10 Day Forecast
Weather enhancement for Jeppesen ForeFlight
Detailed 10 day, hour-by-hour forecast for anywhere in the world.
Since flying VFR (visual flight rules) is often dependent on the weather, this feature provides a useful flight planning tool for pilots.
Role: Design Lead
Problem
The current app had access to different weather types for pilots, i.e. MOS (Model Output Statistics and TAF (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast) which pilots use to plan flights. This worked for the day-of, but often for pilots - particularly general aviation - the flight planning begins way before that.
Pilots were having to use other weather apps and switch between weather forecasts for different days and locations on top of having to use multiple apps to do so. This made an already lengthy process of flight planning even more effort.
Research
The process of research began with understanding both the forecast weather data available and the use case of the pilot and the process by which a person would use this data to inform their flight planning experience.
I put together a user interview guide and spoke to pilots to understand their needs; for example which of the weather forecast would be useful to them (i.e. cloud coverage, temperature, wind speed, dew point)
Iteration
This feature had several components: the UX/UI of the interface itself, the iconography for the weather forecast types and the additional components of wind speed, precipitation and visibility- all of which are essential for pilots to know when planning a flight.
After a general ideal of the components was solidified, after many reviews with pilots to determine the most effective communication for the data, I laid them out in different iterations of the design- first using wireframes, to determine hierarchy, before moving to a high fidelity design.
The user feedback helped to hone in on which would be the most beneficial layout of the information. I then moved into more high fidelity design and got to work on the full set of icons (nearly 50 total.)
Design
The design for this feature needed to work for both light and dark modes. Once the direction was approved for the overall layout and user flow for the 10-Day weather section, I laid out the additional screens where the weather would display.
This design was finalized, built and distributed to our alpha testing group before being shipped in the app. I worked closely with the engineering and QA teams to ensure quality and consistency in the final product.
Result
Users can now access Daily Forecasts in several ways - from the Daily tab in the Airport Weather view, which provides a tappable summary of each day’s forecast; from the Add to Route popup; from the Nearby Airports list, which shows the forecast for their current location; and from ForeFlight’s Quick Actions list which provides an even faster shortcut to view your local forecast.
This feature provides a more seamless work flow for flight planning, providing the necessary information in a contextual way; saving time and creating more opportunities to fly.