Jenny Harding

Usability of Geographic Information: Current challenges and future directions

The use of Geographic Information or GI, has grown rapidly in recent years. Previous research has identified the importance of usability and user centred design in enabling the proliferation and exploitation of GI. However, the design and development of usable GI is not simply a matter of applying the tried and tested usability methods that have been developed for software and web design. Dealing with data and specifically GI brings with it a number of issues that change the way usability and user centred design can be applied. This paper describes the outcomes of a workshop held in March 2010 exploring the core issues relating to GI usability. The workshop brought together an international group of twenty experts in both human factors and GI, from a wide range of academic and industrial backgrounds. These experts considered three key issues, the stakeholders in GI, key challenges applying usability to GI and the usability methods that can be successfully applied to GI. The result of this workshop was to identify some areas for future research, such as the production of meaningful metadata and the implications of blurring of the line between data producers and data consumers.

User Needs and Implications for Modelling Vague Named Places

Abstract Focusing on vague and vernacular aspects of place, results are reported from a qualitative empirical study of workplace end users of geographic information. The study revealed certain patterns of need for place and placename data; these are compared with current sources of place information (maps and gazetteers) for GIS, and with various proposed methods for modelling vagueness, uncertainty and multiple names and extents in spatial data. Conclusions centre on the need for multiple methods in specific use contexts, and for further requirements-driven research into the cognitive phenomenon of place itself.

Usability of geographic information – Factors identified from qualitative analysis of task-focused user interviews

Understanding user needs for geographic information and the factors which influence the usability of such information in diverse user contexts is an essential part of user centred development of information products. There is relatively little existing research focused on the design and usability of information products in general. This paper presents a research approach based on semi structured interviews with people working with geographic information on a day to day basis, to establish a reference base of qualitative data on user needs for geographic information with respect to context of use. From this reference data nine key categories of geographic information usability are identified and discussed in the context of limited existing research concerned with geographic information usability.

Usability, human factors and geographic information.

Increasingly we encounter technologies that use geographic information (GI) to either add to the user experience (e.g. by adding location information to a social networking post) or have GI as their underpinning data source (e.g. a navigation or mapping application). The form and design of these data can have consequences for the resulting user interaction: the data structure may inform the way in which a user is required to input information; the data granularity may influence the accuracy of a user’s reported position; or the interoperability of the different data sets may affect the extent to which information sources can be combined and compared. This presents a challenge as the form of data presentation at the systems level and the processes that act on it for analytical purposes are not necessarily simple or intuitive from a nontechnical user’s perspective. The goal is therefore to ensure that the user can interact with the data and system in terms that are accessible and meaningful to the user, and compatible with standardised machine-readable information systems. This special issue has emerged fromseveral years’work by a community of researchers and practitioners drawn from the areas of human factors, computer science, geography and geospatial science. The community emerged via a series of workshops initiated by, the Ordnance Survey, the UK national mapping agency, which aim to bring together expertise in the areas of GI, human factors and usability, and which included both academic and industry stakeholders. Fourworkshopshavebeenheldsince2009,held in theUniversities of Nottingham and Newcastle, University College London and at Ordnance Survey headquarters in Southampton and were attended by representatives from organisations including utility companies, mapping agencies, defence, meteorological services and transport organisations. A range of challenges for the community have emerged, which are represented in the papers within this journal special issue. Brown et al. present a position paper that includes data that was originally drawn from the second workshop. This presents the key challenges for the design of GI including data quality, language and detail, metadata, user needs and control, standardisation and interoperability and new ways of generating and using GI data, including volunteered GI. The paper also considers the appropriateness of different types of standard usability/human factorsmethods for the elicitation of user needs and evaluation of data in this context. The authors establish a relationship between GI characteristics and resultant user behaviour, via a series of enablers encompassing attitudes towards data and the applications, practical aspects of data and its use and the policy towards data – particularly important in the light of increased emphasis on open data nationally and internationally.

Introducing PEGI: A usability process for the practical evaluation of Geographic Information

As the use of Geographic Information (GI) is becoming more widespread, the usability of GI is being recognised as an important issue. However, exploring the usability of information products brings with it a range of problems that are not easily handled by traditional user centred design methods. This paper describes the Practical Evaluation of Geographic Information (PEGI) process, which consists of a series of usability research methods that have been modified for use with GI. Two case studies are also presented, describing the application of PEGI within a commercial product development process. The advantages and disadvantages of the PEGI process are discussed as well as plans for future research in this area. The potential value of this approach is also described in terms of cost-benefit, concluding that a @

GIS for All: Exploring the Barriers and Opportunities for Underexploited GIS Applications

3000 evaluation process could help produce benefits of over @

Usable geographic information-what does it mean to users?

40,000 a year in cost savings and increased sales.

Investigating geospatial data usability from a health geography perspective using sensitivity analysis: The example of potential accessibility to primary healthcare

Geographical Information Systems have been existed since the early 1960s, but evidence suggests that adoption of GIS technologies still remains relatively low in many sectors. We will explore both the barriers that affect the utilisation of GIS and opportunities to overcome these barriers. As part of this exploration we performed a literature review, collected responses from quantitative questionnaire survey and interviewed a range of technical and domain experts. Having analysed and collated the results of these studies we have identified ways forward for future research and development to facilitate wider spread adoption and exploitation of GIS applications. Our discussion focuses on the importance of open-source GIS software, open data and cloud computing as key mediators for breaking the barriers and promoting the wider appropriation of GIS based solutions.