Design and evaluation of data visualizations in a smart agriculture monitoring system (SAMS)

Abstract

Technological solutions for smart agriculture are essential for enhancing decision-making, especially for small-scale farmers with limited technological proficiency. This study evaluates a data visualization system designed for smart agriculture, focusing on its usability, utility, and user experience. The evaluation involved diverse participants, including farmers and students from the Agronomy, Physics, and Computing disciplines, using standardized questionnaires like the System Usability Scale (SUS) and the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ). The results indicate strong acceptance and interest in the system, with users appreciating its innovative elements, such as speedometer-style charts and colour-coded thresholds. These visualizations address the limitations of traditional agricultural tools by providing clearer decision-making guidance. This research offers practical insights into designing user-friendly data visualization tools for small-scale farmers. It underscores the importance of intuitive, user-centred visualizations in improving agricultural productivity and provides a foundation for future studies in precision agriculture. The findings highlight the potential of such systems to bridge the gap between complex data and actionable insights, particularly for users with varying levels of technological familiarity.