The Watering App Case Study

1. The
Watering
App
Prioritzing your plant relationships

2. Level up your
plant parenting
Ever had that hopeless feeling of not being able to keep up with all of
your houseplants? Fear not, you're in good company. With the rise in
popularity of keeping these leafy friends in our homes, the need to
track individual watering has never been greater. That's why I decided
to design a way to help plant-owners be more cognizant of the most
vital part of plant care - watering.

3. The problem
Plant-owners care about their plants, but
plants are silent and easy to forget about,
especially in our fast-paced lifestyle today.
It’s incredibly easy to not prioritize their
care because plants aren’t active in our day-
to-day lives.
The hypothesis
Plant-owners need to be reminded to water
their plants and this habit could lead to
interest in learning more about their plants
in general to create a higher priority
relationship for the owner.

4. Competitive
Analysis
These apps all offer varying degrees of plant health tracking at
little to not cost. Their main differences are aesthetic choices and
types of tracking features.
Threats - Comprehensive feature set for plant health tracking,
organized and expansive plant type database, ease of watering
notification setup
Opportunities - Emphasis on watering reminders for new plant
parents, create a clear hierarchy of what plants need immediate
attention, provide a no cost solution to the user
Planta is decidedly the biggest competitor with its impressive app
store rating and full set of plant care features but their pricing
model of $7.99/month for a premium subscription is steep for
someone new to indoor plants. Post-MVP I believe there are
excellent alternative revenue models that don't require a paid
app.
Further analysis captured in Appendix
GARDENIA VERA PLANTA
AVERAGE APP
STORE RATING
4.4
4.1
2.3
(5000 Reviews)
(1850 Reviews)
(150 Reviews)
DOWNLOADS
(GOOGLE PLAY)
COST
TARGET
DEMOGRAPHIC
100,000 +
MILLENIALS
10,000 +
KIDS & ADULTS
100,000 +
MILLENIALS
Free Features:
Watering alerts, plant
database
Free download
Free download with
advertisements Premium Cost:
$7.99/month

5. Secondary
Research
In the U.S., houseplant sales have increased 50% in
the last three years to $1.7 billion, according to
the National Gardening Association.
[A] survey of 2,000 [millennials] found that 67% of
respondents have attempted to care for a plant
only to find that it is more of a challenge than they
bargained for.
[Another study] found that 7 in 10 millennials
consider themselves plant parents, with 41%
revealing they plan to add to their plant collection
in the coming year.
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/the-houseplant-industry-is-thriving-thanks-to-
millennials-and-their-plant-babies
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/millennials-plants-water-alive-indoor-anxiety-
survey-a9304596.html

6. I surveyed 95 plant enthusiasts in an online community focused on indoor plants. While the information gleaned during this survey was useful, the responses
captured didn't align with my expectations of the audience so I decided to revisit my user pool. I polled 20 more individuals who owned plants but didn't classify
themselves as plant hobbyists. This audience better reflected my desired user type: someone who isn't a plant enthusiast (yet), and needs help caring for their plants.
Non-binary Male Female
75
50
25
0
I Don't Work > 24 hrs 25-40 hrs < 40 hrs
50
40
30
20
10
0
I Don't Work > 24 hrs 25-40 hrs < 40 hrs
8
6
4
2
0
Non-binary Male Female
15
10
5
0
1-3 Plants 4-7 Plants 8-12 Plants 13+ Plants
60
40
20
0
Novice Beginner Competent Proficient Expert
50
40
30
20
10
0
Novice Beginner Competent Proficient Expert
6
4
2
0
1-3 Plants 4-7 Plants 8-12 Plants 13+ Plants
6
4
2
0
Identifying the user
GENDER
In both groups polled, the
participants overwhelmingly
identified as female.
WORKING HOURS AMOUNT OF PLANTS EXPERIENCE LEVEL
Hours worked per week trends
toward full time or even over, this
could explain the lack of time for
plant care.
I was surprised to learn that even
amongst plant novices, most people
own more than a few plants.
In both test groups, the users rate
themselves as average plant owners which
means they have room to grow but will
understand the basics.
17%
F
I
R
S
T
G
R
O
U
P
S
E
C
O
N
D
G
R
O
U
P

