database-driven plant selectors. None Southwest Plant Selector: A Mobile App included landscape plants suited to for Homeowners New Mexico landscapes or even the southwestern U.S. (Nevada, California, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona). Stefan Sutherin1, Kevin Lombard2, and Rolston St. Hilaire1,3 AppleÒ acquired ChompÒ in Feb. 2012 and shut down the autonomous Ò Ò Chomp website in Oct. 2012 (Zibreg, ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. iTunes , landscape plants, landscape water conservation, smartphone, tablets, usability test, xeriscape 2012). An app would extend the cen- ter’s horticultural information to mo- SUMMARY. To fill a critical need for more information on desert-adapted low water- bile users. In early 2012, a total of use landscape plants, we created Southwest Plant Selector, a mobile plant selector 34% of mobile users in the United application (app) of landscape plants from the New Mexico Office of the State States used apps, and 25% of mobile Engineer (NMOSE) online database of New Mexico landscape plants. The app, web users were mobile only, meaning which is available for AppleÒ iPhoneÒ and iPadÒ, was designed for homeowners and lists plant descriptive items, pest and disease information, and a photograph of the that they did not use laptop or desktop plant. The app also displays a graphic of the three regions of New Mexico and El computers (mobiThinking, 2012). Paso County, TX, overlaid with text that provides plant water requirements for each Over 85% of new cell phone handsets of those regions. An associated web page allows users to calculate supplemental were mobile capable and about half plant water requirements for individual plant selections. Homeowners can select of those handsets were smartphones landscape plants based on botanical or common name, plant type, and category, (mobiThinking, 2012). The share of region, and sun exposure. Even with the specific user base of New Mexico residents mobile users is expected to rise. AppleÒ who own AppleÒ mobile devices, the app has been downloaded nearly 5000 times and Googleä (Mountain View, CA) since its first release on 29 June 2012. New Mexico State University (NMSU) are currently the major players in the Cooperative Extension Service agents now use the app as a part of their standard extremely dynamic app market. toolkit for interactions with homeowners. Mobile technologies such as smartphone and tablet apps are gaining prominence as outreach tools. Land-grant institutions Apps must be tested for function- can be more involved in leveraging mobile application technologies for education ality (how well they work), general and outreach. This article describes a process that land-grant institutions can use to acceptability, and usability. Protocols produce apps for horticulture outreach. designed for website testing are also suited to mobile app testing. For ex- ample, usability, which is the capability orticulturists find it challeng- elevations to nine in the southern part of the software product to be under- ing to disseminate regionally of the state, giving New Mexico one stood, comprehended, used, and at- relevant information on land- of the greatest diversities of temper- H tractive to the user when used under scape plants to homeowners in New ature ranges in the United States specified conditions (International Or- Mexico because the state is climato- (USDA, 2012). Average annual rain- ganization for Standardization, 2009), logically diverse and geographically fall of New Mexico ranges from 254 is tested similarly for mobile apps and expansive. The U.S. Department of to 508 mm with extended periods of websites. Usability issues include navi- Agriculture (USDA) hardiness zones drought (Western Regional Climate gation, screen appearance, accessibility, range from four in northern, higher Center, 2012). New Mexico ranks fifth and consistency (Teoh, 2009). For 2 in land area (315,200 km ) among usability testing, three to five hands- The New Mexico Office of the State Engineer U.S. states, but only forty-fifth in pop- on testers uncover as many problems (NMOSE) plant database development was funded ulation density. in part by a grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclama- as five or more testers. Furthermore, tion. This work was funded in part by a grant from the To meet the challenge of dis- iterative testing with a few testers uses Rio Grande Basin Initiative, a collaborative research seminating information statewide, resources more efficiently than a single program of