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"Herdbook" is a pre-seed startup that wants to help ranchers weigh their livestock easily and efficiently through their phone using image processing and depth sensors. I was asked to help "Herdbook" come up with a basic task flow through their potential app.
Competitive Analysis
I started out with performing a competitive analysis to find that most solutions out there where either using very heavy stationary cameras - a solution that is not suitable for grass fed herds, or forcing you to buy an unnecessary add on laser device to place on your phone. (a device that is now redundant with the new TOF (time of light sensor) that comes with most new phones.
Secondary Research
while turning to the books I found the target audience- small to medium size herds (under 50)/ (50-100) cattle head most large farms already operate a stationary solution and it's the smaller farms that are left uncheck. In addition I also discovered which part of the country is rich in cattle herds, where should the solution first be implemented. with the recommendation of stating in California- an area rich in cattle and in Tech. (Although the solution can be used for both cattle, pigs, goats horses or any kind of farm animal).
Number of cattle heads per state
Herd sizes in the united states (%)
Screener Survey
I posted an online questioner where I tried to offer a weight measurement service through an app. I got 277 responses and a lot of good Information and Insights into the lives of farmers and ranchers. It's through this "type form" that I recruited participants for my interviews.
User Interviews
"When it comes to managing my herd My cattle's health is my # 1 concern."
"A lot of ranchers don't want to involve technology, they are afraid of keeping a record of their herd".
"It's an enormous amount of stress for the cow to be measured with tap, even more so to try and get her on a scale."
Research Insights
Transportation of farm animals is a big problem- some animals can lose pounds in weight in a single trip.
There is a big difference in user needs between feeding lots ranchers and grass fed ranches.
Since the population of ranchers is getting younger and more tech savvy, there is an opportunity for a technological solution.
Farm animals vets are scares and very busy.
​Most ranchers say Health is their #1 concern, weight measurement is a big part of health management.
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Design Sprint
Since this project was short on time a design sprint approach was established
User sees their cows grazing in front of them, wanting to identify them and take their weight measurement.
User opens the app & goes to the manage tab. sees a list of his/hers herd.
User goes to the quick actions button and chooses Identify.
Task flow
Camera opens up, User points camera onto cows and holds still.
Cows are identified and user can click on each of them to go to that specific cows card.
On cow's card user clicks on record weight, and the camera opens up again, this time capturing the weight of the cow, which is automatically added to it's card. Success.
Sketching
Sketches this time around really served as a communication tool, but also an organizational tool, and they served as wireframes for the task flow. I ended up designing 6 screens: Splash, Home, Manage tab, cattle Identification, Cattle card and Weight capturing.
Logo
The logo's font tried to resemble Facebook's logo, something that is familiar , really serving as a one stop shop for all of your herds needs. The H' became a fence which is associated with farming. The silhouette encapsulates many different type of farm animals as the app is designed to work on horses, pigs ,sheep cows and many more.
Hi Fi Mockups
Prototype
High Fidelity mockup was developed in order to show potential investors: https://andymanes300393.invisionapp.com/console/share/X45H9UZJKDS/931812680
Conclusion and next steps
Impact: Thanks to these designs, seed funding of $2.5 M for this start up was offered.
This was a partial flow from a very large experience other parts of the app, and other actions and interactions still need to be developed. Since this was a very short project, next steps would be to perform usability testing , so that ranchers would be able to see if the solution is easy to use and friendly.
In addition brand guidelines need to be developed and a style guide created for future builds.
Takeaways: This was a very interesting project that tested the limits of digital interaction and innovation. The material was prepared for an investors deck, therefore a lot of things were overlooked due to time. Learn how to negotiate with the client how important some of these steps are for building a holistic and well rounded experience.
Thanks for reading
