Ceres is a nonprofit advocacy organisation that works with companies and investors to tackle global sustainability challenges including climate change, water scarcity and pollution, and nature and biodiversity loss. Their work includes helping companies to assess their long-term strategies for making the swift transition to more sustainable practices.
Challenge
Many smaller and medium-sized businesses are in the earlier stages of their sustainability strategies and often lack the resources or support that larger corporations have. Ceres aimed to make sustainability guidance more accessible to these smaller entities.
Ceres sought to develop a free, self-guided tool – Ceres Roadmap 360° – that would allow companies to assess their sustainability practices. Based on the assessment, the tool would generate a customised report, including a scorecard, best practice recommendations, and useful resources for further improvements. The tool was intended to be user-friendly and efficient, focusing on action over assessment and avoiding the complexity and time consumption of existing sustainability assessment tools.
Simultaneously, they were considering a website redesign and refresh, and wanted to ensure their complex Salesforce integration was maintained – as well as all the donation tools they use. This led them to issue a dual Request for Proposal (RFP) for both Ceres Roadmap 360° and the Ceres website redesign.
Solution
The initial brief on the Roadmap 360° tool provided by Ceres described a complex and multilayered process. Step one was to unpack the core requirements to build from. To address this, Brew conducted decision sprints with the Ceres Roadmap team. These sprints helped clarify the needs and goals of the tool, which were to provide a self-assessment and tailored recommendations for companies to evaluate their current sustainability practices and make plans for action. This process involved understanding who the users would be and what the tool was supposed to achieve. The core logic of the tool was based on a complex Excel sheet, which needed to be translated into a user-friendly web application.
Once we had a clear understanding, we moved straight to creating wireframes to visualise the user interface and user experience.
We documented the logic for scoring and assessments from the Excel sheet provided by Ceres. The front-end design was kept simple, presenting a single question at a time, with additional content, definitions and examples to guide the user through each module to get their tailored response. The goal was to create a balance between simplicity and the depth of reflection required for meaningful sustainability assessments.
Brew implemented test-driven development (TDD) throughout the project. This approach involved writing tests before developing the corresponding code, ensuring that each functionality was thoroughly tested as it was built. This practice minimised the amount of testing required towards the end of the project and helped identify and solve potential issues early in the development process.
Once a minimum viable product (MVP) had been developed, the Adaptavist Quality Consult team reviewed the tool before we handed it over for client testing. Being part of The Adaptavist Group allows us to leverage their Quality Consult team for external testing, ensuring that our builds are rigorously evaluated from a user perspective.
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) was conducted on monday.com, where designated Ceres testers performed specific tests. Following this, beta testing was undertaken by volunteers from Ceres’ network and partners. They provided feedback directly to the Ceres Roadmap team through a short survey. The feedback received was primarily related to content and user experience enhancements rather than functionality, indicating a successful initial build.
Results
The launch of Ceres Roadmap 360° then completed our brief, and we’re delighted that it met Ceres’ needs and expectations. The decision sprints effectively clarified the project's scope, allowing Brew to deliver a user-friendly and functional tool that will have a meaningful impact on sustainable business practice. The use of test-driven development ensured a robust and reliable product, reducing the need for extensive testing towards the project's conclusion.
Working with Brew Digital was a dynamic and rewarding experience. From our first meeting, it was clear that Brew had a passion for supporting our vision. They demonstrated a clear understanding of what we wanted to achieve, and their previous experience with similar projects was a significant differentiator for us.
Throughout the project, Brew Digital's understanding of user experience was invaluable. They helped us design a workflow that was straightforward and easy to use, despite the complexity of the tool. They provided constant ideas and recommendations, and their expertise and dedication to understanding our vision led to the creation of a tool that is both user-friendly and effective in improving sustainability performance.
– LJ Deluca, senior manager, Ceres Company Network, Ceres Roadmap 360° project lead