User Needs and Benchmarking
Voice of the Customer Benchmarking
The team chose to begin figuring out what needs the product would require to be successful by studying multiple other commercial products, and exhaustively noting their pros and cons. With this knowledge written out, it would make the process of creating and organizing the user needs of this project significantly easier. The format was created to organize the data in as digestible way as possible.
Search 1
Keywords Used: Portable weather station
Link: https://www.amazon.com/sainlogic-Wireless-Forecast-Temperature-Pressure/dp/B08G1FZZ5M/
Figure 1: Portable Weather Station
Title: sainlogic Wireless Weather Station with Outdoor Sensor, 8-in-1 Weather Station with Weather Forecast, Temperature, Air Pressure, Humidity, Wind Gauge, Rain Gauge, Moon Phase, Alarm Clock (No WiFi)
Price: $129.99
Vendor: Sainlogic
Description:
Easily call up information on temperature, humidity, etc. The reception range of the device has been improved which means the measurements of sainlogic weather station are more accurate. The wireless weather station with rain gauge and wind speed measures indoor/outdoor temperature and humidity, wind speed/direction, air pressure. Experience the convenience of your personal home weather station.
Positive Comments:
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| Mounting of the unit and set up was very straightforward. The outdoor unit is all one piece so you just have to attach it to the pole and mount it to something. The indoor unit connected to it very quickly. Setting up the indoor unit was quick and intuitive though I did read the instructions as I was doing it. It's been up and running for about 6 weeks and so far so good. | The customer needs something that is easy to use. |
| The customer needs a product that is easy to set up | |
| The customer needs a product that is intuitive and easy to use. |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| There are a great number of weather stations on the market that provide a varying range of data. Finding one that targets what you need can be daunting if not exhausting by the time you do all the research. I depend on solar panels to power my home and needed a unit that, along with the basic weather data, could provide sun radiation readings to compare to the panel array performance. My aim was to find something easy to operate but still provide key weather data that was reliable, consistent and affordable. After researching the available units I purchased the Sainlogic 089. Keep in mind that any weather station won’t stand a chance of providing accurate data if you don’t follow the instructions. The user manual provided sufficient details (and pictures) to make the installation easy. We were up and running with a connection to an online weather channel within an hour. | The customer needs a weather station that is targeted to their specific needs. |
| The customer needs a weather station with a variety of weather sensing capabilities. | |
| The customer needs something that is easy to operate but without the cost of providing accurate data. |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| Installation was easy, and the mounting bracket, arm, and base give you lots of options for horizontal or vertical, on either a flat surface or on a pole. Since we had the last on up high on a pole above the fence, we did the same thing here is it worked out very easily. | The customer needs something that is easy to use. |
| The customer needs a product that is versatile with lots of customizable options for different mounting situations. | |
| The customer needs a product that is easy to set up. |
Negative Comments:
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| This weather station features wind speed and direction, rain gauge, temperature, and humidity on the outdoor sensor; and temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure on the indoor display. Overall it’s pretty accurate though the temperature does seem to go off a little bit in bright sun but not as much as some other weather stations I've had. The rain and wind are probably the most accurate I've had. I have it set up for 24 hour rainfall readings. It seems as though it just resets at midnight rather than doing a rolling 24 hours which makes it a little less useful. | The customer needs a more accurate temperature sensor. |
| The customer needs a smaller reset window for more constant data. | |
| The customer needs more reliable data from the other sensors. |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| The setup on this product was fairly straightforward. Didn't have any problems there. What I've found is that the outdoor temperature is fairly accurate down to about freezing temperatures. Then it starts to diverge. By the time the temperature is in the teens, it measures 4 degrees warmer than it really is. The reason I know this is that I have two other already proven sensors strapped to the pole of the sainlogic and have observed consistent data supporting this conclusion. Because it doesn't measure 4 degrees difference across all temperatures, I can't add an calibration factor that the device allows. That is a nice feature by the way, but not useful in this case. | The customer needs a product that works in colder environments. |
| The customer needs more accurate sensors. | |
