Deloitte partnered with Zespri to co-design a new portal that would modernise how kiwifruit growers manage operations and compliance. Over a 10-week engagement, we facilitated a series of in-person Design Sprints with Zespri SMEs and growers to deliver build-ready designs for handover to their development partner.
This case study focuses on unlocking geospatial capability and our iterative Design Sprint approach.
Over 10 weeks, we helped Zespri redesign how kiwifruit growers manage on-orchard compliance — unlocking new geospatial capability that reduced the time needed to complete spray diary compliance by 70%.
We delivered 450+ build-ready screens, defined 200+ user stories, and created an end-to-end digital map experience that growers could use confidently across devices.
I Co-led product design, delivering a whole new experience with a team of just 3 designers. Owned key features and ran 5 design sprints with cross-functional stakeholders in full-day workshops to understand business needs and the "why"s. Applied UX thinking, built a responsive design system, integrated geospatial maps, and turned whiteboard ideas into pixel-perfect designs.
Initial research revealed that growers needed better tools to support day-to-day decision-making and compliance — especially around spray management. Deloitte was brought in to define the MVP experience and produce build-ready designs over a 10-week period.
Regiminage a unifeid solution that prinv emultiple tools and paper forms into one, tool that delight them, easy and visual digital map based, and inteadhinder them from doing the actual work on teh field. implementing digital map is a Must have to vlisea orchard layouts that reflect the grower’s mental model, in the mordinsed connected experience, users also struggle to visualize orchard layouts, annotate hazards, or track spatial data like pest levels and spray coverage effectively.
• Growers could switch between table and map views to stay on top of tasks or collobrate with others
• Spray records not only allow user to plan ahead by saving draft as template, it flowed seamlessly into risk management and pest monitoring.
• Risk areas, map features and spray area could be draw directly on a digital map.
• lots of farmar wor on the field, and using it mobile and talet is must have
Growers naturally associate orchard work with physical space, not just tables and ad-hoc block names in the legacy system. Without an integrated map, growers and contractors had to rely on static paper maps to manage compliance and operational task, and storing years of records in rotary filing cabinets. This has led to poor visibility, and mandue work disconnected from field work, instead helping to them make better decisions as it should be.
Growers and contractors spend most of their day working out in the field, not behind a desk. Paper maps couldn't alert them to exceeded pest thresholds, or help them collaborate on critical site features like chemical storage or potential spill zones.
Why it mattered?
Spray application is one of the most tightly regulated and high-risk activities in kiwifruit production. Without mobile access or a live map, growers often had to make decisions based on memory or outdated printouts, putting compliance, crops, and export eligibility at risk.
We designed a fully responsive, mobile-first experience optimised for in-field use. Growers could toggle map layers to visualise pests, risk zones, hazards, and spray history. The system flagged errors and guided users to resolve them before they became compliance issues. All of this was accessible on any device, no need to return to the office.
Impact
This shifted the way growers operate. Mobile wasn’t a enhance, it became a Mush have. With real-time map visibility, growers could make confident, on-orchard decisions in fast-changing field conditions
The old system relied on text-heavy tables of block names, with no visual context. Without a spatial view, contractors and growers struggled to communicate and coordinate tasks. This led to confusion, delays, and heaps of time waste.
Why it mattered?
The lack of spatial understanding slowed job execution, caused unmet expectations, and increased errors during spray planning. Inaccuracies led to costly rework or worse, made entire orchards unharvestable due to double-spraying or missed treatments. For rotating contractors unfamiliar with the layout, the result was severe crop damage and over $10,000+ in direct and indirect losses.
Introduced an intuitive, map-based workflow that mirrors the physical layout of the orchard making it easy to as tapping target blocks directly on the map to create a spray job, Switching between map and list views takes just one click, fitting naturally into any workflow and devices.
Impact:
Reflecting the physical space of the orchard, including proximity, area, and risks of each block dramatically improved collaboration and build confidence as seen in feedback from our latest product seminar. Users could now assign and coordinate tasks in seconds, reducing back-and-forth communication and eliminating wasted time.
Without the ability to create digital map data, growers had to mark hazards, chemical storage, and neighbouring features by hand on paper maps. These static drawings were inconsistent, prone to errors, and impossible to link with other compliance systems, creating stress for both growers and Zespri's compliance team every year.
Why it mattered?
As a government-trusted entity, Zespri relies on accurate geospatial records to verify orchard eligibility and compliance. The lack of digital mapping led to significant back-and-forth between new team members and Zespri reviewers, turning annual audits into a time-intensive and painful process.
Enabled growers to draw areas or drop pins directly onto the orchard map to mark key site features such as hazards, sensitive zones, and nearby schools. These inputs now flow seamlessly into the broader compliance system, becoming part of the annual Site Risk Assessment. This improves safety planning (e.g. avoiding spray drift near sensitive community zones) also builds confidence in daily orchard operations.
Impact:
This was a major breakthrough. Unlike paper maps. used once and locked away, digital map data is a living, auditable dataset that carries over year to year, with around 90% remaining consistent. It reduces the effort required for agri-chemical compliance and gives Zespri auditors stronger trust in data accuracy and integrity.
Building the solution:
We partnered closely with Azure Maps experts to guide the implementation, leveraging out-of-the-box capabilities while designing an experience tailored specifically to growers.
~breathe~
We ran five intensive Design Sprints, each focused on a major feature set. These weren’t just workshops—they were the backbone of our delivery model. Each sprint began with a shared board of guiding questions and a current-state analysis. Over the first three days, we ran co-design workshops with Zespri SMEs and growers—using whiteboarding, card sorting, and journey mapping to unpack needs and co-create wireframes.
To build trust and go deep, we flew up to Auckland for each sprint. Our design team (myself and two others) co-facilitated alongside business analysts—diving into edge cases, real-world scenarios, and regulatory needs with growers and stakeholders.
Immediately after each sprint, we translated rough concepts into high-fidelity, responsive screens across mobile and tablet. We ran regular playback sessions to validate designs and reduce ambiguity across teams.
We ensured designs were:
Mapped to user stories: Each screen linked directly to Jira epics and reference stories
Built for developers: Annotated edge cases, rules, and error states to unblock the non-Deloitte dev team
Design system compliant: We built a tailored responsive library from scratch, evolving it sprint by sprint
Dividing and Owning Design Work
To keep velocity high and avoid bottlenecks, we split the product surface into feature areas, with each designer owning one or more end-to-end.
As the most senior designer on the team, I:
Co-led the overall UX direction and sprint planning
Owned the core map experience, including risk overlays, annotation tools, and drawing workflows
Partnered closely with the BA and devs on geospatial integration and mobile responsiveness
Provided ongoing critique, design QA, and file hygiene across the team
“The value your team provided in 10 weeks exceeded what we’ve seen over 6-month engagements.” — Zespri Product Owner