7. Feature Focus
Reward user for caring for plant each time
they report a task completed
Show a progress bar to track plant's health
Profile creation (with naming capability) for
each plant
Document health of plant by taking images
and written descriptions
Vacation mode for plants
Connection to local plant shops by
advertising listings (in a future phase)
These are the features I determined where the most important for
the MVP after identifying user demographics and their needs.
Interviews
Every participant commented that their plant purchasing has vastly
increased during quarantine with one saying he hadn’t owned a
plant before the pandemic. Two participants said their plants’
health has been thriving extraordinarily during this time because
they have been more invested since they’ve been at home but are
unsure if they will keep it up upon returning to the office.
“I've started quite a collection, sadly a couple have died and I still
haven't done anything with the old pots...I just keep buying new
ones," one interviewee commented.
User Takeaways
Users are primarily millennial females with busy schedules.
The pandemic accelerated plant purchasing, but new plant
owners haven't actually learned more about plants or caring
for them.
Most people have a basic understanding of how to keep a plant
alive, they just need to be reminded to care for it.
I concluded the following is true about my target user group:

8. ALYSSA TED
User Personas
SELENA
PERSONALITY MOTIVATION
BIO
Age
Work
Family
Location
Gender
Introvert
Thinking
Sensing
Judging
Incentive
Fear
Growth
Power
Social
Selena is an account manager that just moved to the area
to pursue new career opportunities. After finding her new
apartment, she began curating her space and bought
some new plants to make it feel more like home. She is
looking for a way to encourage herself to make her new
plants a focal part of her environment.
GOALS
Live a balanced life
Pick up a new hobby
Settle into her new
environment
FRUSTRATIONS
Home environment is not
inviting and relaxing yet
Not enough time to finish
housekeeping items from
her recent move
BRAND AFFILIATIONS
Extrovert
Feeling
Intuition
Perceiving
29
Account Manager
Single
San Francisco, CA
Female
Selena and the other two young professionals are
trying to adopt plant care into their routines. While
these people may have taken care of plants in the
past, they have not internalized watering schedules
for their plants and could benefit from reminders.
Since the first step on any plant owner's journey is to
simply keep their plants alive, I chose to focus on the
one aspect most important to plant care: watering.
Selena's persona in particular aligned with my second
round survey results by being female, residing in an
urban environment, and working full-time. I began to
think about how someone in her shoes would use the
app and came to the realization that due to her busy
schedule, she may not be able to water their plants at
the same time consistently and reminders (in addition
to alerts) would be helpful.
See Appendix, S2 for Alyssa & Ted Personas, all
Empathy Maps and User Journeys

9. Information Architecture

10. Plant Profile
Characteristics refined to focus on the watering
alert feature and plant journal.
1.
Dashboard
Profile tiles are too wide to fit a picture, splitting
them in two will allow for more tiles on the
dashboard which matches the survey results of
people having an average of 13+ plants
1.
Watering Check-off
The swipe check-off doesn't work with the tile
size change.
Tapping the selections makes more sense for
checking off multiple at a time, which our users
do according to the interviews
1.
2.
Early Sketches

11. Prototyping
Since the app's main focus is a reminder to water plants, it was
vital to design a strong and easy-to-use watering check-off
feature. In early sketches (seen in Exhibit 3, Slide 9) I pivoted
from a sliding motion to a tap when the plant selections changed
from banners to tiles due to surveys indicating average plants
owned.
SKETCHES
LO-FIS
HI-FIS
Between the lo-fi and hi-fi phases, I explored how I could better
articulate what had been selected in the third screen aside from
the color change on the water droplet. Saturating the entire tile
seemed like a reasonable solution to clearly illustrate this to the
user.
Watering check-off

12. If a plant is continuously dry, users might feel that they need to
update the frequency for watering reminders. Since climate,
lighting, soil are all variable conditions it is likely that the user may
need to adjust based on their environment so this feature should
be easily accessible.
SKETCHES
LO-FIS
HI-FIS During the lo-fi phase of the design process, it became clear that
this schedule needed to be visible and even featured on the plant
profile but the user may need to access facts about the species
before modifying the watering frequency - thus leading to the
employment of clickable icons for relevant information.
Update frequency of waterings
Notifications are more nuanced
than just the frequency. What
day should it start on? How
many hours should pass before
you get another alert?
Top section would make
more sense as scroll
function for consistency
with the rest of the page

13. SKETCHES
LO-FIS
HI-FIS
Developing a plant log
feature was important for
The Watering App
because it provides a tool
for plant parents to gauge
the care they've been
giving their plants so they
can assess if anything
needs to be changed.
Keep a log of it
Needed to add 'Are
you sure?' pop-up
after canceling so
users don't lose
content if they
accidentally cancel
Added
descriptors after
sketch phase so
users had a bar
to measure their
plants success
against for
accurate
reporting

