Icons
Vela
Problems
Existing weather apps are not great for water enthusiasts.
Some apps do not offer complex weather systems that have the ability to track daily.
Users cannot find an easy way to comprehend said app.
Users are not currently in the habit of checking said weather app daily.
Predict Wind
Overview
Competitive Analysis
Predict Wind is a leader in weather forecasting for marine safety, focusing on surfing and sailing. They market through social media and Google ads, appearing on sailing blogs. They provide detailed wind maps and easy-to-use tools, with potential for growth in subscriptions and trip planning. Challenges include a complicated tutorial and limited access without a subscription. To improve, they target boat enthusiasts, looking to enhance user experience with better tutorials and website updates.
William
26
Salesman
“If it gets me out of the office or house, then you can find me out on the water having a good time.”
Gathering this information is valuable as it can help me understand how the user may feel when using the app.
Cody
William
Thoughts
Feelings
Challenge
Water Enthusiasts need a way to check weather daily because they can’t depend on the local news's incorrect statistics. We know this true as the local news only gives out the bare minimum weather states and Vela can give Water Enthusiasts a high-end weather statistics app.
With this information in hand, next I had to take into account who my competitors are and see what they offer that other weather apps do not.
Goals
Confidently venture out onto the water with the assurance that I will be safe from any approaching storms or adverse weather conditions.
User Journey Map
Task
Windy
Overview
Windy.App provides tailored weather information for various sports but has weaker marketing than competitors like PredictWind. They mainly use social media and miss opportunities with Google ads and blogs. To improve visibility, they could use sponsored ads on Instagram to attract a younger audience, especially paragliders. While the app is easy to use and works for many sports, it has problems like a boring homepage and high subscription costs. They have chances to offer customizable weather data, lower subscriptions, an interactive map, and daily forecasts. Windy.App wants to be a go-to app for outdoor activities, meeting the weather needs of all sports fans.
Now that I see what the threats and weaknesses are between the two competitors, I need to create some personas that tie well towards Vela.
“I enjoyed the feeling of the app as it reminded me of the Apple Weather app”
User Persona
Cody
40
Graphic Designer
“I am known as the novice of the local boating community as I’ve recently just bought a boat last year.”
Scenario: Being an avid kayaker, Cody needs to find an app that can give him accurate weather statistic before his three-day trip on the Chattahoochee River. He doesn’t want an unknow storm to ruin his trip, so he uses our app for statistics.
Opportunities
Task
Thoughts
Feelings
Opportunities
Goals
Observation
“The overall color is not amusing. It feels bland.”
“I truly enjoy the overall feel of the app as it feels comfortable.”
“Even with the multiple pages, it still has a great grasp on what a weather app is.”
If you would like to view more of the style guide, please click the link below.
“I just don’t feel entirely comfortable giving out certain information that may not be appropriate to share.”
“It really is frustrating when I have to go through so many pages just to find information.”
Positive Quotes
“The images on the tab are nice touch and bring a real sense of space.”
“Even with some of the negative comments, I enjoy the look that it is heading towards.”
Goals
I love spending time with friends on the water, enjoying our moments together without worrying about the weather. It feels great to relax and enjoy the day.
Open App
Sign In
Sign Up
”I must find a local weather pattern in here”
Thinking
Multiple Sign In options
Open App
Create an account
Text
Needs
Accurate wave statistics
Clean layout
Statistics are easy to understand
Needs
Accurate weather statistics
Information on a single page
Ability to see a 10 Day forecast
Main Menu
Select Your Area
”I must find a local weather pattern in here”
Stressed
Overlook the Weather Patterns
Main Menu
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Mid Fidelity Wireframes
Weather Pattern
Choose a Weather Forecast
This is crucial as I hope to be fine for the weekend.
Tame
Locate the Wind, Rainfall, and Temperature Areas
“I don’t even know who this app is for and would not recommend”
“I just don’t like how I have to go from one page to another page just to find information”
User testing reveals the app's faults, identifies unnecessary pages, guides information compression for clarity, and informs layout design.
Frustrations
I find myself constantly worried and a bit anxious that I am not using the absolute best weather app available for boating activities.
Frustrations
I am tired of a weather app that constantly gives me inaccurate weather patterns.
Customize
Add or remove weather patterns from Main Menu
Seek an app to customize my weather options.
Happy
Select a variety of possible weather pattern
Scenario: As a novice boater, Will wants to see how strong the wind is and the level of algae before he goes out to on the water with some friends. With this app he will be able to get notifications on how the weather will look in the future.
“I hope I can get what I want out of this”
Thinking
Multiple Sign In options
Sign Up for email and phone notifications
“Having this will clear my anxiousness rapidly”
Anxious
Overlook the Weather Patterns
After seeing how the scenarios played out and seeing how the user has some frustrations in areas, I need to think of ways to have the user get to a certain page in a smooth fashion.
Sitemap
UI
Select Wind & Algae section
“This section is amazing; I can see everything”
Amused
Locate the Wind, Rainfall, and Temperature Areas
Customize
Complete a survey about how helpful the app is
“This app is great; it provided what I wanted”
Create an account
Select a variety of possible weather pattern
As the roadmap has been created, I must now create some ideas on the app will look like from the onboarding process to the homepage of the app.
Wireframes are crucial part to this process and gave me the ability to go create the first version of how the app will look via mobile.
Understand user feelings about the app
Get clarity on the app's current status
Identify major issues within the app
The first version of the app's mobile design is taking shape. However, I need to conduct more user testing to identify areas for improvement before finalizing the layout.
User Testing
Number of Participants
5 people from various occupations
Users are from different locations
Users had between low to high knowledge in water sports
What I’d like to Learn
Understand how long it takes for the users to pass the onboarding section
See what sections need to exclude
Find better ways to make the flow thru the app smooth
Errors
“For some reason the next button was not working properly.”
“The icons were to small to click on.”
“The color wording would get lost in the background.”
Negative Quotes
“Way too many pages to access certain information and was just confusing.”
“The coloring is very tacky and needs to be changed as soon as possible”
“The section for abbreviation makes no sense. What is it for? Who is it for?”
