MyKubota Telemetric App

Just like many of the IoT-connected devices we use daily in the home, Kubota's modern agricultural equipment comes equipped with smart technology like GPS and data collection of important metrics like fuel and part maintenance.

Problem Statement

Farmers with Kubtoa equipment need a more sophisticated on-the-go tool to track, manage, and perform maintenance on telemetric-enabled equipment. 

Contextual Research

As an urban-based team, none of us had worked on a farm, nor had we previously owned and operated industrial farming equipment. So, we needed to get up to speed, fast.

Best way to do that? Contextual research, in other words visiting farms and equipment vendors to immerse, empathize, and learn firsthand from users and sellers about pain points, needs, and wants. 

Pain points

One of the major problems which we were surprised to learn about, was theft.

Large tractors are highly valuable and can be difficult to secure and track within the boundaries of a large area. 

Pain points

Another pain point area was keeping up with complicated maintenance schedules, and the tedium of performing the maintenance.  

Performing maintenance was a manual exercise often requiring the farmer to contact his dealer, or search through large databases to find the most relevant walkthrough. 

Market Research

It's always good to have a sense of the marketplace of similar applications, to spark ideas, steer clear of copying, and build a sense of familiarity based on applications the user may have used previously.

For example, we found some good reference points for geo-tracking and maintenance notifications in apps by Bobcat and John Deere, while noticing there were still many feature gaps and opportunities in the market to address. 

User Segmentation

We needed to consider three different user types: Light, Heavy, and Dealers, each with unique features. 

Feature Mapping

Taking the learnings from user and market research, balancing against business requirements and technical feasibility, we road-mapped and prioritized a set of features to build.  

User Flow Diagramming

Breaking down each step of the product use-cases during the design phase helps create a notional screen structure to design by. 

Collaborative Wireframing

We used a tool called Miro (similar to Mural and Figjam) to begin iterating in low fidelity. Wireframing is a quick and dirty way to get initial thoughts documented, helping to align the team and avoid the problem of "building the wrong thing" later in the design process. 

User Surveys

When in doubt about "where", "how", or "if" a product feature should be implemented -- ask the users!

Solution: First login walkthrough

One of the problems we heard about in reviews of similar apps, was that it was "unclear which functions can be performed on this app", as well as a need for an "easy way to add equipment". To address this we provided three different means of adding equipment, via serial, catalog, or QR Code.

Solution: Geofences

"Geofences" were our solution to the problems around theft and fleet management. Below is the first-time-use user walk-through to create a geofence in the map view.

Solution: Service Timeline

The service timeline meets a triple-part need: the ability to view past service, current "due service", as well as upcoming schedules to plan accordingly. 

Solution: Equipment Page

One of the most complex screens was the ‘My Equipment’ page, which required viewability of the most critical metrics, available at a glance, with the ability to drill into a detailed view.

User Testing and Surveys

User testing with clickable "looks-like, works like" prototypes allowed us to connect with users pre-development for feedback and validation.

Solution: Historical Data

We were told by farmers that the most important problem to solve was the viewability of historical usage data, which helps the farmer to optimize overall productivity, keep costs low, and even detect possible equipment theft. We made sure to give this screen extra attention and capability. 

Final Product

The final product reflects an on-brand appearance, with features never before seen on the market. The redesign launch is scheduled for mid-2025.