14. SKETCH HI-FI
DASHBOARD DILEMMA
The plants that were overdue needed to be called out so I
created two categories. Once the tiles were organized in
this way, it was clear that the overdue plants needed
more highlighting so a red border was added.
While categorizing the overdue plants was important, it
didn't tell the full picture since some plants are worse off
without water than others. I developed several iterations
exploring how to convey what plants were in a dire
situation and tested it in the following section.
One of the main focuses in designing the dashboard was to
make sure the user understood the hierarchy in which their
plants need attention - this was studied over several
iterations.
1.
2.
LO-FI

15. ORDER OF LEAST INTRUSIVE TO MOST INTRUSIVE (HYPOTHESIS)
RESULTS RUNNER-UP
20% FIRST PICK
40% SECOND PICK
WINNER
60% FIRST PICK
20% SECOND PICK
Look over here!
As discussed in Slide 12, it was crucial to get the dashboard hierarchy display correct so our users could complete their
ultimate goal - keep their plants alive. I iterated on different ways to draw nuanced attention and polled 6 more individuals.
The use of black and
large text both help
draw attention. The
final dashboard will
employ a mix of the
two.

16. Conclusion
DASHBOARD
Final design resolution
- 9 DAYS - 8 DAYS
- 3 DAYS
YESTERDAY
- 3 DAYS
While I learned many valuable design lessons throughout this exercise, the most valuable to me was the
importance of sketching on a realistic screen. Early on, I learned that the dashboard display I had
initially sketched for the plant profiles had to be significantly adjusted once I was using the appropriate
iPhone template for lo-fis. If I had waited until the hi-fi phase, I would have needed to revisit my design
significantly.
While developing the dashboard, I realized that even though I could sort the plant tiles in the order
they’ve been watered that didn’t account for how long each plant could actually go without water. Since
plants have different properties when it comes to drought tolerance, this nuance presented quite a
challenge when designing meaningful visual cues. I believe this facet of the design could benefit from
further exploration post MVP.
People are buying up indoor plants now more than ever and even though someone has an impressive
number of plants it doesn't necessarily mean they have mastered plant care. This was my most
surprising and important takeaway from working with this user group.
Going forward, it would be worthwhile to explore how paid advertisements from local shops could
connect these new plant hobbyists with purchasing opportunities to support local business as well as
keeping them engaged in their plant care. If folks are going to be buying plants, they might as well be
purchasing them in a community where they will get the support they need.

17. Appendix

18. Features
GARDENIA VERA PLANTA
DATABASE OF PLANTS FOR IDENTIFICATON
SEARCH BY COMMON NAME, SCIENTIFIC OR SCROLL
THROUGH PHOTOS
USER CAN ALSO SELECT TIME COMMITMENT LEVEL
INFORMATIVE PROFILE FOR EACH PLANT WITH WIDGETS
NEATLY ORGANIZED
ALSO ALLOWS USER TO SAY IF THE PLANT HAS BEEN
REPOTTED
THE USER CREATES 'SITES' AND THEN ADDS PLANTS TO THAT
LOCATION, CUSTOMIZATION OF SITE ALLOWED
Competitive Analysis
ALLOW USER TO SELECT SKILL LEVEL
ALLOW USER TO CREATE PLANT PROFILE
ALLOW LOG ON PROFILE TO TRACK
PLANT HEALTH
ALLOW USER TO ORGANIZE PLANTS BY
INDOOR LOCATION
CREATE SCHEDULE FOR CARE NEEDS
(WATERING/FERTILIZING/REPOTTING)
ALLOW USER TO NAME AND UPLOAD
PLANT PICS TO PROFILE
NOTIFY USER WHEN PLANTS NEED CARE
BASED ON SCHEDULE
SUGGEST LOCATION BASED ON
PLANT TYPE
TIPS BASED ON REGIONAL LOCATION
SUGGEST LOCATION BASED ON
AMOUNT OF SUNLIGHT
EXPERTS ADVISE ON PLANT HEALTH
PLANT RECOMMENDATION
PLANT PURCHASING IN APP
BEST BETTER GOOD
ALLOWS USER TO LOG BY ACTIVITY TYPE
SCHEDULING OF 8 TYPES OF CARE, USES INTUITIVE SYMBOLS
ON A WHEEL FOR SELECTION
MUST KNOW TECHNICAL NAME FOR PLANT
SENDS PUSH NOTIFICATIONS, NEED NOTIFICATIONS ENABLED
OR NO CALENDAR
WEATHER TRACKING & ADVICE BASED ON LOCATION, SEEMS
NICHE, WOULD BE BETTER TO HAVE ADVICE BY REGION
GIVES VAGUE TIPS ON WHERE TO PUT PLANTS GENERALLY
NOTIFICATIONS HAPPEN IN & PUSH IF ENABLED
THE USE OF ONLY TEXT IS OVERWHELMING & HARD TO FIND
INFO QUICKLY
DISCUSSES SUNLIGHT NEEDS IN PLANT PROFILE
FORWARDS TO BLOOMSCAPE ( SPONSOR STORE) WEBSITE
AND PRESENTS A FORM TO FILL OUT
ARTICLES THAT SUGGEST PLANT TYPES FORWARD TO
BLOOMSCAPE (SPONSOR STORE)
EXTERNAL LINK EXISTS TO PURCHASING SITE
NOTIFICATIONS HAPPEN IN & PUSH IF ENABLED
UNIFORM, SIMPLE DESIGN IS CLEAR TO UNDERSTAND
LIGHT METER THAT GAUGES LIGHT BASED ON CAMERA,
SEEMS ACCURATE AND USEFUL BY THE APP REVIEWS
SEND PHOTOS W/ DESCRIPTION TO PROFESSIONAL AND GET
ADVICE IN RETURN
LISTS OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT LINK TO DATABASE FOR
FURTHER INFO

