IDSS Engine: Weather Decision Support for the NWS

National Weather Service forecasters watch weather data around the clock so they can warn emergency managers before conditions turn dangerous. Doing that by hand across dozens of partners, thresholds, and events is slow and easy to get wrong.

I led design for IDSS Engine at NOAA's Global Systems Laboratory, from first concept to national release, and acted as the team's de facto product manager.

Designed the full interface: support profiles that set each partner's weather thresholds, automatic checks of incoming forecast data against those thresholds, and impact-based notifications

Ran research with forecasters, including contextual inquiry, task analysis, and usability testing

Built the Nexus design system behind the product; an accessibility audit moved a failing 2.82:1 contrast pair to 7.45:1 (WCAG AAA)

Managed the design and engineering backlog, ran standups, and coordinated with the development team

IDSS Engine shipped as a national production release used by forecasters across 120+ National Weather Service offices.