Abstract
Abstract. Asynchronous remote usability testing is a method based on a software platform used to automatically record test participants' activities when they interact with a given product in their natural environment, for example, at home. This method has been frequently used in previous decades in web design and mobile application development but has rarely been utilised in geovisualization. The importance of remote usability testing has rapidly increased in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 3DmoveR (3D Movement and Interaction Recorder) application was used for asynchronous remote testing presented in this paper. 3DmoveR is a research tool designed for user testing of interactive 3D visualizations in web browsers using open technologies such as PHP, JavaScript, and the Three.js library. This study focuses on an evaluation of interactive 3D city models presenting thematic information expressed by colour scale. An experiment was designed as a within-subject study consisting of two simple questionnaires, a training task and six experimental trials. Finding a building of a given category (depicted as building colour) within an interactive 3D city model was used as the experimental task. Speed and accuracy of user performances were recorded, as well as user strategy, subjective evaluations, and possible intervening variables. The results were recorded from 110 participants, where 76 of them were correct and analysed further. It can be concluded that the tested colour scale (based on the Energy Performance Certificate) was not entirely appropriate. We further analysed and discussed intervening variables that may affect remote usability testing of 3D visualizations.
Highlights
3D city models have been used for decision-making and communication in a wide range of applications
The use of 3D city models in various areas is described by many authors, including Shiode (2000) and Biljecki et al (2015). 3D city models can be applied to the analysis of the current situation, the reconstruction of past situations, the prediction of future developments and the choice of multiple options for future development (Konečný, 2011). 3D city models can be used by both experts and the general public (Voženílek, 2001; Biljecki et al, 2015)
This paper focuses on user testing of interactive 3D city models and describes a pilot user study employing interactive nonphotorealistic visualization of thematic information within the 3D city models
Summary
3D city models have been used for decision-making and communication in a wide range of applications. The use of 3D city models in various areas is described by many authors, including Shiode (2000) and Biljecki et al (2015). 3D city models can be used by both experts and the general public (Voženílek, 2001; Biljecki et al, 2015). Some applications require the realistic visualization of 3D city models. Such applications are, for example, landscape and urban planning, including the participatory approach (Lovett et al, 2015; Onyimbi et al, 2018; Judge and Harrie, 2020; Jaalama et al, 2021). Many applications of 3D city models are related to non-photorealistic visualization:
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