PlantFix

A Mobile Plant Care Application Addresses Millennials' Issues with Plant Care and Competitors' Shortcomings

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Case Study

Problem Statement

  1. After competitive, qualitative, and quantitative research I gathered insights that suggested that growing a plant is a challenge for Millennials because the apps they rely on for identifying a plant have low match accuracy, providing wrong insight.

  2. After user interviews and analyzing studies conducted with Millenials, their psychological profile uncovered that growing a plant is a challenge for Millenials because they don't stay consistent with a correct routine.

Problem Statement

  1. After competitive, qualitative, and quantitative research I gathered insights that suggested that growing a plant is a challenge for Millennials because the apps they rely on for identifying a plant have low match accuracy, providing wrong insight.

  2. After user interviews and analyzing studies conducted with Millenials, their psychological profile uncovered that growing a plant is a challenge for Millenials because they don't stay consistent with a correct routine.

Problem Statement

  1. After competitive, qualitative, and quantitative research I gathered insights that suggested that growing a plant is a challenge for Millennials because the apps they rely on for identifying a plant have low match accuracy, providing wrong insight.

  2. After user interviews and analyzing studies conducted with Millenials, their psychological profile uncovered that growing a plant is a challenge for Millenials because they don't stay consistent with a correct routine.

Solutions

  1. Improving accuracy by frequent database updates, machine learning from users' feedback and precise questions about the plant's appearance, which the photo scanner might miss.

  2. Duolingo inspired.

  3. introducing a mascot and animations resembling a game, watering and repotting reminders and encouragements.

Solutions

  1. Improving accuracy by frequent database updates, machine learning from users' feedback and precise questions about the plant's appearance, which the photo scanner might miss.

  2. Duolingo inspired.

  3. introducing a mascot and animations resembling a game, watering and repotting reminders and encouragements.

Solutions

  1. Improving accuracy by frequent database updates, machine learning from users' feedback and precise questions about the plant's appearance, which the photo scanner might miss.

  2. Duolingo inspired.

  3. introducing a mascot and animations resembling a game, watering and repotting reminders and encouragements.

Research Methods

  • User Interviews (11)

  • Competitive Research (4 Applications)

  • Facebook Qualitative Research (58 People)

  • User Persona.

Research Methods

  • User Interviews (11)

  • Competitive Research (4 Applications)

  • Facebook Qualitative Research (58 People)

  • User Persona.

Research Methods

  • User Interviews (11)

  • Competitive Research (4 Applications)

  • Facebook Qualitative Research (58 People)

  • User Persona.

HMW Statement

  1. How might we ensure that the plant is identified correctly?

  2. How might we make plant care resemble a fun activity and not a chore?

HMW Statement

  1. How might we ensure that the plant is identified correctly?

  2. How might we make plant care resemble a fun activity and not a chore?

HMW Statement

  1. How might we ensure that the plant is identified correctly?

  2. How might we make plant care resemble a fun activity and not a chore?

Case Study

Case Study

Research > User Interviews (11)

Research > User Interviews (11)

Interviews' Setup

  • Participants: I identified 11 individuals who enjoy owning plants but have struggled with their care. To ensure a comprehensive understanding, I selected a diverse group across various ages, educational backgrounds, and geographical locations.

  • Questions: I utilized open-ended questions to encourage participants to share their experiences freely, guiding the conversation as needed. Additionally, I observed them as they tended to their plants and asked them to describe their actions and thoughts.

  • Location: Conducting interviews in participants' homes provided a familiar and comfortable environment, fostering better connections and empathy. This setting is also where the app would likely be used, offering valuable insights into its practical application and user experience

Interviews' Setup

  • Participants: I identified 11 individuals who enjoy owning plants but have struggled with their care. To ensure a comprehensive understanding, I selected a diverse group across various ages, educational backgrounds, and geographical locations.

  • Questions: I utilized open-ended questions to encourage participants to share their experiences freely, guiding the conversation as needed. Additionally, I observed them as they tended to their plants and asked them to describe their actions and thoughts.

