Pollka Snow - A Comprehensive Ski Resort Information App providing integrated, real-time ski resort data and community-driven insights.
5 Developers
1 Product manager
User research
Design system designer
Overview
After identifying a gap in the ski product market, our founder approached us with the idea of developing a product to benefit the ski community. Through extensive user research and competitive analysis, and after confirming the technical feasibility with our founder and engineers, we decided to create a community-based, real-time ski resort information app. This app leverages critical information from Twitter to ensure a rich content base from the outset. It encourages user engagement by rewarding them for sharing updates and simplifies the process of reporting real-time conditions at ski resorts. Our innovative approach to collecting and visualizing real-time data provides users with a reliable platform and channel for staying informed about ski resort conditions.
My impact
Lead designer team to conceptualize, design, and develop a real-time community-based snow resort information app.
Leadership: Led the design direction and implementation, ensuring a cohesive and intuitive user experience.
Time Management: Effectively managed design tasks and project milestones, ensuring on-time completion and optimal use of resources.
Client Communication: Acted as the point of contact for the client, gathering requirements, providing regular updates, and addressing feedbackShowcased prototypes and finalized designs to the client, ensuring that deliverables met expectations and objectives.
Context
Learning from Skiers Without Hitting the Slopes
This project emerged from a group of ski enthusiasts' desire to create an app that enhances the skiing experience. As someone who has never skied, I faced the initial challenge of deeply understanding the sport's nuances. To overcome this, I engaged in extensive conversations with skiers, clients, and industry experts. This process allowed me to immerse myself in the skiing community, identify its challenges, and incorporate a wide range of insights into the development. My lack of skiing experience became an advantage, driving me to approach the project with curiosity and a commitment to understanding user needs from the ground up.
Understanding the users
Skiing is considered a sport with a strong community aspect
Ski communities are often passionate and welcoming, bringing together individuals who share a love for the sport and the mountain lifestyle. These communities are formed around ski resorts, clubs, online forums, and social media groups, where members share tips, experiences, organize meet-ups, and support each other in improving their skills. The communal experience is a significant part of skiing culture, encompassing both the excitement of the sport and the social interactions off the slopes.
Online survey
Skiers struggle to find reliable weather updates and build stronger community connections for better experiences
After reaching out on a popular Chinese social media platform, we gathered insights from 84 skiers about their skiing challenges. The primary issue highlighted was wasting time planning with different apps but still getting caught in bad weather, depending on updates from resorts or group chats, and the hassle of finding a good ski instructor or carpool buddies. These responses underscore the need for more streamlined planning resources and better networking opportunities within the skiing community.
Qualitative Interviews
1. Weather and Real-time Resort Updates is the key information
"I don't have any specific plans or challenges, except for the weather. Heavy snowfall can lead to VERY BAD traffic disruptions, or even resort closures."
- Xiao, Advanced enthusiast based in Seattle, ski 100 days/year
2. Skiers frequently switch between platforms, leading to a disjointed user experience
For weather information, I use OpenSnow, which provides snowfall forecasts. As for ski resorts, I check their official websites, and I will search on Twitter for any updates or changes.
- Lucas, Intermediate based in Boston, 4 days/month during ski season
3. The social aspect of skiing requires skill-matching
"It's challenging to find friends with similar skill levels to go with"
- Heman, CASI level 2 ski instructor based in Vancouver
Founder interview
Prioritizing Practicality: Resort information with limited social aspect
Our user research highlighted two main desires:
1. A unified platform presenting all ski resort information.
2. A community hub for sharing experiences, connecting skiers, and finding instructors.
While the community aspect was tempting, it posed challenges when involving trading: vetting instructor qualifications, ensuring user safety and handling potential financial scams. Given our short timeframe for a pre-snow season launch, we needed to be strategic.
After engaging with stakeholders, especially the founder, we chose to center our solution around a comprehensive ski resort information platform. Blend the best of static data with dynamic user insights, addressing immediate needs while paving the way for future additions.
User persona
Meet Beth and John, Distinct Yet Interdependent Skiers
Market Analysis
Lack of active user engagement and limited user-generated content
To understand what features were missing in the market, we compared different ski apps and found a common issue: while these apps had plenty of basic information, they were lacking in real-time updates from users. Even though you can find basic details about ski resorts almost anywhere online, what really makes an app stand out is its ability to let users share their own experiences and tips in real time, making the information more useful and up-to-date.
