3. Weatherzone's Weather Alert
Visual Design Interaction Design Prototyping
2018
The Challenge.
Weather conditions pose a significant challenge for all outdoor trades in both the residential and commercial sectors. Whether it's pouring concrete or working on the exterior of a house, bad weather can be dangerous and unproductive, leading site managers to make a snap judgement and send home tradespeople at first sight of rain.
Understanding the Problem.
To kick off, the research team conducted three 90-minute focus group sessions with local tradespeople and construction workers to understand their current process and pain points around weather affecting their schedule.
Common challenges that they face are:
- Tradespeople use multiple weather apps to cover all bases and maximize confidence in planning decisions.
- Although all Tradespeople prefer average temperatures with low wind and no rain, some trades are more sensitive to weather conditions than others, like Landscapers or Roofers.
- Tradespeople have the greatest confidence in 2-3 day forecasts, with most weather-related decisions made within this timeframe. Longer timeframes are perceived to be less accurate and unrealistic, with the group expressing a strong preference for quality over quantity.
The Solution.
Weatherzone has created a one-stop-shop for current weather applications that notifies Tradespeople of incoming weather.
My Role.
Product Designer
Visual Design
Interaction Design
Prototyping
The Outcome.
24-Hour Timeline
The 24-hour forecast provides the necessary information to the key decision-makers. Alerts are divided by location, severity, and occupation and displayed across a 24-hour timeline. The option to add more complex weather data such as wind direction, humidity and the UV index is entirely up to the user.
Current Status Summary
It can be helpful to see a snapshot of current conditions without clicking through to different sections. All information required to make a decision is available on one screen.
Upcoming Weather Push Notifications
The application features alerts that give users an overview of the current weather status and a live downgrade time to ensure confident decision-making around scheduling. The alerts are classed into coloured categories so the user can understand the severity at a glance. Users can easily add multiple locations and occupations to manage timelines across all their work sites.
Radar map with a lightening indicator
Being able to see the incoming weather in real-time is one of the core features that Tradespeople resonated with. They can interpret the severity of storms with an interactive rain and lightning detection radar.
