GLOBAL S.L.P. manages and enhances the Integrated Farm Assurance standard first developed by GLOBALG.A.P. — an internationally recognised certification that determines whether a livestock producer's meat or dairy can access global markets.

Getting certified is not a simple process. It involves a Producer preparing and submitting compliance documentation, an Auditor physically visiting the farm to conduct an on-site inspection, a Reviewer assessing both the submitted documents and the audit findings, and a Certification Body making the final approval decision — with a Company overseeing all of this across multiple producers simultaneously.

What made it genuinely hard: This isn't a platform where five roles use the same interface with different permissions. These are five people with completely different jobs, different contexts, different technical capabilities, different languages, and different definitions of what "the platform" is for. A Producer in rural Spain using the platform on a laptop at home. An Auditor walking through a livestock facility in Brazil logging findings on a tablet. A Reviewer in an office comparing field notes against submitted documents. A Certification Body administrator managing 50 active applications. A Company headquarters tracking certification status across 200 producers in 8 countries.

One platform. Five completely different realities.

MAPPING THE WORKFLOW CHAIN BEFORE TOUCHING FIGMA

The first thing I did on this project — before any screen design — was map the complete certification workflow as a sequential chain, identifying every handoff point between roles.

The chain looks like this:

Producer applies and submits documentation → Certification Body receives application and assigns an Auditor → Auditor conducts on-site inspection and logs findings → Reviewer receives audit findings + original documents, reviews both, and makes a recommendation → Certification Body makes final approval decision → Producer receives certificate → Company monitors status across all their producers throughout

This mapping exercise revealed something critical. The platform's biggest failure points were not within individual roles but between them. A Producer could miss a required document, a Reviewer could struggle to compare audit findings with submitted documents, a Certification Body might lack the context behind a Reviewer's recommendation, or a Company might not know which Producers required immediate action.

Every major design decision on this project was made to protect a handoff point.

THE FIVE ROLES: WHAT EACH PERSON ACTUALLY NEEDED

Producer: Simple, guided experience

Producers use the platform infrequently and often in a second language. The experience was designed to reduce uncertainty with a guided workflow, a document checklist before starting, clear progress stages, and actionable error messages.

Company: Portfolio management

Companies manage multiple Producers and need a high level view of certification progress. The interface shows application status, renewals, and actions required while protecting individual Producer data.

Certification Body: Managing the workflow

Certification Bodies assign Auditors, monitor applications, and make final certification decisions. An action focused dashboard highlights applications requiring attention, while mandatory comments create a complete audit trail for every decision.

Auditor: Built for field work

Auditors conduct inspections on farms using mobile devices. The interface was designed with inspection checklists, integrated photo capture, large touch targets, automatic saving, and offline support if available.

Reviewer: Comparing evidence

Reviewers compare Producer documents with Auditor findings before making a recommendation. A split panel layout allows both sources to be viewed side by side, reducing context switching and making reviews faster and more accurate.