| The customer explicitly states that they need a calibration mode to fix these offsets. |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| The other big complaint I have is that the anemometer stops working with accumulating snow. Yesterday we only received 2 inches of snow and it prevented it from working. The direction still works because that is not obstructed by accumulating snow, but the gust and average speed does not work until the snow melts. This is a poor mechanical design. I've owned other weather stations in this same home and they do not have this problem. | The customer needs a product that takes into account snowfall. |
| The customer needs a product that is able to work even when it becomes damp due to snowfall. | |
| The customer needs a product that has an overall better design that takes into account other weather anomalies. |
Search 2
Keywords Used: weather sensors
Figure 2: Wind Cup Anemometer Handheld
Title: Wind Cup Anemometer Handheld, AP-876 Pocket Anemometer with 360° Wind Sensor Air Speed Meter for Measuring Air Speed Temp Air Volume for HVAC Vents Boat Sailing Shooting
Price: $35.99
Vendor: AOPUTTRIVER
Description: The newest Anemometer design with Independent of wind direction thanks to horizontally rotating wind turbine shells. The device does not have to be turned in the direct wind direction. （NOTE:Turn only 1 quarter to left to get the battery open, and sometime you need Tap the battery cover to open it (…)
Positive Comments:
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| Simple. Straightforward. Clearly presents the info I wanted to get wind readings from my porch. It's a fave. One caveat re "easy to use" was difficulty seating the battery. Sent the first one back because three people tried to seat the battery, and none of us could figure it out. Thought something must have broken. When replacement had same problem, I kept at it until I finally worked it out. You actually have to pull the clip back toward you, insert the battery, then push the clip back into place. Simple enough, but goes against all my experience (and that of my friends). | The product is simple and easy to use for the user to manage. (explicit) |
| The product is unique in its approach. (Note: This can be seen as a bad thing.) (latent) | |
| The product has extensive customer support and ease at replacing potentially faulty products. (explicit) |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| great design that just needs to be held vertical in any direction, so you don't need to know exactly where the wind is coming from like other fan windmeters to get an accurate reading, has average and high wind readings, seams reasonably well constructed, the windmeter is a little larger than most other windmeters I have owned but the design is worth it. | The product doesn’t require fiddling to get it to work as it’s meant to. (explicit) |
| The product is well–constructed. (explicit) | |
| The product’s design is good for the consumer to use. (latent) |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| Works very well, and has a higher max speed than most others! Was able to test and get pretty accurate readings. It seems like it might be a bit fragile, time will tell. So far no problems with reliability. would be nice if it was back lit. | The product is better at certain things than its competition. (latent) |
| The product is reliable. (latent) | |
| Based on the lack of an update, the product is hardy enough to be used extensively. (explicit) |
Negative Comments:
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| The display worked OK, but the turbine stuck and turned very slow or not at all. We will see if the replacement works. Had to bend the contact up to make good contact with the flat lipo battery, Hard to load the battery. Replacement works fine. The new unit was wrapped in a sealed heavy plastic bag. Defective unit had no protective bag. Maybe it was a retured product. | The product was faulty upon being given to the consumer, meaning poor quality control. (explicit) |
| The product is hard to recharge battery-wise. (explicit) | |
| There may be issues with the product’s design with regards to the turbine. (explicit) |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| Within a day of use the battery symbol started to flash. Turned off then turned back on again, battery symbol was steady on, but display was not bright. Compared to my Kestrel, the wind value read was half of what the Kestrel reported. It was hard to read the numbers in the shade. Within 6 hours of use the unit died. | The product has a low battery life. (explicit) |
| The display isn’t particularly bright. (explicit) | |
| The product isn’t on-par with other competitive products. (latent) |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| It seems work ok, i havnt cimpared it to others so i cant say better or worse then others. I like the design of the blades but i was hoping for measurments in cfms and it does not. Gives mph and like metric system. | The product doesn’t output measurements in other units. (explicit) |
| The product is ultimately a bit mediocre, and isn’t out of this world. (latent) | |
| The design of the mechanics of the product is good, but the software is less good. (explicit) |
Search 3
Keywords Used: Portable weather station
Figure 3: Portable weather station
Title: AcuRite Notos (3-in-1) Weather Station with Wind, Temperature, and Humidity (00638A3), Black and Metal
Price: $89.23
Vendor: AcuRite
Description:
Patented Self-Calibrating Forecasting pulls data from a sensor in your backyard to give you the most accurate forecast for your exact location Atomic clock updates time for consistent accuracy and no manual setting ever for DST. Easy-to-read LCD display. Durable, weather-resistant construction. Strong signal penetration (enhanced 433 MHz)
Positive Comments:
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| I learned that you could spend a lot of money for one for a serious weather hobbyist, and probably get complexity that isn't wanted or needed. This little unit is GOOD, for a beginner who might want to move up later, and for someone who just wants to see a solid, basic weather system that gives a good introduction to reading the weather right at home. The receiving unit is well made, easy to read, and has buttons big enough for our arthritic old fingers. The manual is complete and easy to understand. Installation is quick and not complicated. I installed where my wife wanted it, wondering if it might suffer from electrical interference, and saw good steady readings on the meter that agreed with our other indoor/outdoor thermometers. The wind and pressure readings are fine, with the understanding that this old man is not about to place it high enough to escape wind interferences of our houses, or replace batteries when needed. | The customer needs a product that is easy to use (Latent) |
| The customer needs a well designed product in terms of build quality and aesthetics. (Latent) | |
| The customer needs a device that is easy to set up and provides less hassle. (Latent) |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| Bought as a unique gift for my science-loving, techie husband. Installed on the garage roof. Easy to set up the monitor. Very accurate. We took it down when we rebuilt the garage. I missed having it!Be sure to install in an open area where wind and weather pass by the sensor. Accuracy depends on correct sensor installation. | Customer needs a product that is easy to use (Latent) |
| The Customer needs a product that is accurate when reading data. (Latent) | |
| The customer needs a product that is able to work in multiple areas to minimize accuracy. (Latent) |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| I have had one for a few years and love it. I bought this one as a gift for my son-in-law. He loves it. The forecasting works great. He lives where it gets down to -40 and it still works. Just make sure you use lithium batteries for the outside unit. I gave it 4 stars because the display unit is not backlit. However it works so well that I would buy it again regardless. | The Customer needs a product that has good battery life (Latent) |
| Customer needs a display with a back light. (Explicit) | |
| The customer needs a device that is able to forecast weather. (Latent) |
Negative Comments:
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| Very nice weather station for the money. Wind chill functions automatically when there is enough wind to change the “feels like” temperature, otherwise, the station displays “dew point” in that space. It took me awhile to figure that out. The manual does not tell you that. Also, I wish the “History” graphs were scalable. We don’t always have 75 mph winds. So, the graph mostly rests on the bottom. Not very useful. It would be nice to be able to scale this at will. Must downgrade by one star for the lack of explanation in the manual and lack of scalability in the weather history. Otherwise, I would buy this again and would recommend it to someone looking for a good value. | User needs more clear instructions (Latent) |
| User needs scalable History graphs (Explicit) | |
| User needs a product that can be calibrated to their specific needs (Explicit) |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| On a very windy day with speeds of at least 30kph, the wind indicator only showed 13 kph. so it does not appear accurate. Thus far, I am happy with the other features & I particularly like the atomic clock. My other complaint is that at about $125,00, it is expensive compared to other makes. I chose it, because it does not need to be plugged in to have a clear display & I couldn't find another that had everything that this weather station has. I have only had it for two weeks so cannot state how durable it will be. My previous LaCrosse lasted for many years & I only had to change the batteries 2 or 3 times. | User needs more accurate sensors (Explicit) |
| User needs a more affordable outlet (Explicit) | |
| User needs a product that is power efficient in terms of battery power. (Latent) |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| air weather station, but for a little more you can get a much more of an updated weather station with a full color-screen and more instruments/detectors. Semi-accurate, easy to set up, and easy to read, note; it does not have a backlit screen. | The customer needs a more versatile product with more attributes and sensors. (Latent) |
| The customer needs a colored screen for ease of visibility. (Latent) | |
| The customer needs much more accurate sensors. (Latent) |
Search 4
Keywords Used: Portable Weather Station
Figure 4: Portable Weather Station
Title: Ambient Weather WS-5000 Ultrasonic Smart Weather Station
Price: $449.99
Vendor: Amazon
Description: Complete weather station with no moving parts. Comes with an Ultrasonic sensor array, Rain Cup, Indoor/Outdoor Thermo-Hygrometer-barometer, and Full Color LCD Display. It has wifi capabilities for easy data transfer. IT can even connect to a social network with other users of the product so you can share data with one another.