NMSU and Texas A&M University NMSU established the Center for awarded to K.L. and R.S.H. test with many subjects. For low- Landscape Water Conservation (2013), We thank Jeanne Gleason, Barbara Chamberlain, budget projects, two testers can be John Chamberlin, Connie Padilla, and the staff of a web-based clearing house focused optimal (Nielsen, 2012). the New Mexico State University (NMSU) Media on urban landscape plants and water The objective of this article is Productions and Learning Games Lab, part of the NMSU Cooperative Extension Service for technical conservation. The center saw the evo- to detail how a unique horticul- assistance. We gratefully acknowledge Dan Smeal for lution of mobile apps as another ave- tural mobile app was created to assist assisting with the development of the Southwest nue for disseminating useful consumer homeowners in selecting landscape Plant Selector Water Calculator. We also thank John Longworth and Cheri Vogel of the NMOSE for information to a wider audience. plants that thrive in distinct climate permitting the use of plant database. The initial search of available plant regions of New Mexico and El Paso Use of trade names does not imply endorsement of database apps on iTunesÒ (AppleÒ, County, TX, with little or no sup- the products named or criticism of similar ones not Cupertino, CA) and ChompÒ (San named. plemental irrigation. We also ex- Francisco, CA) revealed just a few plain how the app was tested for 1Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, Box 30003, Las Cru- ces, NM 88003 2Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Units Agriculture Science Center at Farmington, New Mex- ico State University, Box 1018, Farmington, NM To convert U.S. to SI, To convert SI to U.S., 87499 multiply by U.S. unit SI unit multiply by 3Corresponding author. E-mail address: rsthilai@nmsu. 0.3048 ft m 3.2808 edu. 25.4 inch(es) mm 0.0394
602 • October 2013 23(5) functionality, general acceptability, and the database was relatively small and After the app was launched, we usability as an educational outreach returned few entries with increased collected and analyzed ratings and tool for homeowners. sort selections. reviews from the iTunesÒ app store, We created a display in the app and download data via Mopappä Materials and methods that consisted of an overlay of a (2013) to further evaluate the app. DEVELOPING SOUTHWEST PLANT graphic of the three regions of New Mopappä is a free online app analyt- SELECTOR. Southwest Plant Selector Mexico with text that gave the supple- ics service that provides download used the NMOSE’s New Mexico mental water requirements for each data on the app. Mopappä was pre- plant list database (NMOSE, 2011). region. After several iterations, we ferred for this project because, at the The database design was suited to an settled on text that now includes the time, the free version allowed the data app format because the fields were following: not suitable for xeriscaping; to be downloaded and distributed as separately identified and set up in precipitation only; little or no supple- PDF files; currently, there are other a searchable index. The database had mental water; 1· per month or 2· in services that provide as-good or bet- 745 plant entries, each defined by 12 summer. iTunesÒ requires a dedicated ter downloadable data. In addition, criteria: botanical/common/alternate support website and a support e-mail we noted verbal and e-mail sugges- names, region [northern, central, address. Southwest Plant Selector has tions as important qualitative indica- southern (area within New Mexico a dedicated website and support e-mail tors for a possible future upgrade. to which the plant is best suited)], address (Southwest Plant Selector, MARKETING SOUTHWEST PLANT category (tree, shrub, annual, perennial, 2013). The support page is simple so SELECTOR. On 25 Feb. 2012, the app, turfgrass, ornamental grass, ground- that little, if any, maintenance will be still in development, was piloted at cover, cactus/succulent/desert accent, required; it was patterned after similar the 16th Water Conservation/Xeri- vine), type (evergreen/deciduous/ app support pages on iTunesÒ. scape Conference and Expo in Albu- semideciduous), bloom color and time, EVALUATING SOUTHWEST PLANT querque, NM. We showed the app to exposure (sun/shade/partial), size, soil SELECTOR. At the late stages of de- individual vendors by walking booth- type, water requirement, animal/pest velopment, a beta version of the to-booth with an iPadÒ and allow- attractions, and a general