What makes a good agricultural decision support system? A scoping review on user perspectives.

Abstract

Abstract Agricultural decision support systems (agri-DSS) are increasingly developed to support complex farm decision-making, yet their adoption and sustained use remain limited. One frequently cited reason is that DSS development is insufficiently user-centred, while existing research on user perspectives is fragmented across countries, applications, and user groups. This scoping review aims to map primary empirical evidence on user perspectives of agri-DSS systematically and to synthesise the barriers and enablers influencing their implementation, adoption, and uptake. The review will follow PRISMA-ScR guidance and complementary recommendations for scoping review methodology. Searches will be conducted in Scopus for English-language publications from 2010 onwards. Eligible studies must address agricultural decision support systems or equivalent tools and report primary empirical evidence on user perspectives, including barriers and enablers, user requirements, usability, or willingness to adopt or use such tools. Screening will combine human assessment with large language model-assisted screening. Data will be extracted on study context, agri-DSS characteristics and development stage, user groups and engagement methods, reported barriers and enablers, and relevant qualifiers. Barriers and enablers will be coded using an existing deductive framework, complemented by inductively derived categories where necessary. The review will synthesise findings using descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations, and narrative synthesis. By systematically consolidating empirically grounded user perspectives across different agricultural contexts and DSS types, this review will provide an evidence base for the development of more user-centred and accessible agricultural decision support systems.