Positive Comments:
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| Easy to setup and install. Works great 😊 and seems to be very accurate on everything. I really like it and would recommend it to anyone looking to purchase a very good weather station. | Accessibility is a big plus |
| Accuracy matters | |
| Ease of Use |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| This weather station is just awesome. I was upgrading from an old Oregon Scientific (10+ years old) where the sensors were giving out and replacements unavailable. This does everything well, and the range is very good as well. I have mine on my desk across the house from the windows that face the devices in our back yard. The display is bright, colorful, and has loads of info on it. Setup was pretty easy, and it actually came with a printed manual... a rarity these days! I was intrigued with the ultra-sonic wind gauge (no moving parts) and it appears to be more accurate than my old one with a traditional cup anemometer. It took me some time to figure out how to set the Absolute (Station) and Relative (Sea Level) but once I realized the indoor temp/pressure unit displayed absolute always, it was easy to make the Hg to Mb conversion and adjust the settings for ABS and REL in the display. I also got the lightning detector, but we haven't had any thunderstorms yet, so I have yet to see how it works. Totally happy with this purchase, and well worth going for the more expensive WS-5000. | Paper Manual is a plus and gives customers an easy way of troubleshooting |
| Lack of moving parts seems to be enjoyed by customers. | |
| Good range is well liked by customers |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| I got this to replace an old station that was basically the bane of my existence. This one actually works! I was able to get it hooked up to weather underground, and I haven't had any issues at all so far. I'm not looking forward to the day I need to change the batteries, but I do like that the display shows the signal strength and battery life. I wish I had just bought this one to start with. If you're going to climb up on your roof to install a weather station, get a good one. This one is a good one. That's my advice. | Although positive reviews, the dread of changing the battery shows that battery change must be tedious, which is something we want to avoid. |
| Easy roof mounting capabilities. | |
Negative Comments:
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| I had a Davis Vantage Vue that was accurate, reliable, built like a tank but the lack of being able to trend data, have any historical info didn’t exist. The very outdated console was also a big turn off. Now I’ve purchased the WS-5000. First impression was how small the components are compared to the Davis. Materials, especially ultrasonic wind and temp module seem vulnerable to bad weather events, we’ll see how they hold up over time. The not so good based on the high price of this station: No batteries included, no bird spikes included for rain cup, no battery back up for the console. Menu to set up the console proved a little frustrating as the learning curve on programming took a few minutes. Mounting: First the ultrasonic wind module has a wire for optional heating, it would be nice to be able to unplug this wire as I’m sure 98% of all purchasers won’t get this accessory. Instead you have to shove it in the mounting arm which makes it challenging to align the screw hole. I used a 10’ 1.25” aluminum pole mounted up on my shed. Hardware included was fine. So my sensor is now 18’ above ground and in an open space. Rain sensor, it’s only designed to mount at the top of a pole, very bad design as you want your wind sensor at the top. Really don’t understand this thought process. So now I can’t use the pole I had. Getting a second pole was not something I wanted to do. So I ended up mounting this on top of my garden structure about 6’ above the ground. Included hardware was fine. Also in the manual it notes a flashing led light at top of rain sensor indicates it’s sending a signal. On my example there was no indicator light. So either I got a sensor that this was missing or they haven’t updated there manual. You’ll see below the sensor worked, but made me question the quality of what I just purchased. Hardware and mounting I would give 3 stars, certainly room for improvement in options to mount. Time will tell if the components can withstand some minor hail and 100 degree days for months on end. The missing led indicator on the rain sensor was the only flaw that I noticed.Actual use of the system. Read the entire manual, plus one that a fully printed manual was included, something that is rare in todays world. I suggest you download there app and set up your account prior to starting this whole process. Of note it was at least one hour reading the manual and configuring the initial set up of the console. Rain and wind sensors were immediately recognized by the console, make sure to install the not included AA batteries into the sensors before turning on console. The display of the WS-5000 is 30 years forward of the Davis I had. The number of adjustments and ease of navigating once set up is best in class here. Major reason I switched out stations. Nice feature is the ability to turn off display so light it puts out at night doesn’t bother anyone. Major flaw though is no battery back up so when power goes out, which it will 2-3 times a year I’ll lose data and have to set it up again. Big omission in my opinion. That costs at least one star here. App: This is the best feature. You can see today, yesterday, last week, last month, with graphs for every measurement available and