Ski Conditions App/Web
The Ski Conditions App/Web is a project that aims to inform users of the current ski conditions. Some of the main features are real-time ski condition reports, weather reports, and snow depth reports.
The Problem
Many customers are unsure or even misled about the real conditions at a resort. Ski resorts often make their conditions sound better than they really are to draw more skiers to their slopes. If you really want to know what’s going on, you’ve got to keep up with the weather for a few weeks, which can be time consuming.
The Solution
The goal of this app is to inform users about ski conditions by providing easy access to current and historical weather reports, along with real time slope condition updates. With all that info at your fingertips, you can catch the best runs and have more fun out there.
Pecent drop in days with freezing tempuratures
Understanding the problem
Condition report from ski mountains
“light fluffy powder that fell consistently throughout the night! All trails were groomed overnight, but expect the continuous snowfall to bring light powdery surfaces that will progress to packed powder.”
“Today you can expect to ski and ride down 61 open trails, with 56 of those trails taking on fresh stripes overnight.”
Reality
In reality, it rained heavily and then froze twice over the past two weeks, resulting in just 2-3 inches of snow on top and ice underneath. Many ski resorts don't provide honest reports because they're focused on attracting skiers.
Park City UT
Conway NH
NOAA predicts significantly fewer days with freezing temperatures in the United States. These two ski regions are among the many areas that will see a significant drop in the next 70 years. The data makes it clear, variable ski conditions aren’t going away. As temperatures rise, we can expect less snow and a greater chance of poor ski conditions.
What are ski mountains saying?
User Journey
Going through the original path a user takes to figure out ski conditions, gave me insight into what information the user needs and what pain points they are facing. From the user journey, I got the idea to let users review the snow conditions on the mountain. This will provide honest and detailed insights into the ski conditions.
Understanding the user
User Interviews
In order to understand the users needs, I conducted an interview and had 10 skiers/snowboarders answer questions. Here are some of the questions I asked.
How do you find out the ski conditions? How do you feel about the process?
“I go to the ski reports. I hate when ski reports are inconsistent about the conditions.”
“I keep track with a weather app on my phone. Little factors like wind, rain, and temperature can drastically affect conditions.”
80%
Persona
Age: 45
Education: Bachelors
Hometown: Winchester, MA
Family: Wife, Son, Daughter
Occupation: Sales
Sean has a family are looking for a mountain in her region with the best conditions because he doesn't want to have a bad experience skiing on an icy mountain.
Pain Points
Information:
Skiers don’t have enough information on the weather and conditions to make an informed decision. They don’t have information like access to past weather or current snow depth.
“I typically go to mountain condition reports. Some mountains are more honest than others. I have to sometimes read through the lines to figure out the conditions.
“I have to constantly keep track of the weather reports.”
“Most of the time I cross my fingers and hope for the best. It’s to much work to research.”
What motivates you to go skiing?
Said that slope conditions are the main motivator for skiing.
“I typically start watching the weather on the news a week before I go. It’s great when I pick the right day to ski.”
Time:
A lot of time is devoted to looking up different sites to figure out the weather and conditions.
Misinformed:
Many ski mountains aren’t honest about the conditions because they want customers.
Age: 33
Education: Bachelors
Hometown: Burlington, MA
Family: Husband, Duaghter
Occupation: Nurse
Alysse is a frequent skier who wants to know the current conditions at the mountain because she wants to make the most out of her trip.
90%
Expressed frustration when trying to figure out the ski conditions.
These interviews gave me valuable insight into what skiers are looking for when they ski and the frustrations they experience. Using the data from the interviews, I created a summary of the two major types of users. These personas highlight their frustrations and explain their reasons for wanting to be more informed about ski conditions.
Participants
4 participants2 male 2 female
Starting the design
Story Board
I created a storyboard to visualize how the user would successfully figure out the ski conditions. Creating this also helped me get an idea of the basic layout of the application.
Sitemap
This layout allows the user to get the information that they want quickly. From the start page, the user has the option to get mountain specific information or regional information. Keeping this information separate makes the pages easier to read while also providing clear information.
