SummitRidge Farms — Pet Food R&D Platform
UI/UX design for a pet food testing and research facility system — organizing pet records, study assignment, observations, analysis, and R&D documentation across multiple departments.
01 Project Overview
Designed a system experience to support R&D work involving dogs and cats — from pet entry and unique ID creation through study assignment, data collection, analysis, results, and study documentation.
02 Business / Product Context
SummitRidge Farms is a pet food testing and research facility in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. The product supported research operations where studies and results feed into R&D and study-related documentation.
Study focus areas supported
03 The Design Challenge
Complexity to address
- Many roles across departments interacting with the same records
- Pet identity, studies, observations, and results must stay connected
- Study types vary (nutrition, healthcare, analysis, grading, etc.)
- Documentation depends on organized results across the lifecycle
Design objectives
- Keep pet records and study data structured and findable
- Clarify responsibilities across operational roles
- Support the full path from entry → documentation
- Reduce ambiguity in multi-role R&D workflows
04 Understanding the Workflow & Requirements
Requirements were framed around the research lifecycle: each pet enters with a unique ID, is assigned to studies, accumulates observations and analysis data, produces results, and supports R&D/study documentation. The design approach organized these objects so departments could contribute without losing the record trail.
05 UX / Problem-Solving Approach
06 User Roles / System Actors
Multiple departments participate. The role map focuses on how groups interact with the system — not fictional personas.
07 Information Architecture / Workflow Diagram
End-to-end study lifecycle used as the structural backbone of the product experience.
08 Key User or Task Flows
Register pet & create unique ID
Establish the master record that all studies and observations attach to.
Assign study by research area
Link the pet to nutrition, healthcare, breeding, analysis, or related study types.
Collect observations & run analysis
Role-appropriate staff capture data (including fecal analysis, caloric calculations, stool quality grading, etc.).
Record results & produce documentation
Results feed R&D and study-related documents while remaining tied to the pet ID and study context.
09 Ideation & Wireframing Approach
Wireframing prioritized pet profile as a hub, study assignment views, observation/result entry patterns, and documentation touchpoints. Layout exploration focused on keeping related records connected rather than isolated screens.
10 UI Design & Design Decisions
Pet ID as primary key
Unique ID anchored navigation so studies, observations, and docs stay attached to one record.
Study-area modularity
Study types (nutrition, healthcare, analysis, grading, etc.) shared a common lifecycle shell with area-specific fields.
Role-aware responsibility
Screens emphasized what each department contributes so multi-role work stayed organized.
11 Design System / Components / Auto Layout
Component work focused on profile headers, study cards/tables, observation entry blocks, status labels, and documentation sections — built with Auto Layout for consistent spacing across dense R&D screens.
12 Interaction Design & Prototyping
Interaction design considered transitions across the lifecycle: entry → assignment → collection → analysis → results → documentation. High-fidelity screen images and a clickable prototype will be added here when available.
Prototype / screens coming soon
Visuals will be added once screen exports are provided. Process and workflow content above reflect the design approach.
Screen gallery placeholder
SummitRidge Farms screen images can be placed here later as a responsive gallery.
13 Key Design Considerations
14 Reflection / What I Learned
In multi-department R&D systems, the UX problem is less about individual forms and more about keeping identity, study context, and results coherent. Designing SummitRidge Farms reinforced structuring the product around the pet ID and study lifecycle so every role contributes without fragmenting the record.