Evaluating small-scale eucalyptus growers’ experience of the EVO mobile application: a comparative analysis of quantitative and qualitative assessment techniques

Mobile applications (apps) have become widely available as decision support tools in agriculture and forestry worldwide. Owing to the above-mentioned development trend, identifying testing methods that can be easily implemented for evaluating mobile app development targeting rural livelihood-related topics is urgently required. This study examined user experiences with a previously launched and published mobile app (EVO) that small-scale eucalyptus growers can utilize to estimate their gross income and net profit from timber sales. The survey incorporated three user experience assessment methods. The study involved two rounds of data collection regarding the mobile app: the first round concerned version 1.0, whereas the second round referred to version 2.0. The aim was to identify the user experience of the EVO app for guiding further software development to improve its suitability among potential user groups, as well as to estimate the feasibility and usability of survey methods for evaluating mobile apps among smallholders and related stakeholders. The results indicated a remarkable improvement in user satisfaction between the two rounds. Using a combination of system usability scale, user acceptance testing, and quality questions is recommended for collecting valuable and useful feedback for the development of mobile apps.

移动应用程序（Mobile Applications，以下简称APP）目前已在全球范围内作为农业与林业领域的决策支持工具得到广泛普及。基于上述发展趋势，当前亟需开发易于实施的测试方法，用以评估针对农村民生相关议题的移动应用开发方案。本研究针对一款已上线并公开的移动应用EVO展开用户体验调研，该应用可供小型桉树种植者估算其木材销售的总收入与净利润。本次调研采用了三种用户体验评估方法。本研究针对该移动应用开展了两轮数据采集：第一轮针对1.0版本，第二轮则针对2.0版本。本次研究的目标在于明确EVO应用的用户体验情况，以指导后续软件开发工作，提升其在潜在用户群体中的适配性；同时评估针对小农户及相关利益相关者开展移动应用评估的调研方法的可行性与可用性。调研结果显示，两轮调研间用户满意度得到了显著提升。研究建议将系统可用性量表（System Usability Scale）、用户接受度测试（User Acceptance Testing）与质量问卷相结合，以收集能够为移动应用开发提供有效参考的宝贵反馈。