Abstract
Mobile map applications are increasingly used in various aspects of our lives, leading to an increase in different map use situations and, therefore, map use contexts. Several empirical usability studies have identified how map design is associated with and impacted by selected map use context attributes. This research seeks to expand on these studies and analyzes combinations of map use contexts to identify relevant contextual factors that influence mobile map design usability. In a study with 50 participants from Colombia, we assessed in an online survey the usability of 27 map design variations (consisting of three map-reading tasks, three base map styles, and three interactivity variants). We found that the overall map design is critical in supporting map-reading activities (e.g., identifying a location on a map was supported by a simplified base map, whereas selecting points on the map was supported by a more detailed base map). We then evaluated user patterns in the collected data with archetypal analysis. It was possible to create archetypal representations of the participants with a corresponding map design profile and establish a workflow for modeling patterns in usability and context data. We recommend that future research continues assessing archetypal analysis as it provides a means for context-based decision-making on map design adaptation and transferability.
Highlights
In our mobile digital society, mobile map applications are increasingly used in different aspects of our lives, leading to an increase in varying map use situations [1]
We evaluated the usability of 27 different map design variations in relation to map use context attributes
In addition to evaluating map design usability with our 50 participants, our study focused on improving our understanding of which map use context attributes were shaping participants’ usability evaluation, as well as assessing whether differences between participants and their usability evaluations can be observed
Summary
In our mobile digital society, mobile map applications are increasingly used in different aspects of our lives, leading to an increase in varying map use situations (i.e., map use contexts) [1]. The evaluation of context attributes is crucial for designing suitable maps and for defining how the map design should vary between map use contexts. As maps can be created in many ways [3], the question persists about how to design maps to account for these contextual differences in map use, i.e., users’ digital or spatial abilities, cognitive limits, domain knowledge, or temporal and environmental distractions. Analyzing these contextual factors helps identify suitable map designs in terms of usability and how the map design should vary between different contexts. It is necessary to structure and model map use contexts [4] and to understand which context attributes are most relevant to determining an adequate map design [5]
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