sprint 9

Research goals from sprint 8

This research was conducted with a mix of participants living in the South West of England.

We focussed on testing:

a 24 hour view of historical local air pollutant levels
using charts rather than a table to see if the visual approach worked better
removing the tooltips that explaining elements of the tables and putting the content ‘inline’ instead
displaying data for the closest monitoring area only

Research findings

What worked well

In this round of research, we found:

the daily air quality index (DAQI) forecast, 4 day forecast and the Met Office forecast are still understood
the top level of health advice is understood
the level of communication is appropriate for non-specialists

What needs work

During this round of testing, we found that:

the graphs disrupt the flow of the overall messaging
the story and flow in particular what pollutants we monitor and why appears to be lost
user desire to see stronger, positive recommendations for self-protection, action and behaviour change remains quite high

What we focused on in sprint 9

As a team, we agreed the main points to focus on were:

improving the health messaging based on feedback from the UKHSA
prioritising statutory pollutants and messaging around air pollution to set the story
using Rural-Urban classifications and historic data to dispel air pollution myths in a user’s chosen area, for example, I live in the countryside, why do I need to worry?
displaying the last published annual means for each statutory pollutant for that given area

After consulting with the UKHSA and our colleagues in AQIS, we decided to replace the health information for individual pollutants with a single, comprehensive section addressing ‘air pollution.’ This approach recognises that air comprises varying concentrations of numerous pollutants, and focusing on a single pollutant could detract from understanding the overall impact of the remaining pollutants.

Recommended actions and health advice

At the bottom of the ‘health advice’ section on UKAIR, there is an important paragraph about the risks for people with health conditions and the importance of consulting their doctor. After consulting with our subject matter experts, we decided to move this advice to the top of the section for greater visibility.

What makes up air pollution

To provide context for the pollutants we monitor, we introduced a section explaining our reasons for selecting them. We believe this will help introduce and contextualise the gases and particles discussed in further detail.

Air quality in this area

A common myth about air pollution is that it is only a problem in cities. To engage rural users and dispel this misconception, we included a sentence addressing this myth. This leads into detailed information about historical data on the highest pollutants in their area.

Average levels

Using data from UKAIR, we extracted historical information combining measured and mathematically modelled data to provide details on pollutants within a 1 km² area across the UK over the past year.

Location template in full

Displayed within a large viewport such as desktop or tablet.