USDA Innovation Challenge
In the space of 6 weeks, I led a team in taking on the challenge of helping build towards a sustainable food system by putting data in the hands of farmers. Our web app submission won the Large Organization Recognition Award.
Skills
Lead interaction design, interviews, affinity diagramming, user testing, client relations, project management, video voiceover
Design
I focused on what questions actual farmers are asking that we could answer from the data provided by the USDA:
When to plant and harvest
What crops grow well in their area
What works with regards to soil type and weather patterns, and
How to deal with adverse conditions
We built an app that maps farmers' land and overlays important data, showing them how well crops they grow did under different rainfall conditions.
An important part of sustainability is keeping food production and distribution local. Our map-based app appeals to farmers by showing them exactly what is happening on their land and in the surrounding community. It helps them understand their land holistically, using history as a teaching tool, so that they can make decisions that support increased productivity.
Given that weather is the number one challenge cited by farmers, our application arms them with historical weather data that they can use to plan crops for projected drought years. It is flexible enough for us to add real-time weather predictions for short-term planning as part of future work. Farmers can identify problem spots by seeing plant density data on soil type. Farmers looking to expand their acreage can see how well neighbors have taken care of their land. And the rainfall and crop yield graphs reveal which crops performed the best in challenging precipitation years so that they can plan for dry periods.
Get a closer look at my process here.
What's Next
If I were to take the app further, I would train it to suggest varieties to grow and activities to perform based on past performance (e. g. what sort of nutrient level adjustments need to be made for certain soil types). I would also help farmers focus attention during critical times with alerts that lead to recommended responses.
Next Project:
