Design for IoT weather stations
Design a mobile App for enterprise users to monitor hyper-local weather conditions through SPOT, an IoT weather system.
Problem
Many users of SPOT come from weather-sensitive industries where a small change in weather conditions may lead to incredible financial loss. How could we help them monitor hyper-local weather conditions and changes in a more convenient way to make operational decisions?
Solution
Create SPOT mobile Apps on both iOS and Android to enable users to monitor hyper-local weather changes anywhere and anytime.
Make an integrated installation guide that guarantees users to set up the SPOT device properly to get the most accurate data.
My role
Conduct user research with the marketing team
Define features and workflows
Build info architecture
Design and iterate wireframes
Create hi-fidelity prototypes
Conduct field and usability tests
Create design specs for implementation
Manage product development
Collaborate with
Marketing team
Back-end & Front-end engineers
Data analysts
Meteorologists
Duration
August, 2017 - June, 2018
The Process
1.
Discover
- Gather information from stakeholders
- Analyze existing products
2.
Define
- Define features
- Align features with user needs
- Organize workflows
- Develop data architecture
3.
Design
- Ideate data visualization
- Create and iterate wireframes
- Challenges
- Create high-fidelity prototype
4.
Deliver
- Test and deliver
1. Discover
Learn from stakeholders
Due to restrictions on contacting potential end users directly, the design team cannot conduct primary research. Therefore, we reach out to marketing team to learn about users needs and they have access to potential enterprise clients.
Analyze existing products
Meanwhile, to get a better understanding of data visualization and device management, I conducted research on existing IoT products and weather Apps. Here are the key takeaways:
Multiple view options
Existing IoT weather stations enable users to see all their devices in a list view or on a map.
The complexity of data integration
The integration of real-time, historical and weather forecast data confuses users and slows down the Apps.
Separation of device and data management
Some systems separate the device and data management into different Apps, which confuses users and increases the burden on monitoring data and devices.
Clear visual hierarchy
Presenting a large amount of data on a small mobile screen can be challenging. A clear visual hierarchy will make noticeable improvements.
What do users need?
Based on our secondary research, we have concluded below user needs:
1.
Make operational decisions based on weather changes
2.
Manage multiple weather stations efficiently
3.
Coordinate multiple users to manage devices
2. Define
Define features
According to aforementioned user needs, we collaborated with the marketing team to brainstorm all possible user scenarios and develop workflows respectively.
Prioritize features
We then worked with the engineering team to evaluate all features to ensure feasible implementation of them. As we balanced multiple projects, we experienced both labor and resource shortages and realized that it was imperative that we prioritize features and come up with a feasible plan so that we could deliver the product on time. As a result, we came up with a feature list as follows.
Align features with user needs
After rounds of discussion with multiple teams, we agreed to the below comprehensive feature list for the SPOT product line, including the dashboard, mobile Apps and API.
1.
Historical data
Enable users to check historical data collected by SPOT devices.
2.
Real-time data
Give users an overview of current hyper-local weather conditions.
3.
Device management
Enable users to manage and monitor multiple devices efficiently.
4.
Admin management
Enable multiple administrators to manage SPOT devices.
5.
Device installation
Guide users through installation of SPOT devices in the field.
6.
Weather nowcast/forecast
Help users make proactive and operational decisions by informing them of weather changes.
Assign data services to platforms
We distributed features to our three products according to their characteristics.
Organize App workflows
After finalizing all features, we started to develop workflows for each scenario. A clear workflow helped keep the team on the same page.
Real-time data + Weather nowcast
Show users the current weather conditions and upcoming weather changes.
Add a new device
Guide users through new device setup so that they can get the most accurate hyper-local weather data.
Device management
Document surroundings of the device to tune the forecast algorithm accordingly.
Troubleshooting
Troubleshoot malfunctioning devices and to download data from devices manually.
Develop data architecture from workflows
By combining all workflows, we created this info architecture to demonstrate the structure of the product. It helped the whole team stay on the same page as well as prepare the back-end team to build data structure accordingly.
3. Design
Ideate data visualization
Considering the performance of the mobile Apps, we decided to save the historical data to dashboard only and deliver the real-time data and weather nowcast on the Apps. However, the screen size posed some challenges on data presentation as it limited the amount and variety of data that can be shown. We explored different ways of data visualization with sketches to make sure all data could be delivered clearly.
Create and iterate wireframes
From the sketches, we were able to create wireframes of the mobile Apps. Wireframe was a powerful tool that was also conductive to keeping different teams on the same page. We conducted a usability test and evaluated the feasibility of features with the help of wireframes. On the other hand, as the hardware development, the dashboard, and the mobile App design were carried out simultaneously, any changes in one product could affect the others. Therefore, we kept updating the wireframe design according to feedback from different teams.
Challenges
1.
Communication among "things"
As an IoT product, stable communication among products is critical, which means we had a trade-off between features and stability, because too many features can affect the stability.
2.
Limited access to users
We rarely had chance to speak directly to users. Instead, we could only rely on secondary research such as searching online and reaching out to our marketing team to gain more knowledge about user needs.
3.
Multi-threaded development
The development of hardware, dashboard, and mobile App was simultaneous. Any changes in a product may affect the functionality of the others. Therefore, we needed to consider the big picture when designing.
4.
Communication among multi-disciplinary teams
Multiple teams were involved in the development of this product. As the designer, I played the role of liaising among different parties and make sure everyone was on the same page, which required me to always keep the big picture in mind.
5.
Limited time and resources
As the only designer for the product, I was responsible for the design of the hardware, dashboard and mobile App. An effective time management was crucial in multi-tasking.
Create high-fidelity design
Realtime data + weather nowcast
The real-time data and weather nowcast enable users to view the current weather conditions and upcoming weather changes anywhere at anytime. For instance, the information provides users from the agriculture industry with guidance with which they can really take good care of the plants. It can also inform the green energy industry so that they are able to control the generators more efficiently.
Add a new device
One critical prerequisite for getting accurate data and weather nowcast is the correct installation of SPOT devices. Therefore, step-by-step device installation guide illustrates how to set up a SPOT device properly.
Device profile
The device profile shows the device information, such as ID, location, created time, etc. Since the surroundings of the device could affect the accuracy of the weather nowcast, our profile page enables users to log surrounding info to help the system tune the algorithm for a better result.
Troubleshooting
When something goes wrong with the device, users can troubleshoot with the App by resetting wifi or replacing it. Users can also download data through Bluetooth when necessary.
4. Test and deliver
After all prototypes, including the hardware, the dashboard and the mobile Apps, were ready, we conducted the field test to make sure they worked properly and interacted well with each other. As the first batch of our enterprise users was mostly agriculture and green energy businesses in China, we handed over the product to colleagues in our China branch for usability test and further improvement.
Impact
Within two years of product launch, three industry leaders from precision agriculture, the solar industry, and smart city are using weather services of SPOT. Meanwhile, several provincial-level meteorological departments in China are integrating SPOT to their systems to improve weather forecasting accuracy.
Reflection
It was such a grand experience for me to be able to work with a multi-disciplinary team consisting of font-end and back-end engineers, data analysts, meteorologists, hardware and firmware engineers. Not only did I learn from my co-workers’ expertises, I also honed my skills on how to collaborate with others more efficiently and make the best informed and balanced decisions during the development process within the timeframe and resources available.