19. Empathy Map (Selena)
SEE
Scans coworker's apartment during happy
hour
Watches guests pour into the apartment
HEAR
Her coworker describes her recent obsession
with plants and that her friends gifted a lot of
them for her birthday.
THINK/FEEL
Hopeful yet nervous
"Woah! This place looks so inviting, look at all her thriving plants!
I want my place to feel like this.:
SAY/DO
"Thanks for having me over to your apartment"
Actively listens, nods
Asks her coworker how she got such a green thumb.
PAIN
She doesn't have that many
plants to need to dedicate a
whole app to watering them
GAIN
Establishing a habit means
there will be room for growth
Advice for a new plant owner
SELENA
SELENA USER PERSONA IN MAIN SECTION

20. User Journey
(Selena)
ALYSSA
SELENA

21. User Persona (Ted)
TED
PERSONALITY MOTIVATION
BIO
Age
Work
Family
Location
Gender
Introvert
Thinking
Sensing
Judging
Incentive
Fear
Growth
Power
Social
Ted is a recently graduated engineer embarking on.
his career in the Denver area. This is his first
experience living alone and he is hoping to develop
good and healthy habits for this new phase of life.
He enjoys recreating outdoors and prefers simplicity
in life.
GOALS
Establish positive
habits for post-grad
lifestyle
Spend more time
outdoors
FRUSTRATIONS
Inexperienced with
taking care of his own
space
Balancing
work/responsibilities/
social life/hobbies
BRAND AFFILIATIONS
Extrovert
Feeling
Intuition
Perceiving
23
Engineer
In a Relationship
Denver, CO
Male

22. Empathy Map (Ted)
TED
SEE
Notices bills piling up
Witnesses girlfriend be able to navigate
situation with ease
HEAR
His peers complaining about adulthood too
THINK/FEEL
Overwhelmed, inadequate
"Wow, there is so much that goes along with being an adult"
"Ugh I want to contact as few people about this as possible."
SAY/DO
Begins going through stack of bills once the pile up over a few
weeks
Asks girlfriend about paying bills online
PAIN
Remembering to do household
chores in a timely manner.
Doing things on a continuum
without being reminded.
GAIN
Oversimplification
Products that solve multiple of
his problems

23. User Journey
(Ted)
ALYSSA
TED

24. User Persona (Alyssa)
ALYSSA
PERSONALITY MOTIVATION
BIO
Age
Work
Family
Location
Gender
Introvert
Thinking
Sensing
Judging
Incentive
Fear
Growth
Power
Social
Alyssa is a nurse in the Dallas area. While she has
quite a few friends that she sees socially, she spends
most of her time at home crafting when she's not at
the hospital. She and her husband have been
updating their home during the pandemic.
GOALS
Update her home
Plan more activities
with friends
Drink more water
FRUSTRATIONS
Not enough hours in a
day
Work schedule is vastly
different from family and
friends'
BRAND AFFILIATIONS
Extrovert
Feeling
Intuition
Perceiving
36
Nurse
Married
Dallas, TX
Female

25. Empathy Map (Alyssa)
SEE
Scrolling through kitchen herb gardens on
Pinterest
An uninspired, unoccupied wall in her kitchen
HEAR
"Oooo, whatever you want to start with sounds
great."
THINK/FEEL
Antsy, inspired
"I have done a lot of home improvement projects in the past year
but I want another challenge."
SAY/DO
"Honey, I started an herb garden what would you want me to
grow."
Pins herb gardens that she likes to her kitchen board
PAIN
Staying engaged if the product
is boring
GAIN
A good way of tracking her
many endeavors
ALYSSA

26. User Journey
(Alyssa)
ALYSSA

27. Affinity Diagram