What WeatherSA could have done right
Weather SA is promoing it's new and "contemporary" website. Twitter has been a-filled with comments about exactly how badly the new website has been executed (maimed, murder, or vomitted would be equally applicable). A friend mailed them with some very terse comments, and of course they got defensive, believing the lie they had created for themselves that "We hv jst creat'd and AWESOME website!!!11!!!1".
It is hard not to be terse. It is hard to be constructive in your criticism. It is like when someone shows you their 'best' work, and all you can think about is how badly suited they are for the job they are doing. You don't think they are an idiot, you just think they should stick to what they know.
So, lets start with that: Weather SA, you know WEATHER not Web Development|Design. You have done something wrong when acknowledged experts (I am not claiming to be one, but have a look through the twitter search and you will notice some well known names) in the field cannot hide their contempt and cannot be constructive in their criticism because, well, you have given them NOTHING to be positive about. Equipped with the technology and tools of today you have created a website that people in the 90s could only dream about. Where did they go wrong: Everywhere.
How would I have done it, if I had been in charge?
- Focus on how to improve the current site layout:
- Use focus groups and use cases to improve the 90% of the site that people use on a daily basis
- Simplify and improve navigation, minimise the breadth and depth of the navigation, and develop focus areas
- Work hard on a version that is simple and easy to use on a mobile phone
- Hire a KICK ASS web designer to work on a clean, beautiful, functional layout that degrades gracefully for blind, mobile and low-res users
- Weather SA has lots of relevant, interesting data, so focus on getting it out there. I would:
- Build solid, customizable, RSS, JSON, XML, etc. feeds of well structured, usable, relevant data
- Build a RESTful API for interacting with the data and services of WeatherSA, using a key based access mechanism to limit access based on license agreements and limit load on servers
- Investigate data licensing (Like, I dunno, the CC's BY-NC-SA) to encourage the tinkerers and interested parties to dissect and innovate with the data, without comprimising revenue streams from commercial outfits like SABC, 24, etc.
I think that is about it. The rest would fall into place because the guiding philosphy is sound. It is based on thinking forward and acting in the communities interest. It would hopefully lead to limited whizz-bang (the new site is all about the perceived whizz-bang). The beta site is a degradation from what was a mediocre/average website. The new site limits and/or prevents access to mobile, visually impared, browsers on low resolution and high resolution screens. It angers me that a resourced entity like Weather SA has ignored the expertise in the country and decided that going in-house on this one was the best approach. There are a couple of easily discovered/consulted eminent web thinkers in SA who could have catapulted the web interface into the future.
Instead we have yet another "retro" site in the SA web space that hurts the eyes of on-lookers, and probably violates access to information rights provisioned in the constitution. I wish people could be arguing about how they approached the problem of X or Y, instead of impairing people from being able to suggest improvements, because the previous iteration of the site is an improvement. I would love to hear your thoughts! Am I being overly critical, and a doos? Lets start a discussion with Weather SA, and see if we can get them to change direction!
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OK, so I'm not a 'known' programmer, but I LOVE this new site. Fast, storm monitoring, lightning maps, amazing rainfall and fog maps that show you all you need to see, auto-login (at last!), homepage thingy ('view' button or something), much improved tables (wasn't good at start of last week though), and a few things I forget now.
It looks like a technical marvel to me. I was heavily involved with a Steve Jobs project 10 years ago that involved a backend graphics system for creating maps like this - I suspect that most of their attention has been focused there.
The programmer(s) interact with users (metzone menu item) very very fast, and have made a load of changes in the last week. I've NEVER seen that before (and I'm a 40yo programmer! With some large sites under my belt.) Personally I doubt very much that this is an "internal" project - or they have hired new blood.
I was surprised at the lack of .NET, but each to his own, and they have got down to a tight script (around 80kb per page load incl map: they claimed, I checked).
This is clearly designed for users, and clearly intended to improve their image (nee Weer Bureau). OK, so they've had to make some changes in usability, but so what? How many of us so-called professionals got it right first time? And how many of us made changes when users asked?
I wish they would publish some stats on users as I suspect that most of SA uses the site, but only a handful have complained - despite being auto-logged in to the php forum (hey, I use php for my clients! It's strong, and saves them money). I did once see that the old site was SA's second-highest trafficed site after News24 (counting SA sites only - ie not google). But that was some time back.