  • Location: Conducting interviews in participants' homes provided a familiar and comfortable environment, fostering better connections and empathy. This setting is also where the app would likely be used, offering valuable insights into its practical application and user experience

Interviews' Setup

  • Participants: I identified 11 individuals who enjoy owning plants but have struggled with their care. To ensure a comprehensive understanding, I selected a diverse group across various ages, educational backgrounds, and geographical locations.

  • Questions: I utilized open-ended questions to encourage participants to share their experiences freely, guiding the conversation as needed. Additionally, I observed them as they tended to their plants and asked them to describe their actions and thoughts.

  • Location: Conducting interviews in participants' homes provided a familiar and comfortable environment, fostering better connections and empathy. This setting is also where the app would likely be used, offering valuable insights into its practical application and user experience

Infographic of Interview Participants' demographic

Infographic of Interview Participants' demographic

Insights

After conducting a week of interviews, each lasting 40-60 minutes, I identified five common pain points among participants. While many issues were anticipated, some unexpected challenges emerged, such as unfamiliarity with the local climate. Interviewees revealed that plant care instructions, often found on small tags, lack clarity. For example, advice to provide 4-6 hours of indirect sunlight is difficult to interpret without knowing the specifics of their local climate or the sunlight conditions of particular windows.

Insights

After conducting a week of interviews, each lasting 40-60 minutes, I identified five common pain points among participants. While many issues were anticipated, some unexpected challenges emerged, such as unfamiliarity with the local climate. Interviewees revealed that plant care instructions, often found on small tags, lack clarity. For example, advice to provide 4-6 hours of indirect sunlight is difficult to interpret without knowing the specifics of their local climate or the sunlight conditions of particular windows.

Insights

After conducting a week of interviews, each lasting 40-60 minutes, I identified five common pain points among participants. While many issues were anticipated, some unexpected challenges emerged, such as unfamiliarity with the local climate. Interviewees revealed that plant care instructions, often found on small tags, lack clarity. For example, advice to provide 4-6 hours of indirect sunlight is difficult to interpret without knowing the specifics of their local climate or the sunlight conditions of particular windows.

Research > User Profile

Millennials grew up with technology and heavily rely on technology for success and answers. If the technology fails they hesitate to ask for advice from others.

When their expectations are not attained quickly, the Millennial Generation will search for new opportunities and new projects.

Millennials are starting their families a lot later than other generations. The term "Plant Patent" was started by this generation.

Due to putting off starting a family and loving independent work, Millennials built a bond with their plants and care about succeeding

Research > User Persona

Personal Information

  • Ana, 33

  • Married

  • Chicago, IL

Personal Information

  • Ana, 33

  • Married

  • Chicago, IL

Personal Information

Struggles with plant care due to unfamiliarity often lead to failure.

Domain Specific

  • Responsible for taking care of plants

  • Usually received them as a gift

Domain Specific

  • Responsible for taking care of plants

  • Usually received them as a gift

Domain Specific

Challenges due to unfamiliarity with the local climate

Internet Usage

  • Tech competent

  • Owns a cell phone

  • Owns a computer

Internet Usage

  • Tech competent

  • Owns a cell phone

  • Owns a computer

Internet Usage

Give up too quickly

Key Attributes

  • Works in a restaurant as a General Manager

  • Works long hours 6 AM - 6 PM

  • Has a husband, who works night shifts

Key Attributes

  • Works in a restaurant as a General Manager

  • Works long hours 6 AM - 6 PM

  • Has a husband, who works night shifts

Key Attributes

Challenges due to unfamiliarity with the local climate

Ana's Goals

  • Wants to make her plants thrive

  • Wants to decorate her house with large plants, grown from the seed

Ana's Goals

  • Wants to make her plants thrive

  • Wants to decorate her house with large plants, grown from the seed

Ana's Goals

Give up too quickly

Personal Profile

Ana works long 12-hour shifts in the restaurant and she has 4 days off. When Ana is at home for her 4 days off and her husband isn't there, she feels bored.
Ana always had plants, and sometimes they did great, but other times then seem to 'die' for no apparent reason.
Ana doesn't have children and she enjoys taking take of something alive and watching the results of her work. Her new apartment is brighter and seems like her plants should like it, however plants 'die' one after another, even though her care routine wasn't adjusted. She had researched for possible reasons online, but nothing seem to add up. Ana needs help.

