June in Vermont

June in Vermont - it's my favorite time of year. As I type on this Friday morning, the birds are calling like crazy, and the landscape is vibrant green. I love how FRESH the world looks and feels, full of possibilities! Okay yes, it's also full of pollen and black flies. BUT our local farmers are in high gear and the farm stands are starting to open. The timing couldn't be better for designing an app for social good. Building on my May 1 blog post, here's the project prompt that I'm currently working with:

Connect farmers with consumers within a specific geographical area to improve the community’s access to fresh, locally sourced food.

A few weeks ago, I drafted some business requirements and pondered whether or not users would be willing to pay a fee to use the app. (User research will help me answer this.) I have a vision of the app being free, at least at first, to get it out there and gain popularity.

I've been conducting the competitive audit - checking out the competitors' strengths and weaknesses. I'm currently assessing the website for a local organization that has a strong mission, "...promote the growth and health of local food and agriculture ... by providing support to our farmers and food producers ... ensuring access to healthy food for all members of our community." I love this!

Poking around this organization's website, I notice a few things. The offerings (of which there are many) are free, and there are DONATE buttons on a few pages. (Hmm, okay, I too can try to fund my app through donations.) I see a recently posted newsletter, "On March 7, 2025, the Agency of Ag received termination notices for two cooperative agreements from the USDA for the Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) and Local Food for Schools (LFS) programs. [the organization's] programming is affected by these program cuts, ...".

That is some food for thought (yes re: the pun). Creators and providers of tools for social good face financial challenges. How can I use this knowledge to guide the design of my app? My first idea is to limit the offerings, at least for the initial rollout. I could also team up with another local resource with the mission, "...to help neighbors connect and build community. We do that by hosting regional networks of online neighborhood forums."

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The Google UX Design coursework - which remains available to me indefinitely - sets out a logical and practical path for the user experience design journey. Today I'll continue work on the competitive audits, and then I get to do some 'rapid sketching' to start to ideate solutions.

I'll also visit a couple local farm stands and get some conversations going. This is the best summer project!

This family used the app today to find fresh, locally sourced vegetables!