Project background
The BOM Weather app underwent a re-platform and visual design uplift to enhance, standardise and align customer experiences across all digital channels. Our team
launched the invigorated BOM Weather app on 22 June 2020, investing in high priority digital services to assist community and more advanced customers.
New features have been developed to improve overall user experience and align with other providers. These include mobile application flexibility and responsiveness, critical functioning to support vision-impaired and non-English speaking Australians, and personalised information that helps customers make better decisions and spend less time finding information.
Since the launch in July 2020 our team has added more features such as marine data, expanded on the hourly forecast, created better API's, improved performance and addressed bugs and technical issues. Before the launch a dedicated BETA test group road tested the app and provided valuable feedback on the user experience, performance and technical issues.
Development on the app is ongoing and every two weeks the sprint demo provides an update on feature development, the collected analytical data and related UX/UI activities.
The transition to the next generation BOM Weather app occurred in July 2020
Analytics overview
(as of July 2021)
App research and user testing
Before the revamped app launched, a knowledge review from previous testing activities from other BOM projects and collected customer app feedback data informed the new design and user experience of the BOM Weather app.
Additionally, a series of app specific tests were undertaken by the UX team and continuous improvement is ongoing. The test activities are planned out during PI planning sessions. Detailed feature tests are worked through at the start of each sprint during sprint planning activities. In my role as the UX lead I've been planning out test activities and research plans working closely together with a cross-functional team of designers, developers, PO, BA and scrum.
Research activities to date
Consolidated app feedback and research
Activity: Knowledge review
Date: May 2019
Involvement: UX Lead
Concept test
Activity: 1:1 prototype test
Date: Jul 2019
Participants: 12
Involvement: UX Support
Alpha test
Activity: 1:1 prototype test
Date: Sep 2019
Participants: 12
Involvement: UX Support
Guerrilla test (in the streets around the Docklands)
Activity: 1:1 prototype test
Date: Oct 2019
Participants: 12
Involvement: UX Lead
BOM app icon uplift
Activity: survey
Date: Dec 2019
Participants: 231
Involvement: UX Support
Closed BETA test
Activity: BETA app (test environment)
Date: Mar-Apr 2020
Participants: 1944 BOMideas, 1408 existing app users, 394 Bureau staff
Involvement: UX Support
Marine test 1
Activity: First click test
Date: Jun 2020
Participants: 108
Involvement: UX Lead
Marine test 2
Activity: First click test
Date: Aug 2020
Participants: 108
Involvement: UX Lead
Radar display test
Activity: Survey
Date: Sep 2020
Participants: 282 BETA testers, 569 FB participants
Involvement: UX Lead
Documentation: Report
Marine test 3
Activity: 1:1 prototype test
Date: Oct 2020
Participants: 12
Involvement: UX Lead
Documentation: Prototype link
Notifications and new features test
Activity: 1:1 prototype test
Date: Jun 2021
Participants: 10
Involvement: UX Lead
Documentation: Prototype link