Personal Profile

Ana works long 12-hour shifts in the restaurant and she has 4 days off. When Ana is at home for her 4 days off and her husband isn't there, she feels bored.
Ana always had plants, and sometimes they did great, but other times then seem to 'die' for no apparent reason.
Ana doesn't have children and she enjoys taking take of something alive and watching the results of her work. Her new apartment is brighter and seems like her plants should like it, however plants 'die' one after another, even though her care routine wasn't adjusted. She had researched for possible reasons online, but nothing seem to add up. Ana needs help.

Personal Profile

Ana works long 12-hour shifts in the restaurant and she has 4 days off. When Ana is at home for her 4 days off and her husband isn't there, she feels bored.
Ana always had plants, and sometimes they did great, but other times then seem to 'die' for no apparent reason.
Ana doesn't have children and she enjoys taking take of something alive and watch the results of your work. Her new apartment is brighter and seems like her plants should like it, however plants 'die' one after another, even though her care routine wasn't adjusted. She had researched for possible reasons online, but nothing seem to add up. Ana needs help.

Research > Competitor Research

Features / Competitors

Indentify the Plant

Community

Articles

Schedules and Suggestions

Care Suggestions

PlantSnap

Vera

LeafSnap

PlantNet

Features / Competitors

Indentify the Plant

Community

Articles

Schedules and Suggestions

Care Suggestions

PlantSnap

Vera

LeafSnap

PlantNet

Feature comparison chart from top - 4 competitors

Feature comparison chart from top - 4 competitors

Feature comparison chart from top - 4 competitors

Features / Competitors

Indentify the Plant

Community

Articles

Schedules and Suggestions

Care Suggestions

PlantSnap

Vera

LeafSnap

PlantNet

Features / Competitors

Indentify the Plant

Community

Articles

Schedules and Suggestions

Care Suggestions

PlantSnap

Vera

LeafSnap

PlantNet

Feature comparison chart from top - 4 competitors

Feature comparison chart from top - 4 competitors

PlantSnap

  1. Contains many bugs

  2. Has low identification accuracy

PlantSnap

  1. Contains many bugs

  2. Has low identification accuracy

PlantSnap

  1. Contains many bugs

  2. Has low identification accuracy

Vera

  1. Limited functionality

  2. Unfixed bugs for a long time

Vera

  1. Limited functionality

  2. Unfixed bugs for a long time

Vera

  1. Limited functionality

  2. Unfixed bugs for a long time

LeafSnap

  1. Excessive amount of ads, even on the Premium plan

  2. Location isn't taken into account

LeafSnap

  1. Excessive amount of ads, even on the Premium plan

  2. Location isn't taken into account

LeafSnap

  1. Excessive amount of ads, even on the Premium plan

  2. Location isn't taken into account

PlantNet

  1. Unintuitive navigation and UI

  2. Brings suspicion by requiring access to phone storage

  3. Frequent bugs

PlantNet

  1. Unintuitive navigation and UI

  2. Brings suspicion by requiring access to phone storage

  3. Frequent bugs

PlantNet

  1. Unintuitive navigation and UI

  2. Brings suspicion by requiring access to phone storage

  3. Frequent bugs

Tested by Me

PlantSnap test results corroborated users' feedback, with the system misidentifying 2 out of 5 plants. In contrast, LeafSnap achieved 100% accuracy, and PlantNet attained 80% accuracy. To understand their superior performance, I conducted a deeper analysis of the features and algorithms that contribute to the high accuracy rates of LeafSnap and PlantNet