there are a lot! And at least you don’t have to pay a monthly fee. Although at this price your really paying up front. Overall after couple days of use: All measurements seem as accurate as the Davis. I will say the ultrasonic wind sensor is more accurate and picks up gusts that the Davis missed being mechanical vs. ultrasonic. Console is really nice but find I’m looking at the app much more frequently, this is do to all the extra data and trending graphs available, a good thing. I’m glad I made this purchase but hesitant on the long term durability of the components. I’ll come back after a year and provide an update. The only major flaw is the battery back up for the console, I knew before purchase this was the design. My only purpose in switching out was the ability to trend data and view status using mobil devices, this was a home run with this station. It’s very pricey but worth it if you want the most accurate wind data. If that is not as important many options at half this price are available. Update: June 2023 Less than a year of use and the outdoor temp sensor went bad, downgrading the rating as for the price this is unacceptable. Also without battery backup I’ve lost valuable data during storms, the very time you want to record max rain and wind. Update: Called Ambient for warranty, rude, condescending, talked over me. Must ship back at my expense, if they determine its bad they'll send one out, sometime, no time frame. Outdoor temp sensor is one part with ultrasonic wind sensor. What a poor design. Will never purchase anything from Ambient again. | IN-depth customer complaint about unneeded clutter that comes with product despite attachment being optional |
| Menu seems complicated so non-tech savvy people might have some trouble with starting up the product. Also customer notes inaccurate manual setup, as there was no light present on the product despite manual statement. | |
| Biggest complaint is component lifespan. The device seems to be fragile and certain components might give out after extensive use even after a short amount of time. |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| So I bought this unit when moving to a new house to replace my ws-1001 that always seemed to lose contact with Wifi. Now in new house with the 5000 and its the same issue. Seems that must be using a wifi antenna module from like 2005 and still havent updated it. ITs 2023 not 2005, I shouldnt be having these wifi issues. My wifi reaches 2 houses down in both directions and there is complete full signal where the console is. This is unacceptable. Before the wifi stopped working it also stopped reporting to Weather Underground directly. had to work around it by putting in the ambient weather webpage interface. But soon after the wifi stopped connecting and will not reconnect no matter how much you restart the router or the console.Another HUGE thing is the supposedly updated aenometer. Its supposed to be more accurate but is exactly the same as the cupped version. Complete snake oil BS. Final note. I have owned several ambient weather products and all have performed poorly or almost not at all. Do not buy anything from this company. | Poor wifi capability despite product claims, using outdated wifi module which leads to poor performance. |
| Anemometer is also outdated despite product claims, overall product may have outdated components | |
| Customer claims that they had to do a web page workaround due to the device not being able to access Weather Underground directly, which is the main advertisement of the device. | |
| Customer had prior experience with competitive products. |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| Replaced a WS-1002 station with this one that I have had for 7-8 years with no issues what so ever. A month into ownership and we got our first hail storm last night that disconnected the rain sensor (resetting it reconnected it) and also disconnected the sensor array. Upon inspection the top of the solar sensor was broken and let water into the unit destroying the electronics inside. Unit will no longer power up and isnt water tight. A new unit would run me $144 if they actually had any in stock. Think Im going to bite the bullet and finally just order a Davis unit. | Device was destroyed after one hail-storm, |
| Rainsensor was also disconnected by storm | |
| Shows that we must take product durability into account, making sure components can be destroyed without sacrificing the integrity of the entire device. |
Search 5
Keywords Used: Portable Weather Station
Figure 5: Wireless Digital Personal Weather Station
Title: La Crosse Technology S82967 Wireless Digital Personal Weather Station
Price: $33.95
Vendor: Amazon
Description: Your home’s personal meteorologist is now right at your fingertips! Check your backyard temperature and humidity while getting ready for work with La Crosse Technology’s wireless color weather station. Be informed of extreme changes in the climate with its programmable temperature alerts and recorded history with time and date stamp. Audio and visual warning icons detect when the preset value is reached. Display current heat index and dew point. Features full calendar view and multi-color dynamic display and trends. Requires (included) AC adapter cord and can add 2 AA alkaline batteries for backup due to power loss. Included weather resistant wireless temperature and humidity sensor transmits over a 300 ft. range. Versatile display can stand on a table or hang on a wall and display with a 12/24 hour view. Also features an auto-dimming option to adjust the backlight settings to your desired level. Indicators will display when batteries are weak and should need to be changed.
