Wendy Xiuwen Chen
 UX designer at BBC, based in London, UK
 CV Email

Enhancing Native Weather Component for BBC News App






Intro

In this discovery project, the primary goal was to determine the optimal amount of weather information that the BBC News app should provide before redirecting users to the dedicated weather app.

The focus was on identifying user needs and exploring potential enhancements to the existing weather component within the news app, with the aim of increasing user engagement.

Project type and timeline
 UX discovery,  Aug to Sept 2022

ProductBBC News app

My role
UX designer

*This project was assigned to me during one of my trainee placements, allowing me to delve into UX research and contribute to improving the user experience of the BBC News app.

SkillsResearch analysis, UI/UX design, Prototyping, Cross-team collaboration





Discovery outcome

As part of the discovery phase, I proposed a new weather component for the BBC News app that offers users a more detailed and comprehensive view of weather information.

💭 I started with some questions...How might we bring the user a more engaging and unique experience in the Weather module? How might we make the weather component a daily greeting session or more customised for users? How might we bring the user a consistent experience between the news and weather appHow might we provide users with up-to-date weather information in the news app?
Then, thinking about what does success would look like?


👀

Frequency

This weather component will become part of the unique BBC experience and for them and they will come back to the app more frequently every day.

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Engagement
Users will feel this component is engaging and it’s customised for them.

🌞

Information
Users can have a ‘at a glance’ view of their local weather while getting enough weather information they need when using the BBC news app.

📱

Flexibility
This module will perform well on different systems and devices, including tablet experience.



To understand our audience, I also looked at some previous News app user research
The weather forecast is a popular feature. A few would like to be able to click through to more in-depth weather information, including more detailed forecasts and alternative locations. Maximum and minimum temperatures are the most preferred weather feature for the News app homepage. *from User panel research, 2023The preferred format for the weather forecast for most panellists is an hourly forecast for their current location, with an accompanying timestamp. We tested the idea of directing users to the BBC Weather app when they click the weather icon, and the majority found it helpful to be redirected to the BBC Weather app from the weather icon on the new BBC News app homepage. *from User panel research, 2023

Gather infomation from other BBC product team

Weather widget works from the BBC Weather team




To understand what infomation we need to consider in our weather component, I chatted with our Weather UX designers and hereare information the weather team is considering on the new BBC weather widget:

  • next hour
  • weather icon
  • rain percentage chance
  • current temperature
  • location

Market research


To gain insights into how competitor news platforms handle weather information, I conducted market research by examining other news apps available in the market. This research provided a solid foundation for me to contribute to a more native experience in this discovery project.

Wireframes


With the insights I gathered, I began experimenting and iterating on various design approaches


IntroResearch and discoveryDesign explorations across devicesFinal design optionsBenefits and next steps