Tuesday 19th May
Monday was the last of the cool days with a maximum of only 13.8C at 15.02 due to variable cloud cover and a brisk southwesterly breeze. This high was 3.5C below average and hopefully the last of the below average maximum temperatures for the next few days. Cloud began to build late afternoon ahead of the approaching weather front, with a few spots of rain observed at 18.20 but it wasn’t until just before midnight that rain showers began to produce modest amounts that totalled 6.8mm by 08.00. The thick overnight cloud meant a mild night with a minimum of 9.8C at 22.08 before the temperature began to slowly rise to reach 12.1C at 08.00 on Tuesday.
Tuesday arrived with total cloud cover from the back edge of the weather front, however, by 08.00 the cloud was indicating signs of thinning and a little brightness occasionally showing through. The temperature of 12.1C was the second warmest start to the day since the 1st when we had the previous warm spell.
We are now under an Atlantic weather pattern with depressions to the west that will throw weather fronts across the country today before a large area of high pressure arrives over the Continent that from Wednesday will begin to push the weather fronts away. By Thursday, air circulating around the western edge of the anticyclone will usher in a flow of air from the south that will result in temperatures beginning to rise significantly that by the weekend are likely to be well above average by day and night.
Part 2 of the Met Office article on refreshing their app.
Developing and updating a popular digital product
As we looked to update an app with millions of users, we knew this would be a complex task, and needed to be led by users.
The best way of doing this was through working with people and iteratively implementing changes based on feedback.
This meant testing with users and launching with something that is referred to as a Minimum Viable Product. This included core functions, acted as a conduit for further feedback from real users and allowed improvements to be rolled out on a priority basis based on feedback.
This approach ensures money and resources are spent wisely, working on the features users actually want and use.
For the Met Office app, this process of launching with a Minimum Viable Product involved the following stages:
Extensive private and beta testing ahead of launch
Iterative improvements based on this testing ahead of launch
– Gradually introducing the refreshed app in phases
– Collecting quantitative and qualitative feedback through user testing and reviews
– Prioritising changes based on what users told us mattered most
– Iterative and ongoing updates to the app in line with feedback
This approach to the refreshed app enabled us to adapt quickly, fix issues faster and avoid spending time and money developing features that our users didn’t want.