description. Southwest Plant Selector app was ing them hands-on use. At the initial We selected NMSU Learning uploaded to TestFlight (2013), an app launch of 29 June 2012, NMSU Games Laboratory, as the vendor– online resource that allows developers Media Relations generated both a developer because of our history of to beta test their iOS apps before print and a video press release, which collaboration and their competitive de- launch. Testers’ devices are identified were distributed through their media velopment fee. We did a cost–benefit and permitted by the developer to outlets. The app support page link comparison of AppleÒ,Androidä install specified apps. The developer and an iTunesÒ link were posted on (Googleä), BlackberryÒ (Waterloo, tested functionality and general ac- the Center for Landscape Water Con- ON, Canada), and MicrosoftÒ (Red- ceptability of the app using TestFlight servation website and FacebookÒ mond, WA) platforms and selected with our staff and his peer network. page, on TwitterÒ, and on the NMSU the AppleÒ platform because of its Two individuals who had pre- College of Agricultural, Consumer, dominant market share at the time viously participated in website usabil- and Environmental Sciences home (Roberts and McIntosh, 2012), ease ity tests for the Center for Landscape page. The link was also posted on the of use, and software stability. Water Conservation were recruited to NMOSE plant list page and distrib- A developer from the NMSU test the app. The usability test was uted to NMOSE contacts. Announce- Learning Games Laboratory was re- conducted immediately after launch, ments and flyers, which included a sponsible for developing the app and but before we publicized the app. The quick response (QR) code linked to navigating the iTunesÒ approval pro- test required the users to complete the iTunesÒ page, were distributed to cess. The original NMOSE plant da- and respond to specific tasks involving regional nurseries, posted on NMSU tabase was in Microsoft AccessÒ and navigation and search, which are the bulletin boards, forwarded through was reformatted to a SQLite database. primary functions of this app. Testers the NMSU Cooperative Extension SQLite is a free public domain data- were also asked to assess content, such Service network, and e-mailed to base software (SQLite, 2013). After as whether plant descriptions were NMSU branch campuses and mu- database reformatting, AppleÒ iOS adequate for homeowner decision nicipal water conservation offices SDK (Version 4.2) was used to de- making. Testers then completed a sur- throughout New Mexico. velop the app. vey using the online service, Survey To allow the information to fit Console (2013). An example of a suite Results and discussion the display screens of the iPadÒ (Ap- of tasks developed to test the intui- DEVELOPING SOUTHWEST PLANT pleÒ) and the iPhoneÒ (AppleÒ), the tiveness of the navigation was, ‘‘scan SELECTOR. Project costs are given in sort criteria was pared from 12 to the full (plant) list, set criteria to make Table 1. We spent 120 h reviewing 5: 1) botanical or common name, selections, save selections to favorites, the database and preparing it for de- 2) plant type (evergreen/deciduous/ and edit your favorite list.’’ After velopment. An additional 80 h of our semi), 3) category (tree, shrub, etc.), completing these tasks, testers were time was spent on photograph clean 4) region (north, central, or south), asked to detail any nonintuitive steps up and sourcing readily available and 5) sun exposure (sun/shade/ or navigation problems. The Institu- photos. Some of the acquired photos partial). We judged these criteria to tional Review Board at NMSU ap- required editing and cropping. This be most relevant to plant selection proved the survey procedures that added $500 to the original subcon- decisions. Also, at 745 plant entries, involved human participants. tracted costs. About 10 h were used
