Method 01
Affinity Mapping
Why
To identify recurring patterns across regions and stakeholders.
What emerged
Themes around farmer selection, planning, manual work, fragmentation and data usage.
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Research & System Design
Simplifying Farm Trials Across Five Regions.
Understanding how agricultural sales teams planned, executed and leveraged commercial trials across five regions.
Role
UX Research Lead
Regions
5
Participants
11
Industry
Agricultural Technology
Methods
- Stakeholder Interviews
- Affinity Mapping
- Journey Mapping
- Value Proposition Canvas
- HMW Workshops
01Introduction
A fragmented system, hiding behind a shared name.
Problem statement
Agricultural sales teams across five regions were conducting on-field product trials to test seeds and crop protection products with farmers.
The workflow behind these trials was fragmented. Each region used different processes, disconnected tools, and manual ways of tracking data.
I led cross-regional UX research to understand how the system worked in practice — and where it was breaking down.
02Understanding the ecosystem
The trial isn't the product. The system around it is.
Step 01CT
Commercial Trialing
On-field trials with farmers to test seeds and protection products.
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Step 02TD
Trial Data
Field observations, photos, notes and structured measurements.
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Step 03PTP
Product Trial & Positioning
Where trial data is supposed to live, be analyzed and shared.
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Step 04MD
Market Development
Translating insights into regional positioning and messaging.
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Step 05SD
Sales Decisions
Recommendations, adoption strategy, and farmer-level conversations.
Expected workflow
- 01Sales teams planned trials
- 02Agronomists monitored fields
- 03Data flowed into PTP
- 04Insights informed sales strategy
Reality
- 01Regional variations
- 02Manual coordination
- 03Disconnected tools
- 04Inconsistent workflows
03Why this project started
Five symptoms pointed to one underlying gap.
- 011Valuable Trial Data
Years of trial activity across regions.
- 022Limited Decision Support
Insights rarely reached the people making sales calls.
- 033Disconnected Systems
Workflows, tools and roles weren't talking to each other.
- 044Need for Better Integration
A push to align field reality with strategic decisions.
- 055Research Initiative
Cross-regional research kicks off.
04Research approach
Listen first. Map the system. Then converge.
To understand how Commercial Trials actually worked across regions, I conducted interviews with stakeholders directly involved in planning, executing and monitoring trials.
The goal was to understand how teams collaborated, how data moved across systems, and how decisions were made.
I led interview moderation, synthesized findings across regions, and worked with the core team to identify operational patterns, friction points and opportunity areas.
Phase 01
Stakeholder Interviews
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Phase 02
Cross-Regional Research
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Phase 03
Synthesis
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Phase 04
Opportunity Identification
🌍
Regions covered
- Poland
- Central Europe
- Czech & Slovakia
- South Africa East
- South Africa West
👥
Participants
11 stakeholders
- Sales
- Agronomy
- Market Development
🎤
Research method
Semi-structured interviews
🧩
Research activities
- Affinity Mapping
- Journey Mapping
- Value Proposition Mapping
- HMW Workshops
05What we found
Four insights kept surfacing — in every region, in different words.
Insight 0101
Farmer selection relied on relationships.
Sales reps often selected farmers based on existing relationships, instinct and regional familiarity rather than structured data.
Why it matters
Influential farmers often shaped adoption across nearby farms.
Insight 0202
The workflow changed from region to region.
The workflow appeared standardized but execution varied significantly across regions.
Why it matters
One process could not serve every region equally well.
Insight 0303
Manual work still dominated.
Teams continued relying on Excel sheets, handwritten notes and photos despite existing tools.
Why it matters
Digital workflows were not fully supporting field realities.
Insight 0404
Disconnected tools, connected outcomes.
Teams were already using trial results to influence adoption and sales decisions.
Why it matters
The workflow and systems were not designed around sales-driven needs.
06Workflow reframing
From four messy regions to one coherent workflow.
Stage 01
Targeting
- Farmer Selection
- Product Selection
→
Stage 02
Planning
- Benchmarking
- Trial Setup
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Stage 03
Execution
- Monitoring
- Manual Work
- Workload
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Stage 04
Leveraging Insights
- Reporting
- Trust
- Data Usage
07Defining the opportunity
Four opportunities, sized to where the system was breaking.
Opportunity 0101
Data-informed trial planning
Support sales teams in selecting the right farmers and products using historical trial data and adoption patterns.
Opportunity 0202
Connect trials to sales outcomes
Help teams understand how trial activities influence adoption and purchasing decisions.
Opportunity 0303
Reduce operational effort
Simplify coordination, monitoring and reporting activities.
Opportunity 0404
Reusable trial insights
Enable learnings from one region to support future regions and seasons.
08How we got there
Four methods, in sequence, each answering the next question.
Method 02
Journey Mapping
Why
To understand workflow breakdowns.
What emerged
Four major workflow stages.
Method 03
Value Proposition Canvas
Why
To understand sales representative goals, responsibilities and pain points.
What emerged
Clearer links between trial activities and sales outcomes.
Method 04
Prioritization Workshop
Why
To focus on opportunities with the highest impact.
What emerged
Four strategic opportunity areas.
09Connecting research to business
Where each opportunity touches the business.
Opportunities
- 01Data-informed planning
- 02Trials → Sales outcomes
- 03Reduce operational effort
- 04Reusable insights
Business goals
Adoption
Trust
Sales Conversion
Decision Making
Operational Excellence
10Prioritized focus areas
Four “how might we” questions worth solving for.
Focus area 01
How might we help sales teams identify the right farmers using relationship knowledge and data?
Focus area 02
How might we streamline selecting the right hybrid for the right farmer and region?
Focus area 03
How might we make competitor comparisons easier and actionable?
Focus area 04
How might we create better alignment between sales and agronomy teams while preserving regional flexibility?
11Exploring solutions
Concept clusters, not finished features.
Farmer Selection
- Centralized farmer database
- AI recommendations
- Participant history
Product Selection
- Geospatial mapping
- AI recommendations
- Visual analytics
- ROI calculators
Competitor Benchmarking
- Competitor repository
- CT integration
- Cost-benefit analysis
Trial Planning
- Co-created planning
- Real-time monitoring
- Automated alerts
- Centralized guidance
12Research impact
01
Shared understanding across five regions.
02
Clear visibility into workflow breakdowns.
03
Prioritized opportunities aligned across stakeholders.
04
Stronger connection between trials and sales outcomes.
13Strategic shift
“Commercial Trials evolved from a data collection activity into a sales enablement capability that could influence product adoption, trust and purchasing decisions.
14What I learned
Workflow problems are usually organizational ones in disguise.
This project taught me that workflow problems are often symptoms of larger organizational challenges. Different regions, teams, tools and priorities were all shaping how Commercial Trials operated.
What surprised me most was how heavily commercial trial success depended on relationships, trust and local farming networks.
Reflection
Working across five regions reinforced the importance of balancing global consistency with local flexibility. The goal wasn't to force every region into the same process — it was to understand which parts of the workflow should be standardized, and which parts needed to remain adaptable to regional realities.