SurfMate

Understand

Problem

Surfers struggle to interpret wind and wave data accurately because the data used for these forecasts is complex and not explained well. Surfers need data displayed in a manageable format so that they can understand what the wind and waves will be like and can properly prepare themselves for a day on the water.

Solution

Using a star rating system and a professional summary of the day’s forecast, we will make sure new users confidently understand the forecasts. For users looking to learn more, we will provide onboarding on how to interpret each specific number/data point.

User Research

Interviews

I interviewed 3 surfers to get an idea of what real users like and don’t like about the existing surf forecasting services on the market. This gave me a good idea on what to include in the product and start thinking about what problems need to be solved.

Goals

1. Identify pain points in surf forecasts
2. Determine user opinion of competitors
3. Determine task frequency, difficulty and duration
4. To learn what additional needs surfers have other than the forecast

Insights

• Users want local knowledge, they recognize that the data can only be so helpful as there are some conditions that forecasting services just don’t give enough importance to
• Beginner surfers want to be told where to surf, but as they develop they want to make their own decisions
• Looking at large amounts of data is intimidating
• Wind is a highly underestimated factor
• Webcams are very important, as you can trust your eyes more than you can trust predictions
• At a new location, everyone wants to know where the rocks are, what the ideal conditions are there, and if there is a rip/undertow.

Personas

To keep users at the forefront of our thought process during the design, I created these two user personas with different goals that I would be designing the product for.

Ideate

Task Flows

For building an initial product, it was helpful to determine the three most essential tasks that could be completed in the app and build those first. These tasks form the basis of the User Testing once a prototype is ready.

Sitemap

Card Sorting

An online, open card sort was conducted using Optimal Workshop. 7 participants completed the task and these results were gathered:

• The majority of participants (57%)  created 3 groups of cards, which told me I could condense my categories down from 5.
• By changing the name of “Profile” to “My Surfing”, it allows me to include both general account settings as well as the key feature of the journal.
• “Learning articles” needs to stay in a separate category, as there was not much consensus with it’s groupings.
• The weather maps do not need their own category, as 85% of participants grouped them with the regional forecasts.
• Many participants grouped “Surf locations” and “Surf locations info” in a separate category, but I will keep them where they originally were as this is what makes the most sense from an IA point of view.

Updated Sitemap

Prototype

Starting off with Lo-fidelity wireframes sketched out on paper, I was quickly able to make multiple iterations and test different ideas.

Clickable Prototypes

After creating initial designs using Balsamiq, I decided to switch things over to Figma to utilize the prototyping capabilities. After creating fully clickable prototypes, I was able to go into further rounds of testing.

Usability Testing

Using a Moderated in-person study with 5 participants, each user was prompted with the three main task flows on both the desktop and mobile version of the prototype. Three of these users were presented with the desktop version first, and two were presented with the mobile version first.

Objectives

• Determine if users follow along the onboarding or if they ignore it
• Observe how users navigate the website to complete the tasks
• Determine if users recognize clickable areas

Conclusion

As my first full UX Design project, I learned quite a bit in this process. The most important thing I learned is the importance of creating multiple iterations before deciding how to move forward. I was often tempted to go with the first idea that popped into my head without thinking of alternatives. The further I got into the project, this temptation faded away and I started designing 2-3 different ideas before choosing which one would work the best. While taking more time initially, I believe this sped up the overall process and led to much better design solutions as I was able to think about things from multiple perspectives. 
This project also taught me the importance of choosing good interview/user test candidates. I got much more useful information from people who would be in my target market or had experience using other surf forecasting products.