Plants Dashboard Updates

Improving the Visualization

Alongside the metric change, the underlying charts needed rethinking. Trend lines now show survival rate over time rather than point-in-time mortality snapshots. Semantic color indicators make health status scannable at a glance — green for thriving strata, red for at-risk ones. Density targets give science teams a scientific benchmark to measure actual counts against, making it easier to spot underperforming plots early.

Dashboard Redesign

The updated dashboard addressed a broader set of usability issues discovered during research. A cleaner layout with improved type hierarchy makes data faster to scan. The color scheme was updated for accessibility, card layouts were made flexible and consistent, and key values were given contextual tooltips — reducing cognitive load for teams reviewing data after long days in the field.

The Redesigned Dashboard

The final Plants Dashboard brings together project-level area totals, planted species breakdowns, trend lines, planting density, survival rates by strata and species, and an embedded site map — all in a single scrollable view that gives science teams and project managers a comprehensive picture of site health after every observation cycle.

Survival Rate Settings

Understanding Complexity

Setting a t0 baseline — the initial plant density at planting time — scales quickly to an enormous data entry task. For a single planting site, science teams might manage 25+ differently configured permanent plots, each needing per-species plant density inputs across three input types. The edit interface had to be comprehensive enough to handle this complexity while remaining usable in the field. We explored multiple approaches before landing on the final solution.

Exploration 1

Our first exploration was a UI that separated out Observation level data from species-specific plant densities. This wouldn't work because you need to see the dates of the Observation level data paired with the densities to make sure you were adjusting the correct metrics.

Exploration 2

Another paradigm we use in Terraware we thought might work would be a single edit UI, so the user could be focused on one task at a time. This proved to be too tedious because there needed to be a better way to compare plot level data.

Exploration 3

Showing all the data and still allowing the user to edit or select certain metrics became a bit of a complex puzzle. This version was overwrought with radio buttons and delete icons. Later we collapsed a lot of this functionality into defaults — the plant density would not change if you didn't input anything — and adding and deleting was combined into a single line with minimal clicks.

The Edit Interface

The final Edit Survival Rate Settings interface consolidates all plot-level data into a single view. Each permanent plot displays its strata, substrata, and current configuration. Species columns show withdrawals alongside calculated plant density, with smart defaults so teams only need to input values that differ from the baseline — drastically reducing the number of decisions required to complete a full site update.

Planting Site Map Updates

Visual & UI Improvements

The original Strata Level Data map color-coded strata by mortality rate bands — a scheme that directed attention toward failure rather than health. The updated map uses multi-variate overlays for survival rates, replaces the old popover tooltip with a full drawer showing photos, observation events, and activity context, and adds larger controls and an interactive legend. Teams can now investigate any strata without losing their place on the map.

Mobile Experience

Observations are entered in the field through the Terraware mobile app. The mobile Plants Dashboard was updated alongside the web redesign — larger tap targets, stacked card layouts for readability on smaller screens, and a modified map legend make data review and entry easier during active fieldwork when conditions are far from ideal.