John Deere
Shaping a subscription model for legacy hardware customers
Team
1 engagement manager
1 designer
Role
Product Lead
Year
2025
Focus
Strategic discovery, defining value, business alignment
The Problem
John Deere was responding to a top-down business mandate to shift from a traditional pay-once model for precision agriculture equipment to a subscription-based SaaS offering. While the business direction was clear, the value proposition for growers was not, creating a need to define what would make a subscription model compelling while balancing user needs with a broader strategic transformation.
Key Work
Stakeholder Interviews
to understand the business shift from a pay-once model to SaaS
Qualitative Research & Surveys
to assess growers’ perceptions of subscriptions and value expectations
Workshops
for ideation and feature prioritization balancing user needs and business goals
Storyboards
to visualize the SaaS experience and test potential value moments with users
Product Story
to clearly communicate the SaaS value proposition
Impact
Defined the SaaS value proposition for John Deere’s stakeholders
Created a roadmap for transitioning to a subscription model
Provided validated user insights to guide feature development
Leadership Insight
This project reinforced the importance of balancing business mandates with user value, and how leading through ambiguity often starts by aligning stakeholders around a shared vision.