Context: FarmIQ is a map‑based farm‑management SaaS used by farmers to plan, record, and make decisions across their operations.
Helping farmers make fast decisions in the field
Recording Health Treatments offline
The Problem
Farm management is a high‑pressure, hands‑on environment where regulatory obligations, seasonal timing, and on‑farm risks all add weight to the decisions farmers make each day. Farmers spend their days outdoors — moving stock, managing land, and recording information on the go — yet our previous mobile app didn’t support this reality. It was slow, outdated, and difficult to use, pushing many back to paper notes in the paddock and forcing managers to re‑enter data late at night, often with gaps or inconsistencies.
From earlier research, the team had seen firsthand on-farm visits in woodsheds and in paddocks that the app needed to be offline‑first to match patchy connectivity, and that its mental model needed to reflect the land‑centric nature of farm work. Farmers also needed an interface that handled dirty hands, harsh weather, poor light, and quick capture without fiddly interactions.
Inside the business, our challenge was two‑sided:
1. For farmers and farm managers: Create an app simple and fast enough for workers to record information in the moment, improving accuracy and reducing after‑hours admin — giving farmers their farm “at their fingertips.”
2. For the company: Build a scalable, consistent experience that improves adoption and retention while reducing support burden and rework.
1. For farmers and farm managers: Create an app simple and fast enough for workers to record information in the moment, improving accuracy and reducing after‑hours admin — giving farmers their farm “at their fingertips.”
2. For the company: Build a scalable, consistent experience that improves adoption and retention while reducing support burden and rework.
Opportunity: Design an “essential app” that unifies day‑to‑day workflows and remains reliable, clear, and trustworthy — even when connectivity, weather, or time are working against farmers.
My Role, Team and Partners
I led the redesign of FarmIQ’s mobile app and its sister web application, shaping the experience across both platforms from early roadmap planning through to staged releases. I guided a design team of two product designers and a graphic designer through framing, concept development, and iterative refinement. Working closely with product managers, engineering leads, and on‑farm subject‑matter experts, I ensured the end‑to‑end experience reflected real farm workflows and constraints.
My role combined vision‑setting, facilitation, coaching, and cross‑functional alignment, enabling us to deliver a simple, offline‑first mobile experience that paired seamlessly with an improved web workflow.
We created a purpose‑built app that reduced farmers’ admin, brought clarity to decision‑making during intense seasonal periods, and delivered real‑time insights. This enabled everyone on the farm (workers, managers, and owners) to make confident, sustainable, and profitable decisions about their stock and land, addressing their core needs.
When I joined FIQ, the IQ app only had a basic mob move record.
When I left FIQ, the IQ app had 11 new recordings, full Tasks and Diary features, and app notifications, among other enhancements.
What we did
1) Framed the problem at the ecosystem level
We mapped on‑farm tasks, off‑farm obligations, and the data sources behind both. This surfaced the high‑pressure moments (e.g., time‑sensitive records, compliance checks) and clarified where one screen could replace three separate steps.
We mapped on‑farm tasks, off‑farm obligations, and the data sources behind both. This surfaced the high‑pressure moments (e.g., time‑sensitive records, compliance checks) and clarified where one screen could replace three separate steps.
2) Established decision principles for farm‑first products
We defined principles like “Time‑to‑confidence over clicks”, “Local first; sync later”, and “Show status and consequence together”. These guided every design trade‑off and anchored cross‑functional decisions.
We defined principles like “Time‑to‑confidence over clicks”, “Local first; sync later”, and “Show status and consequence together”. These guided every design trade‑off and anchored cross‑functional decisions.
3) Prioritised a small set of ‘essential’ workflows
Instead of trying to do everything, we selected 3–5 workflows that farmers use constantly under pressure (e.g., quick record capture, in‑field map updates, compliance summaries). We sequenced design + delivery by impact x feasibility.
Instead of trying to do everything, we selected 3–5 workflows that farmers use constantly under pressure (e.g., quick record capture, in‑field map updates, compliance summaries). We sequenced design + delivery by impact x feasibility.
4) Evolved patterns that reduce cognitive load
We introduced a pattern set for:
Context cards that surface the next best action
Offline‑first inputs with safe‑sync and clear conflict resolution
Map‑centric summaries with immediate drill‑down
Record once, reuse everywhere (less duplication, fewer errors)
We introduced a pattern set for:
Context cards that surface the next best action
Offline‑first inputs with safe‑sync and clear conflict resolution
Map‑centric summaries with immediate drill‑down
Record once, reuse everywhere (less duplication, fewer errors)
5) Embedded continuous validation
I acted as the voice of our customers, making continuous validation a standard part of every project. We ran small, focused research touchpoints with farmers to confirm we were solving the right problems and used their feedback to guide iterations and identify upcoming needs. This kept our work grounded in real on‑farm behaviour and ensured each release delivered genuine value.
For an in-depth look at how we connect with FarmIQ customers, click here
I acted as the voice of our customers, making continuous validation a standard part of every project. We ran small, focused research touchpoints with farmers to confirm we were solving the right problems and used their feedback to guide iterations and identify upcoming needs. This kept our work grounded in real on‑farm behaviour and ensured each release delivered genuine value.
