How user questions change OneSoil
The year 2019 is the year of the user at OneSoil. Last year was mainly dedicated to the development of our technologies and products, and this year is all about making them as convenient as possible for you, our dear readers. Last year we answered more than 800 questions. We want more of them this year, and here is why.
How to get in touch with us
There are several options. The chat icon with tech support is located in the menu of the OneSoil Scouting mobile app and in the lower right corner of web platform, OneSoil map, and this blog. Sometimes people write us direct messages on Facebook, Twitter, and to care@onesoil.ai. All questions that come through these channels are automatically collected in our app for communication with customers called Intercom. So it doesn't matter where your question comes from – we will definitely read it and answer within ten minutes during working hours. It will take a little longer when it is early morning, late evening or weekend here in Belarus.
We have already understood what questions are the most popular, and therefore we made this FAQ with 10 cards. For instance, you can learn how to draw the boundaries of your field, how to edit field information, and how to calculate the nitrogen fertilizers in our web platform. To clarify these points entirely, we have also created short tutorial videos.
We also have a OneSoil community in Telegram. There you can chat with our team and ask other farmers some questions. We share useful links and news, ask your opinion about various functions in our products, and, of course, answer questions. It's fun, join us!
We also have a OneSoil community in Telegram. There you can chat with our team and ask other farmers some questions. We share useful links and news, ask your opinion about various functions in our products, and, of course, answer questions. It's fun, join us!
How we handle requests
Usually, our marketers Anya and Veronika communicate with users but the whole team helps with the answers. For example, if there is a question about plant development, our agronomist Philip will help. If there is a question about technologies of precision agriculture, our specialist Vsevolod will answer. And if something doesn't work correctly, our technical specialists are always there.
We divide all questions into several categories. Perhaps, the most important once are bug reports and feature requests. If a user finds a bug, we try to fix it asap. If you ask for some interesting feature, we add it to the "Ideas" list — it is a very, very long list. Then we select some urgent and important ideas and add them to the backlog, a list of tasks developers are working on. That's how we decided to add the English measurement system to the OneSoil web-platform.
At the request of users, we expanded the list of cultures and made several changes to the OneSoil Scouting mobile app: the fields can now be drawn manually, and you can choose to display only your fields on the map. And in the web platform, in the "Data from the fields" section, we added an option that allows you to link a file with a field report to a specific field.
Sometimes we even check user data on our side. Recently, a representative of the Ukrainian agricultural holding addressed us with another issue. When trying to visualize field data in the OneSoil web platform, the information was displayed incorrectly. It turned out that machine operators made a mistake, and data from several fields was recorded in one file. Our GIS specialist "cut" these data into different fields, and after that, all the information was displayed correctly.
We divide all questions into several categories. Perhaps, the most important once are bug reports and feature requests. If a user finds a bug, we try to fix it asap. If you ask for some interesting feature, we add it to the "Ideas" list — it is a very, very long list. Then we select some urgent and important ideas and add them to the backlog, a list of tasks developers are working on. That's how we decided to add the English measurement system to the OneSoil web-platform.
At the request of users, we expanded the list of cultures and made several changes to the OneSoil Scouting mobile app: the fields can now be drawn manually, and you can choose to display only your fields on the map. And in the web platform, in the "Data from the fields" section, we added an option that allows you to link a file with a field report to a specific field.
Sometimes we even check user data on our side. Recently, a representative of the Ukrainian agricultural holding addressed us with another issue. When trying to visualize field data in the OneSoil web platform, the information was displayed incorrectly. It turned out that machine operators made a mistake, and data from several fields was recorded in one file. Our GIS specialist "cut" these data into different fields, and after that, all the information was displayed correctly.
When users are better than testers
Talking to users, we understand when we are doing the right thing and when something goes wrong. This is especially important because we do not have a tester yet. For example, we found many bugs with the help of Vladimir Zaitsev, a candidate of technical sciences from Kiev. He is a consultant for the Goldenkern company that cultivates gymnospermous Austrian pumpkins in Ukraine.
“
The problem of "Goldenkern" is that our crop plantations are mainly managed by third-party organizations across Ukraine. And to reach and monitor them all is physically hard. We want to use your apps as a tool for early remote detection of problems. I began to examine your product and found some issues in it, and since we need your program, I started writing to your developers.
We already have about 376 messages in our correspondence with Vladimir Fedorovich. Many of his proposals require time and effort on our part, so the number of messages in our chat continues to grow.
Some users help us to understand which direction to develop our products in. For example, Ivan Pavlyuk, a former logistics specialist at an agricultural holding and QC engineer, helped us to make the web platform more convenient for large farmers.
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I was looking for an app to view the NDVI index and found OneSoil. I used the web platform sometimes and whenever I would find bugs, I wrote my comments to the team. The product is unique, but not always convenient for large farms of more than 2,000 hectares, since there is no grouping and filtering of the fields.
This year we will change the interface of the web platform — you will be able to sort fields by name, area, and crop. Most likely, we will also add sorting by NDVI index, so that users will be able to see fields with and without issues.
Now the OneSoil web platform works in 43 countries in Europe and in the USA. Most often, we receive messages from users from Ukraine and Italy, but not exclusively. For example, the engineer-surveyor Dejan Dragic worked to define crops in Serbia. He discovered OneSoil when he was looking for a company that would solve the same problem at a larger scale.
Now the OneSoil web platform works in 43 countries in Europe and in the USA. Most often, we receive messages from users from Ukraine and Italy, but not exclusively. For example, the engineer-surveyor Dejan Dragic worked to define crops in Serbia. He discovered OneSoil when he was looking for a company that would solve the same problem at a larger scale.
“
I tested the app and the web platform and felt the need to say thanks to your team. This is a very useful product. It has many interesting features that help an ordinary farmer increase their income and save time," explains Dejan. "I think it is important to share the advantages of precision farming with as many farmers as possible.
We fully agree with Dejan, therefore we created this blog. If you have questions, comments and ideas for our next articles — write to us, and we will definitely answer.
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