Acclimatize.me Case Study - Silvia Maggi Design

The Problem

It’s one thing to know what the weather is like in your travel destination, and it’s quite another thing to be prepared for temperature or altitude changes so that you stay fit and healthy during the trip.

How can you design a product that helps travellers prepare and acclimatize fast for their trip so they don’t miss a minute of fun?

End users

Travellers who want to be able to enjoy their trips in full.

Job story

When I travel I want to know how to dress and what to expect so I can enjoy my stay from start to finish.

Proto-persona

Acclimatize.me case study – Jill — Jill Eckart

Jill, 39, teacher, married, no children.

Jill and her husband enjoy travelling so much they often plan weekends away. Whether it is to ski or to relax on a beach, Jill worries their trips will be ruined if they don’t know enough about their destination. It already happened a few times.

She is used to spending time researching a destination, but it feels like only local people are prepared for certain types of weather and events. As her job keeps her increasingly busy, Jill would love to find a smart way to stay in the know.

Goal

Jill’s goal is to acclimatize rapidly to her destination and be prepared for any changes so that she can enjoy her trip from start to finish.

Behaviour

Jill is tech-savvy. She always makes time to read books and to travel with her husband. Jill is fascinated with other cultures and loves to learn as much as she can about them. That’s why she treasures her trips and the local people she meets. She keeps in touch with a few of them.

⚠️ In a real-life project, personae should be based on more people to understand their pain points and needs.

Desired Outcomes

If there were a solution that can help her, the following table lists the outcomes Jill would like to have.

Outcome
Know what to wear
Be prepared for changes to weather
Ability to ask locals
Ability to ask other travellers
Know how it feels (based on humidity, wind)
Information is easy to find
Solution is easy to set up
Solution is easy to use
Solution has strong privacy options

The importance of each outcome is rated on a scale of 1-10.

Outcome	Importance
Know what to wear	10
Be prepared for changes to weather	10
Ability to ask locals	10
Ability to ask other travellers	10
Know how it feels (based on humidity, wind)	9
Information is easy to find	8
Solution has strong privacy options	8
Solution is easy to set up	8
Solution is easy to use	8

The current satisfaction with an existing is rated on a scale of 1-10.
Jill is currently using weather apps, Tripadvisor and Yelp to get the information she needs for her travels.

Outcome	Importance	Current satisfaction
Know what to wear	10	2
Be prepared for changes to weather	10	3
Ability to ask locals	10	3
Ability to ask other travellers	10	3
Know how it feels (based on humidity, wind)	9	4
Information is easy to find	8	5
Solution has strong privacy options	8	4
Solution is easy to set up	8	8
Solution is easy to use	8	8

Importance – Current satisfaction = Design Opportunity

Outcome	Design Opportunity
Know what to wear	8
Be prepared for changes to weather	8
Ability to ask locals	7
Ability to ask other travellers	7
Know how it feels (based on humidity, wind)	5
Information is easy to find	4
Solution has strong privacy options	4
Solution is easy to set up	0
Solution is easy to use	0

In bold are the outcomes our design solution should strive to achieve. Because they have a higher score, they hae the potential to outperform current solutions.

The outcomes that are highly important but are already satisfied are baseline outcomes that users would expect to find in our solution.

⚠️ The importance score and current satisfaction scores are okay for quick brainstorming purposes. User data or evidence gathered from the field are better tools to avoid assumptions in the design process.

Design Solutions – Brainstorm

🌤 Give users information about a destination’s weather and general conditions based on their travel dates.
ℹ️ Users can see FAQs about a destination.
👥 Users can ask questions on the forums. Both locals and travellers can share their experiences and advice.
‼️ Users can set up alerts to know about weather changes and local authorities notifications.
📆 Users can set travel dates, where they’re staying, and their intended activities. They can choose what to make visible to others (friends, travel companions, and other users within the app).