Positive Comments:
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| I set the entire device without ever looking at the instructions. There is a hi / lo alert for indoor and outdoor, for both temp and humidity. So count 8 alerts. I wish it had a better stand for desktop vertical. It will stand up, but easily knocked over. If you stand it where it will not easily be disturbed, then it will stand just fine. There is a wall mount function. The display has dimming manually or auto dimming and the colors are very nice. It's easy to read the display from a distance. The display unit runs on a wall plug. They call the remote unit the "Outdoor", but I use it to monitor a travel trailer. The temperature updates about once per minute. If you are looking for an indoor with a single remote sensor, this is a very good choice. | The customer wished to have a better stand for the desktop vertical. |
| The customer wished to have less count alerts | |
| The customer wished that the device would be less complicated to use. |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| I really don't have any complaints about this product. My biggest pet peeve with display screens is always the limited viewing angles. But with this one it's not an issue at all. Looking left, right, down are all very good. The looking up is not as good for some reason, but that's OK. Temp accuracy is good (compared it with other devices and weather apps), humidity accuracy - no idea if accurate. It has a great feature where it auto dims at night. You need to set to what hours you want it to be dimmed. It works great. Overall, very good product. Bought when it was half off. I wouldn't spend a full price on it. It's nice, but not THAT nice! | The customer wished to have more viewing angles instead of just seeing a few. |
| The customer wished that the device was also accurate when it comes to the humidity of the weather. | |
| The customer wished that the price was cheaper to afford and buy. |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| This unit has a very large and multi-colored display. When checking it against various sources, it is generally within tolerance. I particularly like the fact that the display dims at night at a time of your choosing. The same thing with the brightness returning. When I wake up to a bright display, I know that it is past 6am. While not a laboratory quality device, it gets the job done. | The customer wished that the product was made from a quality lab device. |
| The customer is grateful that the device is within the tolerance level. | |
| The customer is grateful that the device gets the job done. |
Negative Comments:
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| Years ago, I pledged that I would not purchase another device with an LED color display. I went back on that promise with the purchase of this unit. I shouldn't have. In a normally lit room, but unit's display is too dim, even at its brightest setting. In addition, the angle of view is critical -- the unit seems to have been designed to sit on a desk or counter, where the viewer's eye is above the unit, but if you hang the unit on the wall, the digits are more difficult to read. This is especially true for the red digits (indoor temperature & humidity). This unit is okay in rooms that are less brightly lit. I have additional, more minor, complaints. The main unit's battery cover doesn't quite sit flush when closed -- the bottom of the battery cover extends a tad low. The documentation indicates that there is a "pull-out" stand to let the main unit stand up, but I couldn't find this stand. I found this unit on Amazon doing a search for atomic (self-setting) clocks, but this time-setting feature doesn't appear to be in this unit. Finally, I want to hang the unit on my wall, but there is no place on the back of the unit to do so. Well, there is a triangular recess for a screw head, but it's in the middle of the unit, and when you use this hole, and if the unit is plugged into an outlet, the unit is unbalanced, and the unit is tipped to the side a bit. One good thing -- the unit was able to read its remote sensor right away, and when I put the sensor out on the deck, it reacted to the change in temperature right away, despite being behind a few walls & doors. | The customer wished for auto brightness so they can put their weathering device wherever. |
| The customer wished that the battery lasted longer. | |
| The customer wished that there’s some kind of hook on the back of the weathering device to hang it up their wall. |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| I've had this weather station in use for four months. Already the remote sensor has required new batteries three times and just died again. I won't be replacing batteries this time. We will use the unit for internal data only. I know it isn't a costly piece of technology but it's too bad we couldn't have gotten at least a year out of it. Also, The temperature data from the remote sensor was always between five and eight degrees higher than actual temperature. | The customer wished that the batteries lasted longer for the remote sensor. |
| The customer wished that the temperature data was 100% accurate. | |
| The customer wished that the price was cheaper to afford and buy. |
| Review | Customer Needs Notes |
|---|---|
| It would be an awesome weather station if the sensor worked. Fresh batteries and hours of browsing forums for troubleshooting advice led me to the conclusion my sensor is bad. Lacrosse has terribly slow customer service. Hopefully someday the angels of their warehouse will send me a sensor so I can actually use the product I bought. But so far I've had a very non-committal email that still seems to assert the three separate packs of different manufacturer batteries all purchased new are somehow to blame for a defective unit. As I needed this device, I ended up purchasing a competing unit from vivosun that doesn't have as many features, but worked flawlessly out of the package (with the same batteries I attempted to use in this weather station). | The customer wished that the sensor worked. |
| The customer wished that the product’s customer service were much more responsive. | |
| The customer wished that the batteries lasted longer for the remote sensor. |
Process of Organizing Needs
The group made a decision to begin processing the list of needs through a shared Jamboard for ease of use to add to over the weekend, on top of during the scheduled meeting time. A few of the ideas came from cannibalizing what was found through the VOC studies, but for the most part a lot of the needs were made impromptu. These upcoming lists would be extremely vital for the design ideation process.