Resort Condition
- Many locations lacked up-to-date information or missing information on lots of resorts
- Inaccurate information in terms of weather condition
- Limited access to information when users were offline
- Lack of user participation terms of ratings and reviews
- Poor design, such as maps that were challenging to read and navigate.
Community and Social
- Lack of active user engagement and limited user-generated content
- Difficulty in finding relevant connections(as for SkiLynx)
- Insufficient moderation and management: Without proper moderation and management of user-generated content, there may be issues with spam, irrelevant posts, or inappropriate behavior within the community,
The Goal
Ensuring a user-friendly app that combines resort info with real-time contributions for a better experience.
1. User Contribution Incentives: Create a system to encourage users to contribute more content, ensuring a steady flow of real-time updates and fresh experiences.
2. Balanced Integration: Design an intuitive interface where static data and user-generated content coexist harmoniously, offering users a comprehensive view without overwhelming them.
3. Attractive & User-Centric Design: Deliver an appealing design that not only attracts users but also ensures easy navigation, fostering prolonged engagement and a seamless user journey.
Ideation
Opting for Simplicity for the MVP Product
We developed two distinct sets of wireframes to enhance user engagement and provide real-time updates for trip planning.
The first set encourages user involvement by allowing travelers to create detailed plan for their trip and contribute feedback, such as traffic conditions, at any stage of their journey.
The second set simplifies user interaction by automatically sourcing live updates from social media mentions for each resort. A sticky button on the bottom right enables quick sharing.
After careful consideration, we decided to proceed with the second set for our Minimum Viable Product (MVP). This decision was based on its simplicity and direct approach, which we believe is more suitable for the initial launch. We were concerned that the first set might require too much user action, potentially leading to lower engagement rates among new users. Additionally, the second set's method of integrating social media updates allows for a dynamic content feed without the need for constant user input, making it easier to scale and maintain. This approach also reduces the development complexity and resource requirements, allowing us to bring the MVP to market more efficiently.
Refining the design
Update #1: Adding Regional News Updates to Homepage for Immediate Information Access
In the initial design of our homepage, we provided users with two primary views: a map and a list of all the resorts. However, usability testing revealed a significant pain point. Users expressed frustration over the cumbersome process of accessing live updates for resorts not added to their plan. To view these updates, they had to navigate to the resort's detail page and manually scroll through the content, which was time-consuming and not user-friendly.
Responding to this feedback, we recognized the necessity for a more accessible way for users to stay informed about the latest news in their area of interest. As a result, we introduced a third option on the homepage: a dedicated section for viewing news related to the area currently being explored. This addition aims to streamline the user experience by providing immediate access to relevant updates, making it easier for users to make informed decisions about their travel plans.
Update #2: Simplified Check-In Feedback with Visual Insights
We updated the check-in feature on the resort detail pages within the "My Trip" page. Moving away from traditional text input, we introduced a guided feedback system with selectable options and sliders. This change aims to make feedback submission effortless and text-free.
Key advantages of this update include:
Easier Feedback Submission: Users can now provide feedback through a simple selection process, eliminating the need for typing.
Consistent and Structured Data: The new method standardizes feedback, allowing for uniform data collection.
Visual Feedback Representation: Feedback is automatically converted into a bar chart on the resort's detail page, offering instant visual insights to other users.
Improved Decision Making: Potential visitors can quickly understand the resort's ratings and experiences, facilitating more informed choices.
Update #3: Introducing the Polka Passport Rewards System
We designed a rewards system to further incentivize user contributions. Whenever users successfully check in at a resort and share an update, they'll earn a stamp in their Polka Passport, accessible via their profile. This passport not only tracks the number of visits to resorts but also the diversity of resorts visited, and visually mapping out their journeys.We also planning on incorporating a rewards loyalty gift. By accumulating stamps, users can upgrade their Polka Passport, qualifying for receiving rewards like real tickets/stamps, which serve as a physical memento of their adventures.
Final Designs
Key frames
Looking ahead
Future Prospects
Partnerships with Ski Resorts: For exclusive deals, offers, and more in-depth data sharing.
Integrated Booking System: Allow users to book ski passes, accommodation, and other amenities directly from the app.
Measuring Success and Planning for the Growth
User Engagement Metrics: Track how users interact with the features, such as the rewards system or personalized recommendations, to understand what drives engagement and retention.
Feedback and Contribution Patterns:: Monitor the quantity and quality of user contributions after implementing the rewards system to assess its effectiveness in encouraging community participation.