Tested by Me

PlantSnap test results corroborated users' feedback, with the system misidentifying 2 out of 5 plants. In contrast, LeafSnap achieved 100% accuracy, and PlantNet attained 80% accuracy. To understand their superior performance, I conducted a deeper analysis of the features and algorithms that contribute to the high accuracy rates of LeafSnap and PlantNet

Tested by Me

PlantSnap test results corroborated users' feedback, with the system misidentifying 2 out of 5 plants. In contrast, LeafSnap achieved 100% accuracy, and PlantNet attained 80% accuracy. To understand their superior performance, I conducted a deeper analysis of the features and algorithms that contribute to the high accuracy rates of LeafSnap and PlantNet

successful apps user flows

successfull apps user flows

'Identify the plant by photo" USER FLOW | LeafSnap

"Identify the plant by photo" USER FLOW | PlantNet

"Identify the plant by photo" USER FLOW | PlantNet

Insights

My finding showed that the user flow of these apps contains additional questions, relying on users to narrow the search result.

1. The 'choose related type' step allowed users to select what kind of image they are uploading; leaf, flower, fruit, or bark.

2. The 'choose a match from users' images' shows a great variety of photos of the same plant type that other users previously uploaded. Since the same plant types can look very different, this approach eliminates mistakenly disregarding identification results due to minor differences in the image.

Insights

My finding showed that the user flow of these apps contains additional questions, relying on users to narrow the search result.

1. The 'choose related type' step allowed users to select what kind of image they are uploading; leaf, flower, fruit, or bark.

2. The 'choose a match from users' images' shows a great variety of photos of the same plant type that other users previously uploaded. Since the same plant types can look very different, this approach eliminates mistakenly disregarding identification results due to minor differences in the image.

Insights

My finding showed that the user flow of these apps contains additional questions, relying on users to narrow the search result.

1. The 'choose related type' step allowed users to select what kind of image they are uploading; leaf, flower, fruit, or bark.

2. The 'choose a match from users' images' shows a great variety of photos of the same plant type that other users previously uploaded. Since the same plant types can look very different, this approach eliminates mistakenly disregarding identification results due to minor differences in the image.

Research > Feature Prioritization

Research > Feature Prioritization

Quantitative Research

I wanted my app to be a one-time stop for a user and solve every issue with plants. I started the design process with feature prioritization.

I have created a Facebook poll listing all the features my ideation session created, keeping in mind the insights from all the previous research. This quantitative research poll was posted in the biggest group I am part of, with 211 000 members, 58 of whom shared their opinions. These answers formed my feature prioritization decisions.​

Quantitative Research

I wanted my app to be a one-time stop for a user and solve every issue with plants. I started the design process with feature prioritization.

I have created a Facebook poll listing all the features my ideation session created, keeping in mind the insights from all the previous research. This quantitative research poll was posted in the biggest group I am part of, with 211 000 members, 58 of whom shared their opinions. These answers formed my feature prioritization decisions.​

Quantitative Research

I wanted my app to be a one-time stop for a user and solve every issue with plants. I started the design process with feature prioritization.

I have created a Facebook poll listing all the features my ideation session created, keeping in mind the insights from all the previous research. This quantitative research poll was posted in the biggest group I am part of, with 211 000 members, 58 of whom shared their opinions. These answers formed my feature prioritization decisions.​

Feature prioritization participant votes

Feature prioritization participant votes

Feature prioritization participant votes

Feature Prioritization

After analyzing the poll results, I have decided to include all the features from the "Most important" section and "Identify by description" and "Match accuracy" features from the "Important section". Likes, comments, and plant articles would be a great addition for the second update, but not crucial for the initial launch, especially while the app is building the user base.

Feature Prioritization

After analyzing the poll results, I have decided to include all the features from the "Most important" section and "Identify by description" and "Match accuracy" features from the "Important section". Likes, comments, and plant articles would be a great addition for the second update, but not crucial for the initial launch, especially while the app is building the user base.