Drafting Needs
The group began brainstorming needs on the Jamboard, throwing concepts at the theoretical wall to see what would stick. The board would be crucial in compiling a more solid idea with regards to what the group would want to do for this project.
Figure 6: Finished Jamboard Page of User Needs
Grouping Needs
Once the set of needs was completed, the team began to group the needs in the following categories: Safety, Manufacturing, Hardware/Product Design, Customizability, Interactivity/User Experience, and Software Functionality. Note that many of the needs could have filled out multiple different sections, and it was up to the individual grouping them to discern the best one out of them.
Figure 7: Finished Jamboard Page of the Groups of Needs
Ranking Needs
As soon as the needs were sufficiently grouped in a way all group members could agree upon, the lists were further organized by ranking each need in each category in order of importance- 3 stars for the most important, 1 stars for the least important.
Figure 8: Finished Jamboard Page for Ranking Needs
Compiled List of Needs
Finally, the group began the process of judging each need by an objective rank. While it was difficult to do, both from being an objectively tedious task as well as the layers of subjectivity for each group, it was necessary in order to decipher the best course of action going forward.
Table 1: Compiled List of User Needs
| Need | Group | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| The project should be mobile. | Hardware/Product Design | 1. |
| The project should have sensors for different data collection. | Manufacturing | 2. |
| The project should be safe to handle. | Safety | 3. |
| The project should be reliable. | Hardware/Product Design | 4. |
| The project should make the user happy. | Interactivity/User Exp. | 5. |
| The project should have multiple contingency plans. | Interactivity/User Exp. | 6. |
| The project should use common household batteries. | Hardware/Product Design | 7. |
| The project should be as digital as possible. | Software/Functionality | 8. |
| Project should have a means of resetting data. | Software/Functionality | 9. |
| The project should have durable sensors. | Manufacturing | 10. |
| The project should have a means of getting data outside of wifi. | Hardware/Product Design | 11. |
| The product should have data-backup. | Safety | 12. |
| The project should follow all legal rules. | Hardware/Product Design | 13. |
| The project should be sensitive. | Manufacturing | 14. |
| The project should be safe to handle. | Safety | 15. |
| The project should have extensive storage for data collecting. | Software/Functionality | 16. |
| The project should have an anchor to stay in one place. | Customization | 17. |
| The project should use batteries for power consumption. | Hardware/Product Design | 18. |
| The project should be modular. | Customization | 19. |
| The project should be easy to get down if in the air. | Safety | 20. |
| The project should have an easy to read data display. | Interactivity/User Exp. | 21. |
| The project should be able to handle weather events. | Safety | 22. |
| The project should be simple to repair for the customer. | Manufacturing | 23. |
| The project should have a means of generating power. | Hardware/Product Design | 24. |
| The project should be simple in construction. | Manufacturing | 25. |
| The project needs to easily access Wifi. | Software/Functionality | 26. |
| The project should be as accurate and as precise as possible. | Software/Functionality | 27. |
| The project should be all-in-one. | Customization | 28. |
| The project should be easy to provide power. | Interactivity/User Exp. | 29. |
| The project should be easy to use. | Interactivity/User Exp. | 30. |
| The project should not break down after one use. | Manufacturing | 31. |
| The project should not have niche components. | Manufacturing | 32. |
| The project should be power-efficient. | Hardware/Product Design | 33. |
| The project should be easily retrievable. | Hardware/Product Design | 34. |
| The project should have easy to replace components. | Manufacturing | 35. |
| The project should have multiple ways to display data. | Customizability | 36. |
| The project should be mac-esque (complex in the back, easy in the front) | Customizability | 37. |
| The project should not get too hot. | Safety | 38. |
| The project should not be fragile. | Manufacturing | 39. |
| The project should be lightweight. | Manufacturing | 40. |
| The project should have as little moving parts as possible. | Hardware/Product Design | 41. |