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Table 1. Development, marketing, and support costs of Southwest Plant Vendors received the app enthu- Selector, a mobile landscape plant selector application created for homeowners in siastically when the app was piloted New Mexico and El Paso, TX. at the 16th Water Conservation/ Task Cost element Cost ($) Xeriscape Conference attesting to the niche that the app fills in New Development New Mexico State University learning Mexico. Eleven vendors asked to be Games Laboratory subcontract 5,500 notified when the app launched, while Student wages 3,000 z four volunteered to provide addi- Marketing Demonstration of app at regional conference tional plant photographs. Behe et al. Transportation, lodging, student labor 575 y (2013) reported that gardeners who Support Wages for photograph upgrade and support search online for garden-related in- New Mexico State University learning formation and products are more Games Laboratory subcontract- 1,000 likely to make a garden-related pur- Total costs 10,075 chase. New Mexico vendors of drought zSixteenth Water Conservation/Xeriscape Conference and Expo at the Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, NM. We shared a booth with the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer at the Expo and had tolerant, water conserving plant ma- no booth charges. terial would therefore seemingly ben- yCosts exclude iTunesÒ (AppleÒ, Cupertino, CA), annual charge (typical fee is $99 per year) because the app is Ò efit through increased sales, which hosted for free on an existing New Mexico State University iTunes development page. explains their enthusiasm for South- west Plant Selector. We planned sea- to develop the AppleÒ-required sup- wasundertakenpostlaunchtofixuser sonal promotional events for the app. port page, including administrative issues and to complete a multilevel re- For this type of app, promotion ac- time to research and write the content. view that included updating plant tivities can include press releases, so- Plant listings displayed well on scientific names. cial media, online review services, the iPadÒ (Fig. 1A) and on the About half of the photographs appropriate keywords for search pur- iPhoneÒ (Fig. 1B). Regional watering from the original database displayed poses, demonstration videos, and requirements and plant details for well on the computer screen, but were professional-looking web support pages each plant are available on the iPadÒ blurry on the high-resolution iPadÒ (Viswanathan, 2012). We used all the (Fig. 1C and D). Plant details and screen. We resized low-resolution above recommended avenues to pro- watering schedules also were dis- photographs for best display and mote the Southwest Plant Selector app played on the iPhoneÒ (Fig. 2A–D). replaced about a third with photo- postlaunch except for the submission Users download the app regularly; graphs that were readily available to online review sites. Because the app 4928 downloads as of 4 June 2013 within the NMSU system. The blur- was specific to the New Mexico re- (Fig. 3). The app, denoted by a pink riest pictures were primarily in the gion, we judged that it did not warrant flower with a ray and disc arrange- 200 · 200 pixel range. We estimate submission to online review sites. ment (Fig. 4A), can be downloaded at that 250 of the current plant entries EVALUATING SOUTHWEST PLANT the iTunesÒ app store (Southwest would benefit from a photograph up- SELECTOR. TestFlight users encoun- Plant Selector, 2012), or by scanning grade. For plants destined for display tered difficulty with navigation be- its QR code (Fig. 4B). Southwest on the iPadÒ or other high-resolution tween the ‘‘Criteria’’ screen and the Plant Selector is a native app, which tablet screen, we recommend using ‘‘Favorites’’ screens, and in resetting means that all data resides entirely on photographs of the highest possible the Criteria screen for a new search. the device, so it does not require resolution, but certainly not less than TestFlight testers also identified im- connectivity when in use. 200 · 200 pixels. We cannot specify provements to the regional graphic The NMOSE database was well a minimum photograph resolution depicting the climate regions with the suited to an app format and the data- because of continuing improvements associated water requirements. base structure transitioned easily to an to iPadÒ screen resolution; what is Like the TestFlight evaluation, app structure. The compatible data minimally acceptable today may be usability testing uncovered issues structure significantly reduced the unacceptable tomorrow. with the search and navigation, which cost and effort required to develop MARKETING SOUTHWEST PLANT would require minor software correc- the app. App developers wishing to SELECTOR. Thedecisiontooffer tions (Table 2). Survey Console data use an existing database should verify Southwest Plant Selector as a free indicated that the navigation steps the data structure before proceeding app with no in-app purchase or up- ‘‘scan the full (plant) list, set criteria with development to determine the grade features was initially driven by to make selections, save