfaction of the AcrePlan tool. The research aimed to validate the solution's ability to address user needs, assess its user-friendliness, and identify areas for improvement.
Post-Design Feedback:
Following the completion of the design phase, in-depth discussions were held with 4 farmers and 3 Account Executives (AEs) to gather feedback. The majority of farmers expressed satisfaction with the expert-curated lists provided by AcrePlan. Notably, only one farmer indicated a preference for the ability to customize or build lists from scratch. Overall, the response to AcrePlan was overwhelmingly positive, affirming its alignment with user expectations and needs.
Post-Launch Evaluation:
Approximately one month after the tool's launch, feedback sessions were conducted with 8 AEs to evaluate their experience with AcrePlan compared to its predecessor, Acre Pack. The majority of AEs expressed a preference for AcrePlan over Acre Pack, citing improved usability and alignment with farmers' needs. While one AE expressed a desire for customization options, most respondents indicated satisfaction with the recommended products and rated the tool's user-friendliness highly, with an average rating of 4 out of 5.
When asked to compare their preference between the old and new versions of the tool, the majority of respondents favored AcrePlan. However, two respondents expressed a preference for a hybrid approach, combining elements of both solutions.
Future Research Plans:
Looking ahead, further research is planned to gather feedback from farmers regarding their experience with the new tool. This ongoing commitment to user feedback underscores our dedication to continuously enhancing the AcrePlan tool to better serve the needs of our users and ensure a seamless user experience.
An account executive
“The crop categorization helped me sound like an expert, when listing off rates and common products for each crop. Also love the “Do the math” portion on everything! So easy”
An account executive
“I actually used it to quote guys who just didn’t know what they wanted but could at least give me the crops they grow and I was able to send out prices and products based on crops”
How Did we measure success?
In evaluating the success of AcrePlan compared to its predecessor, Acre Pack, key metrics such as:
Increased products per checkout
Higher repeat purchases
Improved planning experience,
Shift towards self-service checkout
were considered. Graphical representations, including a doubling of products added to the cart, effectively highlight AcrePlan's significant success over Acre Pack.
Take Aways
In summary, the AcrePlan project shows how listening to users and making small improvements over time can create successful digital tools. By prioritizing user feedback and engagement throughout the design and development process, AcrePlan was able to address specific pain points of farmers and AEs, resulting in a highly positive reception post-launch. The balance between expert curation and some modification options, coupled with a strong focus on usability and user-friendliness, contributed to the tool's preference over its predecessor. These findings highlight the value of ongoing user engagement, data-driven decision-making, and a commitment to continuous improvement in driving the success of digital projects within the agricultural landscape.