LionVu 2.0 Usability Assessment for Pennsylvania, United States.

Fritz C. Kessler,Nathaniel R. Geyer,Eugene J. Lengerich

doi:10.3390/ijgi9110619

Abstract

The Penn State Cancer Initiative implemented LionVu 1.0 (Penn State University, United States) in 2017 as a web-based mapping tool to educate and inform public health professionals about the cancer burden in Pennsylvania and 28 counties in central Pennsylvania, locally known as the catchment area. The purpose of its improvement, LionVu 2.0, was to assist investigators answer person–place–time questions related to cancer and its risk factors by examining several data variables simultaneously. The primary objective of this study was to conduct a usability assessment of a prototype of LionVu 2.0 which included area- and point-based data. The assessment was conducted through an online survey; 10 individuals, most of whom had a masters or doctorate degree, completed the survey. Although most participants had a favorable view of LionVu 2.0, many had little to no experience with web mapping. Therefore, it was not surprising to learn that participants wanted short 10–15-minute training videos to be available with future releases, and a simplified user-interface that removes advanced functionality. One unexpected finding was the suggestion of using LionVu 2.0 for teaching and grant proposals. The usability study of the prototype of LionVu 2.0 provided important feedback for its future development.

Highlights

In 2015, the Penn State Cancer Initiative (PSCI) implemented LionVu 1.0, a web-based mapping tool (Figure 1)
LionVu 1.0 was designed to educate and inform the public health professionals about the risk of cancer within 28 counties located in central Pennsylvania, locally known as the catchment area
The original purpose of this usability assessment was to evaluate how successful the LionVu 2.0 was in serving the needs of PSCI health practitioners

Summary

Introduction

In 2015, the Penn State Cancer Initiative (PSCI) implemented LionVu 1.0, a web-based mapping tool (Figure 1). LionVu 1.0 has received criticism from users within PSCI, including not addressing the needs, i.e., of the PSCI catchment area and the lack of help documentation. Other criticisms focused on the user interface design, which permitted only one map to be displayed at a time This map design was criticized for not using ColorBrewer 2.0 (Penn State University, United States) color scheme standards, which were developed to aid in visualization. Another criticism was the lack of comprehensive help documentation and tutorials for how to navigate through LionVu 1.0

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Conclusion