Feature Prioritization

After analyzing the poll results, I have decided to include all the features from the "Most important" section and "Identify by description" and "Match accuracy" features from the "Important section". Likes, comments, and plant articles would be a great addition for the second update, but not crucial for the initial launch, especially while the app is building the user base.

Most Important

  • Identify a plant by photo

  • Set watering schedule and reminders

Important

  • Fix a sick plant

  • Suggest care routine

Less Important

  • Show confidence score of a match

  • Plant articles

  • Like and comment posts

  • Ads for plant tools

Not Important

  • Post a plant you have identified to help others

  • Find other users nearby

  • Chat with other users

Design

Design

Design

Solutions

Solutions

Solution

Outcome

I have concentrated on creating the most commonly used path by users, the "Identify the plant by photo" path, with selecting a care routine and saving reminders. I used the finding from the competitor analysis to increase the accuracy of the identification results. I have decided that creating a mascot for the app to address users' motivation and to stay up to date with the industry trends. The three overlapping circles are the mascot representation.

Outcome

I have concentrated on creating the most commonly used path by users, the "Identify the plant by photo" path, with selecting a care routine and saving reminders. I used the finding from the competitor analysis to increase the accuracy of the identification results. I have decided that creating a mascot for the app to address users' motivation and to stay up to date with the industry trends. The three overlapping circles are the mascot representation.

Outcome

I have concentrated on creating the most commonly used path by users, the "Identify the plant by photo" path, with selecting a care routine and saving reminders. I used the finding from the competitor analysis to increase the accuracy of the identification results. I have decided that creating a mascot for the app to address users' motivation and to stay up to date with the industry trends. The three overlapping circles are the mascot representation.

Planty - the mascot

Planty - the mascot

Planty - the mascot

Medium Fidelity: 'Identify the plant by photo' user flow

Medium Fidelity: 'Identify the plant by photo' user flow

Medium Fidefity: 'Identify the plant by photo' user flow

high Fidelity: 'Identify the plant by photo' user flow

high Fidelity: 'Identify the plant by photo' user flow

Medium Fidefity: 'Identify the plant by photo' user flow

Reflection

Reflection

Reflection

© 2019 Natalya Franchi

© 2019 Natalya Franchi

Reflection

I approached this project with a design thinking methodology and went between stages multiple times before being satisfied with the amount of information gathered to provide solution ideas. I redesigned the wireframes and the UI three times, but in the end, I was happy with my result.

I addressed all the main pain points that my research uncovered and used modern trends and target audience profile specifics to do so. 

​The challenges that I was facing with this project were a lack of resources to research the specific audience even deeper, and further test the product with them.

What I would do differently next time is present prototypes to my interviewees and gather their feedback before moving on to the next stage of the design thinking process.

Reflection

I approached this project with a design thinking methodology and went between stages multiple times before being satisfied with the amount of information gathered to provide solution ideas. I redesigned the wireframes and the UI three times, but in the end, I was happy with my result.

I addressed all the main pain points that my research uncovered and used modern trends and target audience profile specifics to do so. 

​The challenges that I was facing with this project were a lack of resources to research the specific audience even deeper, and further test the product with them.

What I would do differently next time is present prototypes to my interviewees and gather their feedback before moving on to the next stage of the design thinking process.

Reflection

I approached this project with a design thinking methodology and went between stages multiple times before being satisfied with the amount of information gathered to provide solution ideas. I redesigned the wireframes and the UI three times, but in the end, I was happy with my result.

I addressed all the main pain points that my research uncovered and used modern trends and target audience profile specifics to do so. 

​The challenges that I was facing with this project were a lack of resources to research the specific audience even deeper, and further test the product with them.

What I would do differently next time is present prototypes to my interviewees and gather their feedback before moving on to the next stage of the design thinking process.

© 2019 Natalya Franchi

© 2019 Natalya Franchi