For an in-depth look at how we connect with FarmIQ customers, click here
Farmers are loyal to the job they need to get done, not the solution. Managing life on farm is our customers core jobs-to-be-done.
Retiring the classic app (far right) meant everything farmers need must move to IQ app (middle)
The Solution
The essential app centres on a live, map‑anchored home designed around how farmers actually work: outdoors, on the move, often with limited information and no connectivity. The experience makes two things effortless: recording what happened and when it happened, and seeing what needs attention now.
Farmers can tap directly on the map or stock list to access fast‑path workflows with pre‑filled context (location, stock, last state), record entries offline, and sync safely when coverage returns. This approach supports real on‑farm scenarios, capturing a sale in the yards or recording a death out in the paddock, where time is tight, and details are easy to forget.
We refined and standardised recording patterns across both map and list views, ensuring consistent, intuitive workflows for key tasks (treatments, deaths, sales, purchases, pasture covers, chemical/fertiliser applications, notes). By simplifying flow logic and removing unnecessary steps, the app keeps the common path obvious while allowing flexibility for edge cases.
The result is a fast, reliable, offline‑first recording experience that supports everyday decision‑making and gives farmers confidence that their farm is always “at their fingertips.”
Recording chemical applications in real-time ensures no stock graze on fields in a withholding period, keeping both livestock safe and the farm compliant.
The Measure of Success
Our strongest signal of success came from IQ App Stickiness, which reached 32.4%, a 17.45% year‑on‑year increase, far surpassing the 20% SaaS benchmark for exceptional engagement. This indicates farmers were coming back repeatedly because it genuinely fit their daily workflow. Alongside this, 38% of customers now use the IQ app regularly, just 4% below web, showing that mobile has become a core tool for on‑farm decision‑making.
This shift was reinforced by a sequence of releases grounded in field research, including Health Treatments, Deaths, Rainfall, Land Applications, Tasks, Timesheets, and Health & Safety, each designed to support fast, accurate, offline‑first recording.
With conservative measurement, we also saw strong behavioural and operational signals:
↓ Time‑to‑confidence for key workflows
↓ Rework entries after introducing “record once, reuse everywhere”
↓ Time‑to‑confidence for key workflows
↓ Rework entries after introducing “record once, reuse everywhere”
↓ Support tickets related to the released features
↑ Task completion in low/no coverage, reflected in higher successful queued syncs
↑ Customer satisfaction increased, especially around ease of routine tasks
↑ Task completion in low/no coverage, reflected in higher successful queued syncs
↑ Customer satisfaction increased, especially around ease of routine tasks
Together, these outcomes show that pairing deep customer understanding with focused design improvements delivered meaningful behavioural change, increased adoption, and strengthened long‑term product value.
IQ stickness increased by 17.4% in 12 months.
Monthly active users: Web (FMS): 42%, IQ: 39%, Classic: 19%. A 13% increase on the IQ app in 12 months.
How I led
I set clear problem definitions, goals, and design principles from the outset, giving the team enough direction to work independently and confidently. I kept alignment tight through simple weekly check‑ins and structured design reviews, and I coached designers to take ownership of key workflows while maintaining coherence across mobile and web.
I collaborated closely with PMs and engineers to communicate decisions effectively, and partnered with the Head of Product to translate research signals and seasonal farming needs directly into roadmap priorities.
What We Learnt
Clarity beats features
Farmers need fewer decisions at the moment of action.
Farmers need fewer decisions at the moment of action.
Offline‑first must be trusted
Clear states (queued/synced), predictable conflict resolution, and audit trails reduce anxiety and errors. Transparency gained the farmers' trust, and we saw an uptake in mobile recordings.
Clear states (queued/synced), predictable conflict resolution, and audit trails reduce anxiety and errors. Transparency gained the farmers' trust, and we saw an uptake in mobile recordings.
Principles prevent wasted time
When trade‑offs are explicit, teams deliver faster with fewer reworks.
When trade‑offs are explicit, teams deliver faster with fewer reworks.
From Recording to Real-Time Decisions
Diary: We introduced a unified, farm‑wide view of all recorded activity, enabling managers immediate access to the data needed for quick, in‑field decisions. Mob and paddock summaries surfaced meaningful insights. Mob moves, treatments, weights, sales, and purchases utilise empty states, encouraging further recording when data is missing.
Tasks: To support delegation in a busy, time‑sensitive environment, we designed a flexible task system that helped farmers assign, track, and complete work efficiently. Workers received clear, location‑based tasks, reducing back‑and‑forth communication and supporting compliance and daily operational needs. Managers gained confidence that critical and recurring jobs would be completed on time, every time
These features built on top of the essential workflows, reinforcing our principle of “help farmers act confidently, wherever they are.”
View more in-depth information on my Diary case study
For an in-depth look at how we connect with FarmIQ customers, click here
For an in-depth look at how we connect with FarmIQ customers, click here
The offline Diary enables farmers to make quick management decisions based on data.
Recording a task from the map and diary was the highest adoption rate.
Work completed whilst at FarmIQ