LiANA - Case study

Customer Success Story

Overview

To address the growing need for more accurate and efficient biodiversity assessment tools, BoatyardX partnered with an Environmental Studies Company in Romania to create LiANA, an innovative platform that redefines how we evaluate ecosystems. By utilising butterflies as powerful bioindicators, LiANA connects observed lepidoptera (butterflies) species with their corresponding plants, providing a comprehensive solution that simplifies and enhances the process of biodiversity assessment. This platform offers users deeper insights into the environmental characteristics of an area, making it an essential tool for environmental scientists, students, and researchers.

INDUSTRY

Environment

LOCATION

Romania

How BoatyardX built LiANA

BoatyardX played a major role in transforming our client’s vision into a reality. Our collaboration began with a series of Discovery workshops designed to align our team with the client’s goals and vision. These workshops were instrumental in understanding the stakeholders, sketching relevant personas, and defining the necessary data streams and sources.

Our multidisciplinary team, comprising a Project Manager, UX Designers, Front-End and Back-End Developers, Data Scientists, and DevOps Engineers, worked closely with the client to define a set of MVP features and a clear roadmap for the project. We maintained delivery momentum through collaborative engagement and an integrated team approach, ensuring that the project was aligned with the client’s key business milestones. BoatyardX leadership provided continuous product and technology support, guiding the team through the complexities of building a solution of this scale.

The challenge

  • The primary challenge was to create a national database that not only cataloged lepidoptera species and their associated plants but also enabled users to perform quick and accurate biodiversity assessments. The database needed to allow users to draw meaningful connections between observed butterfly species and the plants they are likely to consume, based on varying levels of correlation. Ensuring data accuracy and preventing user errors, such as incorrect correlations, were critical aspects that needed careful consideration.

  • Additionally, the solution required the development of a user-friendly Biodiversity Index Calculator, accessible via mobile devices, to facilitate on-the-go assessments by users with varying levels of technical expertise. The challenge was to build a robust platform that catered to both administrative users who manage the database and field users who conduct biodiversity assessments.

The Solution

The LiANA platform was developed with two key components: an Admin Panel and a Biodiversity Index Calculator.

 

  • Admin Panel: This web-based interface allows admin users to perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations on the Lepidoptera and Plants database. Admins can add, edit, or delete entries and establish correlations between butterfly species and plants, assigning a confidence level to each relationship. The system was meticulously designed to prevent logical errors, and maintaining the integrity of the data.

  • Biodiversity Index Calculator: Built with a mobile-first approach but fully responsive across all devices, this tool allows registered users to record observations in the field, including details like date, time, and location. Users can search for observed Lepidoptera species, log the number of individuals, and generate results for various biodiversity indices such as Simpson’s Index, Shannon-Wiener Index, Margalef’s Index, and Species Richness Index. The platform then suggests which plants are certain, likely, or less likely to exist in the area based on the butterflies observed, allowing users to refine their assessments and gain insights into the area’s environmental characteristics.

Benefits

The LiANA platform offers a host of benefits that significantly enhance the efficiency and accuracy of biodiversity assessments:

  • Streamlined Assessments: By automating the correlation between butterfly species and plants, LiANA allows users to perform biodiversity assessments more quickly and with greater accuracy than traditional methods.
  • Increased Data Accuracy: The platform’s carefully designed logic prevents user errors, ensuring that correlations between species and plants are scientifically valid, which enhances the reliability of the assessments.
  • Mobile Accessibility: The mobile-first design of the Biodiversity Index Calculator ensures that users can easily conduct field assessments, making it a practical tool for on-the-go use.
  • Comprehensive Insights: By providing a detailed analysis of the environmental characteristics of an area, based on observed species and plants, LiANA offers users a deeper understanding of the ecosystem’s health.
  • Scalability: The platform’s architecture allows for future expansion to include other taxonomical groups, making it a scalable solution that can grow with the needs of the environmental science community.

The future of LiANA

LiANA’s future roadmap focuses on enhancing user experience and expanding biodiversity assessment capabilities through precise metrics, detailed observation tracking, and improved navigation. Key updates include features for capturing and analysing plant data with exportable insights, a Habitat Information module for deeper environmental context, and a dashboard for key biodiversity metrics.

These advancements align with the founders’ vision by positioning LiANA as a cutting-edge tool for biodiversity research, expanding its appeal to researchers and environmental organisations. By demonstrating innovation, scalability, and reliability, the roadmap strengthens its market position and enhances its appeal to investors, supporting both business objectives and fundraising efforts.

LiANA stands as a testament to the power of collaboration, innovation, and technology in advancing environmental science. BoatyardX is proud to have been part of this groundbreaking project, delivering a solution that not only meets the current needs of our client but also sets the stage for future advancements in biodiversity assessment.

BoatyardX Services

  • Discovery Services
  • Product architecting and planning
  • Full-stack development
  • UI/UX design
  • DevOps

Technologies

 

  • Frontend: Next.js
  • Backend: .NET Core
  • DevOps: AWS
  • UI/UX design: Figma