| The project should be competitive with other products. | Manufacturing | 42. |
| The project should be made of easy-to-purchase materials. | Manufacturing | 43. |
| The project should not be too large for avg customer use. | Interactivity/User Exp. | 44. |
| The project should be as focused as possible (barebones) | Hardware/Product Design | 45. |
| The project should not be harmful to animals. | Safety | 46. |
| The project should not have toxic materials in it. | Safety | 47. |
| The project should have step-by-step instructions. | Interactivity/User Exp | 48. |
| The project should not be noisy. | Interactivity/User Exp | 49. |
| The project should have easy-to-read instructions/UI | Interactivity/User Exp | 50. |
| The project should have extensive customer support | Interactivity/User Exp | 51. |
| The project should have a temperature sensor. | Hardware/Product Design | 52. |
| The project should have a solar panel. | Hardware/Product Design | 53. |
| The project should have a humidity sensor. | Manufacturing | 54. |
| The project should have a mobile app. | Interactivity/User Exp | 55. |
| The project should have Bluetooth. | Interactivity/User Exp | 56. |
| The project should be kid-friendly. | Customizability | 57. |
| The project should be fashionable. | Customizability | 58. |
| The project should have a lot of hardware. | Hardware/Product Design | 59. |
| The project should be as unobtrusive as possible. | Safety | 60. |
| The project should have new components. | Manufacturing | 61. |
| The project should have an emergency battery backup. | Interactivity/User Exp | 62. |
| The project should be compatible with other software. | Software/Functionality | 63. |
| The project should be fully software-based. | Software/Functionality | 64. |
| The project should have a 2-4 year lifespan | Hardware/Product Design | 65. |
| The project should keep track of the sun. | Hardware/Product Design | 66. |
| The project should be easy to find through a radar. | Safety | 67. |
| The project should have an easy to solder microcontroller. | Manufacturing | 68. |
| The project should be inexpensive for the user | Manufacturing | 69. |
| The project should have handles. | Hardware/Product Design | 70. |
| The project should come with batteries. | Hardware/Product Design | 71. |
| The project should have a sensor for wind. | Manufacturing | 72. |
| The project should have cheap and reliable components. | Manufacturing | 73. |
| The project should be easy to spot. | Safety | 74. |
| The project should be camouflaged. | Hardware/Product Design | 75. |
| The project shouldn’t smell. | Interactivity/User Exp | 76. |
| The project should be able to be in the air for a long time. | Manufacturing | 77. |
| The project shouldn’t be too high in the air. | Safety | 78. |
| The project should be aerodynamic. | Manufacturing | 79. |
| The project should be sleek. | Customizability | 80. |
| The project should be able to fit on someone’s person. | Interactivity/User Exp | 81. |
| The project should have the ability to stay in one place. | Interactivity/User Exp | 82. |
| The project should be something a person could wear. | Customizability | 83. |
| The project should have a paper manual. | Interactivity/User Exp. | 84. |
| The customer needs something that is easy to use. | Interactivity/User Exp. | 85. |
| The customer needs a product that is intuitive | Interactivity/User Exp. | 86. |
| The customer explicitly states that they need a calibration mode to fix these offsets. | Customizability | 87. |
| The customer needs a product that takes into account snowfall. | Software/Functionality | 88. |
| The product is simple and easy to use for the user to manage. | Interactivity/User Exp. | 89. |
| The product is unique in its approach. | Customizability | 90. |
| The product is better at certain things than its competition. | Hardware/Product Design | 91. |
| The customer needs a device that is able to forecast weather. | Software/Functionality | 92. |
| The product is easy to recharge battery-wise. | Hardware/Product Design | 93. |
| The product has a long battery life. | Manufacturing | 94. |
| The product does output measurements in other units. | Customizability | 95. |
| The product is on-par with other competitive products | Interactivity/User Exp. | 96. |
| Customer needs a display with a back light. | Hardware/Product Design | 97. |
| The product has a good range. | Software/Functionality | 98. |
| Easy roof mounting capabilities. | Customizability | 99. |
| The project needs to be accessible. | Interactivity/User Exp. | 100. |