Interacting with Geospatial Technologies

This book provides an introduction to HCI and usability aspects of Geographical Information Systems and Science. Its aim is to introduce the principles of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI); to discuss the special usability aspects of GIS which designers and developers need to take into account when developing such systems; and to offer a set of tried and tested frameworks, matrices and techniques that can be used within GIS projects.

Geographical Information Systems and other applications of computerised mapping have gained popularity in recent years. Today, computer-based maps are common on the World Wide Web, mobile phones, satellite navigation systems and in various desktop computing packages. The more sophisticated packages that allow the manipulation and analysis of geographical information are used in location decisions of new businesses, for public service delivery for planning decisions by local and central government. Many more applications exist and some estimate the number of people across the world that are using GIS in their daily work at several millions. However, many applications of GIS are hard to learn and to master. This is understandable, as until quite recently, the main focus of software vendors in the area of GIS was on the delivery of basic functionality and development of methods to present and manipulate geographical information using the available computing resources. As a result, little attention was paid to usability aspects of GIS. This is evident in many public and private systems where the terminology, conceptual design and structure are all centred around the engineering of GIS and not on the needs and concepts that are familiar to the user.

This book covers a range of topics from the cognitive models of geographical representation, to interface design. It will provide the reader with frameworks and techniques that can be used and description of case studies in which these techniques have been used for computer mapping application.

Preface ix

About the authors xi

How to use this book xiii

Acknowledgements xv

Section I Theory 1

1 Human-computer interaction and geospatial technologies – context 3
Mordechai (Muki) Haklay and Artemis Skarlatidou

1.1 Human-computer interaction and usability engineering background 4

1.2 Geographic Information Systems and science history 9

1.3 Human-Computer Interaction and GIScience research 13

Summary 16

Further reading 16

Revision questions 18

2 Human understanding of space 19
Clare Davies, Chao (Lily) Li and Jochen Albrecht

2.1 Introduction 19

2.2 Spatial cognition: screen versus geography 19

2.3 Geographic spatial cognition – learning, understanding and recall 21

2.4 GIS in the outside environment: matching maps to geography 31

Summary 34

Further reading 34

Revision questions 35

3 Cartographic theory and principles 37
Catherine (Kate) Emma Jones

3.1 Principles of cartographic representation 37

3.2 Impact of projections on map design 49

3.3 Impact of cartographic scale on map design 54

3.4 Generalization 59

Summary 65

Further reading 65

Revision questions 65

4 Computer-mediated communication, collaboration and groupware 67
Mordechai (Muki) Haklay

4.1 Computer-mediated communication 68

4.2 Social dynamics and group decision-making issues 76

4.3 Computer Supported Collaborative Work and Groupware (CSCW) 78

4.4 Principles of collaborative GIS 80

Summary 86

Further reading 87

Revision questions 87

Section II Framework 89

5 User-centred design 91
Mordechai (Muki) Haklay and Annu-Maaria Nivala

5.1 Background 95

5.2 Principles 97

5.3 Applying user-centred design in geospatial technologies 101

5.4 Participatory design 103

Summary 105

Further reading 106

Revision questions 106

6 Usability engineering 107
Mordechai (Muki) Haklay, Artemis Skarlatidou and Carolina Tobón

6.1 Background 107

6.2 Usability engineering and product development process 109

6.3 Understanding user requirements and needs 111

6.4 Application development 113

6.5 Evaluation and deployment 114

6.6 Usability engineering in research 117

Summary 122

Further reading 122

Revision questions 123

Section III Practicalities and Technique 125

7 Application planning 127
Jochen Albrecht and Clare Davies

7.1 GIS interface complexity 128

7.2 Task analysis in GIS 128

7.3 Formalized analysis of GIS user interfaces 134

7.4 User experience considerations 134

7.5 Task analysis as the basis for workflow management 136

7.6 Geo-scientific workflows and process models 138

7.7 Ontologies in support of application planning for the semantic web 141

Summary 142

Further reading 142

Revision questions 143

8 Practical cartography 145
Catherine (Kate) Emma Jones

8.1 The role of symbology in map making 145

8.2 The role of colour in map making 146

8.3 Data classification – types of maps and thematic mapping 159

8.4 Mapping conventions – map elements and layout 171

Summary 177

Further reading 178

Revision questions 178

9 Principles of interaction 179
Jessica Wardlaw

9.1 Key elements of the theory of interaction for geospatial technologies 182

9.2 Basic elements of GUI 187

9.3 Some guidelines for designing a GIS interface 192

Summary 197

Revision questions 198

10 Evaluation and deployment 199
Stephanie Larissa Marsh and Mordechai (Muki) Haklay

10.1 Evaluation options – from usability laboratory to guerrilla usability 199

10.2 Evaluation techniques 201

10.3 Methodological consideration of usability techniques 218

Summary 220

Further reading 220

Revision questions 221

11 Single user environments: desktop to mobile 223
Mordechai (Muki) Haklay and (lily) Chao li

11.1 Technological considerations 223

11.2 Understanding the user context 229

11.3 Designing desktop applications 231

11.4 Mobile devices 240

Summary 242

Further reading 242

Revision questions 243

12 Web-mapping applications and HCI considerations for their design 245
Artemis Skarlatidou

12.1 Overview of Web-mapping 245

12.2 Web-mapping design and HCI considerations 250

Summary 263

Further reading 264

Revision questions 264

Bibliography 265

Index 289

Mordechai (Muki) Haklay is the author of Interacting with Geospatial Technologies, published by Wiley.

Interacting with Geospatial Technologies provides an introduction to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and usability aspects of Geographical Information Technologies – from Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to web mapping applications. The book provides a clear introduction to the principles of HCI, a discussion about those special usability aspects of GIS which designers and developers need to take into account when developing such systems, and it offers a set of tried and tested frameworks, matrices and techniques that can be used within GIS projects.

The introductory text covers a range of topics, from the cognitive models of geographical representation to interface design. It provides the reader with frameworks and techniques that can be used and case studies in which these techniques have been used for computer mapping application.

• Takes an integrative approach to the subject to draw together the latest developments in the field.
• Carefully structured to introduce the genera principles of HCI and usability research and provide the basic theory of spatial cognition, map reading and the fundamentals of cartographic principles.
• Includes numerous case studies to show usability in practice for example, Desktop GIS, Web-based GIS and Geovisualization Systems along with more recognizable geographic technologies such as SatNav, web maps and Mashups.
• An invaluable reference for those people taking courses in GIS. Geoinformatics, Geomatic Engineering or Spatial Information management, as well as computer scientists and information systems designers.