selection to level of effort required for reformat- the NMOSE inability to legally charge favorites, and edit your favorites list,’’ ting. Even if the database is structured for its data. A review of app pricing involved clearing previously set crite- correctly, developers should also re- information showed the free price ria and returning back to the full plant view the quality of the content to point to be in line with the current list, which was not intuitive, causing ensure its integrity. trend for similarly categorized apps. testers to ponder each navigation In our case, the NMOSE data- Competition-driven downward pressure step. The navigation process was im- base content was reviewed for quality on app prices, coupled with producers’ proved in the following upgrade to assurance. The most obvious home- and users’ move toward free apps show make it more intuitive. owner-related content errors were that price should be in line with apps that Another suggestion from users correctedsotheappcouldbere- are similar in category, capability, and who completed this task was to ‘‘make leased. An additional review cycle complexity (Koekkoek, 2011). the heart emblem larger so that it
604 • October 2013 23(5) Fig. 1. (A) Screen capture of plant listings from the plant listing screen of the Southwest Plant Selector mobile application as displayed on the iPadÒ (AppleÒ, Cupertino, CA). Southwest Plant Selector is a mobile landscape plant selection application created for homeowners in New Mexico and El Paso County, TX. (B) Screen capture of plant listings from the plant listing screen of the Southwest Plant Selector mobile application as displayed on the iPhoneÒ (AppleÒ). (C) Screen capture of plant detail and image from the plant detail screen of the Southwest Plant Selector mobile application as displayed on the iPadÒ [2# (i.e., 2 ft) = 0.61 m]. (D) Screen capture of plant detail along with a second plant image from the plant detail screen of the Southwest Plant Selector mobile application as displayed on the iPadÒ.
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Fig. 2. (A) Screen capture of plant image from the plant detail screen of the Southwest Plant Selector mobile application as displayed on the iPhoneÒ (AppleÒ, Cupertino, CA). Southwest Plant Selector is a mobile landscape plant selection application created for homeowners in New Mexico and El Paso County, TX. (B) Screen capture showing a second plant image from the plant detail screen of the Southwest Plant Selector mobile application as displayed on iPhoneÒ. (C) Screen capture of plant detail from the plant detail screen of the Southwest Plant Selector mobile application as displayed on the iPhoneÒ [2# (i.e., 2 ft) = 0.61 m]. (D) Screen capture of regional watering detail from the plant detail screen of the Southwest Plant Selector mobile application as displayed on the iPhoneÒ. The watering detail shows that the plant requires little or no supplemental water in all the regions displayed.
606 • October 2013 23(5) ‘‘Very useful tool! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now.’’ iTunesÒ reviews and usability test responses point to minor correc- tions and specific requests to consider in a subsequent upgrade (Table 2). Additional verbal and e-mail feed- back requests from users included add ability to sort on color; add the El Paso region (area in Texas that borders southern New Mexico); add video clips from NMSU Southwest Yard and Garden; add vegetables; add Androidä format; add disease and toxicity information; further clarify watering requirements. Users also have verbally requested that we make the photographs pull out to full screen. Users are most satisfied with iPadÒ apps that leverage the device’s Fig. 3. Southwest Plant Selector daily and cumulative downloads from 29 June ability to display beautiful images, but 2012 to 4 June 2013. Southwest Plant Selector is a mobile landscape plant selection they are dissatisfied when they are un- application created for homeowners in New Mexico and El Paso County, TX. Data TM able to zoom on those images (Nielsen were collected automatically by Mopapp (Mopapp, 2013). and Buidu, 2010). Based on the initial postlaunch testing and user feedback, the first upgrade of Southwest Plant Selector was completed. The upgrade, version 1.06, launched on 26 May 2013. Homeowners can now select plants for El Paso County, TX, which shares some ecological characteristics with southern New Mexico. Plants can now be sorted on color by selecting a color chip and a homeowner can now e-mail a plant