Highlights A geospatial cloud-based system GeoFarmer was designed and developed. GeoFarmer can be used as smart-monitoring system for agricultural projects. It provides tools for interactive feedback loops between platform users. Results and lessons learned from five pilots illustrate the flexibility of GeoFarmer.

Designing user-friendly Public Participatory Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) is a challenging task, since a PPGIS is typically used by users who have different characteristics and different requirements and needs. Hence, applying Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) principles is of particular importance in designing PPGIS. This study aims to create an inventory of usability aspects of a PPGIS by focusing on understanding the characteristics of a broad range of users. The usability study included 73 participants from Colombia, Uganda and Austria. We combined a custom qualitative survey (conducted in all three countries) with an eye-tracking based survey (conducted only in Austria). Considerable usability problems were faced especially by participants with low levels of IT-literacy. This was mostly due to a lack of experience in using functionally complex smartphone applications or interactive maps. In general, we observed a high level of difference in usability between the user groups. The eye-tracking statistics for the Austrian study supported the outcomes of the qualitative survey well.

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Mobile map applications are typically used by a broad range of users. Users can be diverse in their context attributes (e.g. map use experience, activities during map use), and several previous user experience (UX) studies have focused on understanding how some contextual factors influence the UX for designing maps that satisfy users' needs. A need for research remains to evaluate the relationship between user context, UX, and variants of mobile map element design. In this article, we present our research investigating the interplay of these factors through an empirical user study with citizens in Austria. We created an online survey and generated 84 map variations, combining seven map-related tasks, three base map styles, two map detail densities, and two timepressure variants. We tested these map variations with 107 survey participants and related their UX to user context. Map-related tasks emerged as a dominant factor modifying the map design UX. Further results showed that interactivity loaded map-related tasks were aided when paired with low detail-dense base maps, contrasting overlay features. We recommend future research to analyze an extended set of context attributes with additional participant data, to evaluate dynamic variations in context, and to find ways to dynamically monitor mobile map design UX.

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.