Overview

The Met Office, the UK’s national weather service, embarked on a project to enhance its weather mobile app by redesigning the maps pages. This initiative aimed to provide users with more accurate, interactive, and user-friendly weather information. The Met Office is renowned for its world-leading weather forecasts and services, which present unique challenges in delivering precise and accessible weather data to millions of users.

Project Goal

The primary goal of this project was to improve the user experience of the weather app by redesigning the maps pages. This involved creating interactive and intuitive maps that provide real-time weather updates, severe weather warnings, and other critical information. The redesign aimed to ensure that users could easily access and interpret weather data, enhancing their ability to make informed decisions based on the latest weather forecasts.

My Role As A Senior User Researcher

As a Senior User Researcher for the Met Office weather mobile app team, my role was pivotal in understanding user needs and ensuring the design met those needs effectively. My key responsibilities included:

– Conducting extensive user research to gather insights into user behavior, preferences, and pain points

– Analyzing user feedback and data to identify areas for improvement in the existing maps pages

– Collaborating with designers and developers to create wireframes and prototypes based on user research findings

– Facilitating usability testing sessions to gather feedback on design iterations and refine the user interface

– Ensuring the design adhered to accessibility standards and provided an inclusive experience for all users

– Presenting research findings and design recommendations to stakeholders and decision-makers

– Working closely with the development team to ensure the final implementation aligned with user needs and research insights

Key Deliverables 

– Research insights into outcomes

– User Personae

– Research Reporting

– Stakeholder Management

Outcome & Results

The project outcomes were highly successful. The redesigned maps pages provided users with an enhanced experience, featuring interactive elements such as real-time weather updates, severe weather warnings, and detailed weather forecasts. The improvements led to increased user engagement and satisfaction, as evidenced by positive user feedback and higher app ratings.

This project demonstrated the Met Office’s commitment to leveraging user research to inform design decisions and improve service delivery. The success of the redesigned maps pages has set a new standard for the Met Office weather app, ensuring it remains a reliable and user-friendly tool for accessing weather information.