Seeding Rate Calculator
Expertise
Platforms
Deliverables
Duration
Project Overview
An extension project in affiliation with the Cover Crop Councils, the Seeding Rate Calculator is a Decision Support Tool (DST) for farmers to calculate and tinker with the Seeding Rate(s) for their desired Cover Crop mix.
Execution
Seeding Rate calculations are often complex, with numerous parameters affecting their calculation, such as species selection, planting methods, and management details (Erosion Control, Cost-Share requirements, etc.). Our main challenge lay in creating a unified tool for both councils, which took into account each of their unique criteria. Initial research for the project involved conversations with Council representatives and researchers who have made the tool before, through hour-long virtual Interviews and Focus Groups, followed by a Design Sprint to arrive at User Flows and Process Logic for the calculation, along with any desires and concerns with it. My major contribution lay in creating high-fidelity mockups for the tool in Figma, communicating the final tool design to all involved stakeholders, as part of the R&D phase.
Results
In addition to a seamless tool which could optimize and simplify complex Seeding Rate calculations, the Councils also desired for the tool to communicate an educational component to its users:
For a user's specific region, planting conditions and requirements-
• How is the Seeding Rate being calculated using the various factors involved?
• What are some parameters affecting the calculation?
• What is the effect of changing them?
• Which plant species are ideal for the mix?
Henceforth, the challenge lay in showcasing the numerous mathematical calculations that lead up to the final seeding rate, while not overwhelming the user with available information and recommendations. The limited screen real estate of a mobile platform furthered this test.
After researching information-heavy DSTs, I progressed with evolving a Design System with neutral colors and iOS-recommended typefaces.
Other major UI highlights include-
- Using contrast in the decided color palette to highlight and prioritise information within the information-laden screens.
- A sidebar to navigate different plant species and select them individually, to modify in the mix calculation.
- Bottom nav-bar to keep track of the calculation stage a user is at, as well as revisit previous decision points.
- A 'HISTORY' functionality to see all the modifiers for a calculation.
- Scroller to see changes in the seeding rate in real time, through intuitive 'scrubbing' on screen.