1. Reflect back on the objective of the tool you built: did you exceed it, or fall short? If so, why?

The BeeSmart mobile app offers all the necessary information and knowledge that the beekeeper needs in his activities in an interactive way. The app can help him with the necessary education, reminds him of his monthly activities.

Untill now, the tool was a success. The tool got a lot of reviews by the hackaton participants and it was also promoted in other competitions. We still have to get to the main objective (to educate the beekeepers). We believe that there can be some dangers. The most important one is that the area our app is looking to fullfil(beekeeping) is extremely conventional. WE have to take steps cautiously otherwise the beekeeping industry will reject us immediately.

2. What are the tools’ metrics for success and what does metric say – how well did the tool do?

At the moment, the app was given into review in several competitions. At first the judges in the Slovenian hackaton GreenHack gave us some good ideas to structure the app in the right way. Then at the end of the competition it was voted as the best beekeeping promotion app from the public. Afterwards the app participated in the DigiEduHack competition (sponsored by the United Nations and looking for the best educational app) against other 60 ideas. There it was voted as one of the best 12 apps with the jury’s comment: “The DigiEduHack Steering Group praised the quality of ‘BeeSmart stressing its well-defined relevance and contextualisation, as well as its originality in addressing beekeeping upskilling and education.

The solution also provides a well-designed mock-up and a clear target to achieve across the population in Slovenia. To take it further, you may consider reflecting on adapting the solution to other fields, beyond beekeeping due to its high potential.”. Afterwards the app also won the DigiEduHack finale competition which was decided by public votes.

3. Were your assumptions that the tool you built would: increase participation/engagement or tackle an issue/raise awareness correct? Do you think you chose the right approach – and what would you do differently?

We think that this is the right approach to increase beekeepers engagement. With the app we also want to raise awareness how important beekeeping is. In the process of development, the app went through many stages and got a lot of feedback from the jury so we polished it to the way it is now. Therefore for now we wouldn’t change anything. But there are many changes to be done now when the app is beginning to come to its final stage.

4. What are you hearing from users? What do they enjoy in tool? What do they find challenging?

Some of the feedback from the Green Hack competition jury: – The app is designed very nicely, user friendly and in a way that it engages the user. It has a refreshing look which shows that it is aimed towards the younger population. – The challenging part would be to promote the app among the beekeepers (especially through channels where older beekeepers are participating).

5. Did your tool deliver what you were hoping for? Are they useful for your key user audience? Are they being adopted?

The tool still has to deliver the main goal. To educate the beekeepers and support them in their learning process. Looking on the previus reviews the app will be very interesting to the end users.

6. What worked well through the implementation process? What areas have room for improvement?

The implementation process was filled with useful reviews from UI experts and also startup experts which helped to define the product. The app still needs to be improved in sense of content creation so that we will have a lot of educational content in the app. We will have to go through as much educational material (books, interviews, etc.) as possible and present the material in a more interactive way through the app. We also need to improve user engagement with some quizzes so we keep users coming back to our app.