Begin with a moment, not a platform
“We need a farm management app” leaves almost every decision open. “A field worker records an inspection and the manager knows what to follow up” gives you a useful boundary. Write down the event that starts the task, the person doing it and the visible result that ends it.
Follow the record
Consider a fictional field-inspection workflow. A worker selects a field, adds an observation and marks whether follow-up is needed. A manager reviews flagged observations later. The important question is not the dashboard colour: it is how both people know the record is complete and current.
Separate observations from decisions
An observation might be a note, time or photograph. A decision might be an assigned action or review status. Keeping those concepts separate helps avoid unclear states such as “done”, which could mean recorded, reviewed or resolved. Define the words before choosing the interface.
Describe the awkward version
What if the worker selects the wrong field? What if two people record the same issue? What if a photograph cannot upload? Add one or two likely exceptions to your task map. You do not need a complete system design to identify where a simple happy-path sketch would fail.
Make one testable outcome
A useful first outcome could be: “A worker can save a field observation and a manager can see which observations need attention.” This is a proposed test of an interface, not a claim about farm productivity. Use the worksheet to write the task, essential data, exception and acceptance check on one page.
Editorial planning guidance. Examples are fictional; implementation decisions require project-specific assessment.
All field notes