summary. Mis- nomers and other content errors in Fig. 4. (A) Southwest Plant Selector app display icon for the iPadTM (AppleÒ, the plant database were corrected. Cupertino, CA) and iPhoneÒ (AppleÒ). Southwest Plant Selector is a mobile Settings now allow users to work in landscape plant selection application created for homeowners in New Mexico and El the scientific mode, which orders the Paso County, TX. (B) Quick response (QR) code for the Southwest Plant Selector. plants by scientific name. We added A scan of the QR code with a QR code reader open an iTunesÒ page that allows the pest and disease information and user to download the app directly to a mobile device. upgraded 100 images. A web-based support page was developed to allow users to specifically calculate supple- stands out a bit.’’ The heart emblem random order and now follows a con- mental water requirements for indi- allows the users to click on it to add sistent flow based on user signifi- vidual plants (NMSU, 2013). a plant to a favorites list. Another cance. The current rank order of Southwest Plant Selector down- issue was that the search tool does descriptive items is category, type, load data from the 29 June 2012 not key on partial terms or single sun, size, bloom time, bloom color, launch through 4 June 2013 shows words in a phrase; it cannot find ‘‘pine soil, and notes. the download data trend (Fig. 4). trees,’’ but it will retrieve pine trees The testers gave the app positive Higher download numbers initially using the search word ‘‘pine.’’ Actions reviews. For example, the tester who correlate with promotional activities recommended to correct concerns was a master gardener concluded, at launch followed by a fairly steady that were raised during usability test- ‘‘It’s very easy to use and the photos pattern postlaunch. Download in- ing are given in Table 2. are good. Plus you don’t have to wade creasesassociatedwithChristmas One of the minor changes we through info on plants that are more 2012 promotions show some dura- made during testing was to reorder appropriate to other areas.’’ bility through 2013. Southwest Plant descriptive items that accompany Initial iTunesÒ user ratings in- Selector was downloaded 4928 times each plant. The main page of the cluded five 5-star ratings and three from launch through 4 June 2013. In app lists plant descriptive items along 4-star ratings. These eight iTunesÒ addition, Southwest Plant Selector with a photograph of the plant. The reviewers (Table 2) all had positive won the gold award in the Interac- original list of descriptive items was in comments, using accolades to include tive Media Program category and an
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Table 2. Summary of the evaluation of Southwest Plant Selector, a mobile landscape plant selector application created for homeowners in New Mexico and El Paso, TX, which shows the problems identified and recommended corrective action for the usability test and iTunesÒ (AppleÒ, Cupertino, CA) comments. Usability is a measure of the appeal and the ease with which a user understands, learns, and uses a software product when the product is used under specified conditions. Evaluation Category Problem identified Recommended corrective action Usability Search Search does not pick up partial entries e.g., Allow association with parts of compound ‘‘pine tree’’ did not find ‘‘pine’’ trees words. Actual: This is a costly fix and will wait until a future upgrade Usability Search Plant category, ‘‘other plant’’ yields no Delete ‘‘other plants.’’ Actual: Complete results Usability Search Heart icon for ‘‘favorite’’ is not obvious Make heart red. Actual: ‘‘Favorites’’ icon now goes to directions on how to use it Usability Search No information on water needs for new Note water requirements are for mature plantings plants. Actual: Complete iTunesÒ comments Search Would like to see bloom colors, butterfly and Icons for those should be considered for hummingbird attractors, deer and bunny future update. Actual: Color icons resistance, toxicity for dogs and cats implemented iTunesÒ comments Search Add more insect information Possibly a future update, but will require volunteer labor honorable mention in Best Inno- a well-developed database, a thor-
608 • October 2013 23(5) Southwest Plant Selector. 2012. South- Teoh, K.O. 2009. Explorations on web Your-Iphone-App-Ranking-In-The-Apple- west Plant Selector (Version 1.06). 29 usability. Amer. J. Appl. Sci. 6:424–429. App-Store.htm>. June 2013.
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