Permetrix
A strategic service and UX concept for a digital
planning tool that helps farms move toward
regenerative agriculture through site specific analysis, guided planning, and continuous support.
Project Type
Masterthesis
Timeline
Feb 2025 - Jul 2025
Team
Agnes Kloos, Friederike Kohler, Peter Swirsky
Problem
Regenerative agriculture is gaining attention, but its practical adoption remains difficult. Farms operate under economic pressure, complex regulations, and deeply rooted routines, which leave little room for uncertain transformation. Permaculture offers a strong ecological framework, yet turning its principles into real farm decisions is highly demanding. What is missing is not interest alone, but a structured way to translate complexity into realistic and site specific action.
Solution
Permetrix responds to this challenge with a digital planning system for regenerative farm transformation. Based on farm data, environmental conditions, and operational goals, the tool helps users analyse their current situation, develop site specific permaculture scenarios, and plan implementation step by step. Planning, monitoring, and collaboration are connected in one modular workflow, supported by zoning logic, planting recommendations, data driven insights, and shared knowledge.
The value ofPermetrixlies in making acomplex transitionmore understandable, manageable, andactionable. Instead of treating permaculture as an abstract ideal, the concept translates it into concreteplanning stepsthat fit the realities of everyday farm operations. This reduces uncertainty,supports better decisions, and creates a practical path toward ecological andeconomic resilience.
More Details
Permetrix was developed from the question of how agriculture can become more regenerative without asking farms to take unrealistic risks. Research into agricultural structures, policy, technology, permaculture principles, and alternative farming models showed that the biggest barrier is not awareness alone, but the lack of tools that make transformation understandable and usable in everyday practice.
To translate this challenge into a meaningful concept, strategic and user centred methods were combined throughout the project. These included broad research, STEEP analysis, Futures Triangle, stakeholder mapping, expert interviews, farm visits, system mapping, concept development, feature prioritisation, wireframes, information architecture, and usability testing. This process made it possible to understand the wider system, identify key friction points, and define where design can create practical value.
The result is a modular digital product concept that supports farms across different stages of transition. Its core areas are analysis, network, planning, monitoring, and community. The tool begins with a farm profile and a site based analysis of land, soil, water, climate, and existing conditions. It then supports users in building step by step planning scenarios, including zoning, planting strategies, and implementation paths adapted to local conditions and available resources. Monitoring features create a digital twin of the farm, making development visible over time and enabling continuous adjustment. A collaborative layer adds regional connections, expert input, and shared learning. Permetrix shows how UX design, service design, and strategic design can work together to turn regenerative transformation into a process that is structured, actionable, and grounded in real practice.