Wire Frames
Adding large navigation cards helps the user quickly navigate to their region. Once the user clicks on a region, all the ski mountains will be shown on a map. The map design gives the user the ability to quickly compare the different ski mountain conditions. One of the goals was to save the user time. In order to achieve this I added icons and images instead of text to make the screens easy to read and navigate.
Color and Accessibility
I purposely chose Sora for its crisp, clean appearance, as it is a commonly used typeface. The colors blue, white, and gray were chosen to emulate those commonly found on a ski mountain. White and blue represent ice and snow, while gray symbolizes rock. Additionally, I ran a WCAG test to ensure the graphics, text, and background had high contrast for easy readability.
Methodology
8 minutes for participantUnited states, In PersonMoteratedUsers were asked to perform task on a low fidelity prototype
Prompt 1: Complete the signin process
Observations
Clicked on the guest option without much hesitationWas debating on whether to log in to google user or facebook
Prompt 3: Find the specific mountain Information
Observations
Seems to be taking awhile to find reviewFound the review quickly after finding the review section
Thoughts on completing the signin process
" Seems like a straightforward signin process. I've done this many times for other websites."
Main Findings From Usability Study
Titles
Users have a hard time distinguishing filter titles. Filter titles need to be changed to be clearer for the user.
Grouping
Combining review and report elements into related groups will make it significantly easier for users to scan the page.
Information
New skiiers might not understand the language a skiier uses when describing ski conditions. Need to inform users what each ski condition term means.
Thoughts on finding the specific mountain Information
"very informative page."
Usability Study
Prompt 2: Find the snow depth in the northeast region
Observations
Unsure of what filter to chooseRealizes that wrong filter option was selected
Prompt 4: Post a conditions review
Observations
Scanned conditions section for awhileNo stopages when posting a review
Userflow
Designing the user flow allowed me to assess the application's navigation and identify any potential bottlenecks. During this process, I realized that adding a hover feature to the regional map could provide users with a quick overview of the current mountain conditions. This enhancement has the potential to save users valuable time and improve their overall experience.
Thoughts on finding the snow depth in the northeast region
" Got a little confused when applying the filter. I was unsure if I should select snowfall or natural snow. "
Thoughts on posting a conditions review
" I don’t understand what all the conditions mean, but the process was easy."
These users gave me very useful feedback on areas for improvement in the application. Below are some key insights I gained from studying and questioning them. I used these insights to refine the design and uncover issues with the application.
Refining The Design
Web Change
Adding a question icon will help explain each condition's meaning to the user. I added titles for each section to give the user a better idea of what they're looking at. Also combining the user review elements into one card helps give the page a cleaner look.
App Change
Changing the title from 'Natural Snow' to 'Snow Depth' helps clear up the confusion users were experiencing when viewing the filter options. Additionally, an option was added to close the filter if the user decides not to use it.
Finished Product
High Fidelity Designs
Design Changes
Impact
Users thought that the app could be very informative. “ I liked how you can get an honest opinion from skiers on the mountain.”
Learned
I learned that it is important to keep each feature's layout in mind. Also, to think about what the customer wants to get out of the experience when choosing a certain layout.
Region Search
From here, users can choose whether they want regional or mountain-specific information. This page ensures they can quickly find what they need.
Regional Snow Conditions
This feature helps users identify which mountain in their region has the best snow conditions. It provides a high level overview of both past and future weather and snow reports. For a quick look at a specific mountain, users can simply hover over it to see the current snow amount.
Mountain specific Info
This feature gives users an insider’s view of current ski conditions at the mountain. In the top right corner, users can access snow and weather forecast reports. At the bottom of the screen, are users submited condition reports that provide real-time updates on slope conditions. A summary of the most commonly reported condition keywords appears above. Keywords offer a quick overview for users who want a snapshot of the latest reports.
Submit A Report
A ski report provides users with real-time updates on slope conditions. Users can select keywords that best describe the current ski conditions and have the option to write a summary for more detailed information.