Insights and learnings from the use of design thinking for digital agricultural innovation design

This research contributes to the growing discourse on participatory approaches for digital agricultural innovation design. Specifically, it details practical insights and learnings from applying the first three phases of a design thinking approach to the design of a digital animal health innovation. Design thinking proved effective as it facilitated direct engagement with end users (through focus groups and a co-design workshop) and leveraged specific design thinking techniques (user personas and ‘How might we…?’ questions). This facilitated the identification of key end-user needs and the co-creation of tailored solutions, successfully informing the tools design. Several context specific insights and learnings are garnered from this study for future researchers aiming to replicate these approaches in an agricultural context. These include due consideration for the busy farming calendar to ensure effective stakeholder participation and engagement with the process; attention to environmental factors when engaging stakeholders on farm; and the recommended use of boundary objects in participatory research to facilitate mutual understanding and rich discussion. This research suggests that considering these factors is imperative for successful participatory design research in agricultural contexts.