Assuming the tone of your blog is actually supportive, here's my 2c:
Things they still need to fix (and they say they are working on them):
- screen estate use (I have a huge screen)
- better mobile phone support (works on my HTC Touch nicely)
- data is still inconsistent (they claim to be switching systems)
Let's hear some more positive comments! Why do we SA's have to tear EVERYTHING down? Then we conveniently forget our original positions when things all work out later (Selebi's disgrace, Mbeki's ousting, forex control, road infrastructure failure, to name but a recent few).
They may have accomplished some wonderful technical feats, and I sure they high fived each other a lot over the mapping tool (which, lets be honest, is one image map, tech built into html since forever). Getting over technical problems doesn't make a good solution. The website looks like it was built by developers.
When there is only one comprehensive weather supplier in South Africa (aka weather sa), you cannot cite the number of hits on their site as proof they are doing a good job.
I don't think weatherSA got it nearly right, and I don't think they are a few iterations away from a solid site. I think they got it completely wrong. I think the site is over-burdened with tech feats. Because they don't actually have competition they don't have the pressure to actually compete in the marketplace. Everyone has patted themselves on the back and said 'job well done'.
South African web development is mediocre. This is another site that is testament to our mediocrity.
You may be interested to note that this act exists: South African Weather Services Act, No.8 of 2001
It impacts quite heavily on your second point for improvement, relating to the free distribution of the data SAWS collects. See Section 26 of the act. The way I read it, you'd need the Chief Director's written permission for every RSS feed published.
I think, taken to the extreme, that would mean that, but that "in writing" could be a blanket permission for data distributed in the manner I mentioned, and licensed in the manner I described. Although, this is South Africa and I am sure the CEO would have to fax a signed note with your web address in it, were you to re-distribute it.
Section 4 probably also has some impact (wrt to public good services, and maybe unrestricted international exchange, and (2)(a) would imply that they could create agreements with consumers of data to achieve (1)(a)):
We at http://www.weather.co.za currently use the data from weathersa.co.za and try to give a much more pleasant (read:easier) to use user experience. As we're stuggling with their data feed (VERY unreliable) we're thinking of switching sides to another data supplier... We'll see if we succeed in doing so but we hope that many users will switch over to weather.co.za ;)
I have sent the following letter to SA weather:
I cannot believe that you have created a site where you have to supply a manual on how to work it!!!!
This is terrible!
This NOT how one designs a webiste!! It is supposed to be EASY and IMMEDIATE and INTUITIVE to navigate - WITHOUT long written instructions. This is ANTI-webdesign. It is oxwagon stuff, pretending to be "modern".
If you have to accompany your site with a letter where you already have to pre-empt the user's hate - then you are living in a designer's delusion.
I hate EVERYTHING about this site.
The type in pertinent places is small and unclear - white type over a busy, pale background. It has too many spells and bells - which, to top it all, YOU HAVE TO EXPLAIN in a letter that I have to print out to match the puzzles!
As a consultant I was once requested to evaluate such a site - it was the old www.kalahari.net - which no-one ever saw, thank goodness. My evaluation was to scrap the ENTIRE thing and to get another team and a totally different design. Don’t even try to patch it up!They did it, and look where's kalahari.net today."
Please, simply bring back the old site. I just want to see if it is going to rain - I am going to get an epileptic fit amidst all of those flickers.
It is impossible to figure out - or put it this way, why must I read a letter explaining me where to put my marker, sounding like this: "when u have opened the 7th page you'll see in the left hand corner a little spade, not the red one, the green one, dig for the weather report, click again, get the can opener in the middle, then a little man from mars will arrive in the right hand corner, but don't click on that, try 7 D, well 7d stands for..."
Are they mad? how must you follow these instructions?
Print the letter out and sit with it next to your screen and try to fit the puzzles?
It like a two year old's toy that rings and crows and barks and flashes and gives you everything but the weather report. It is totally useles for the information we are trying to get.
I loved the old site - good clear fast info!
ANNELIE
Jeepers - I used the old weathersa site a lot - I go to the new site and after 10 seconds close my browser in frustration!! And, I'm a patient person.
Web design aside, not everyone is comfortable reading maps - for instance, what about a simple list of places with a summary of current and forecasted weather data. simple.
OK, they tried, the cocked it up and now we should give them pointers to get it right. The original post was accurate in many respects. As a programmer, I can see many cool things there, but man, does it get in the way of my needs, like proper storm and cloud tracking. The current "cloud shadowing" is pathetic and so inaccurate. The storm tracking is a joke, just revert to the old radar map and overlay the radar data on the new map - then it will work, etc.
But nou ja, this is SA, expect to see the mediocrity to creep into our lives every day/
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