Establishing Best Practices to Improve Usefulness and Usability of Web Interfaces Providing Atmospheric Data

Abstract

Accessing scientific data and information through an online portal can be a frustrating task, often because of the fact that they were not built with the user’s needs in mind. The concept of making web interfaces easy to use, known as “usability,” has been thoroughly researched in the field of e-commerce but has not been explicitly addressed in the atmospheric and most other sciences. As more observation stations are installed, satellites flown, models run, and field campaigns performed, data are continuously produced. Portals on the Internet have become the favored mechanisms for sharing this information and are ever increasing in number. Portals are often created without being explicitly tested for usability with the target audience though the expenses of testing are low and the returns high. To remain competitive and relevant in the provision of atmospheric information, it is imperative that developers understand design elements of a successful portal to make their product stand out among others. This work informs the audience of the benefits and basic principles of usability that can be applied to web pages presenting atmospheric information. We will also share some of the best practices and recommendations we have formulated from the results of usability testing performed on a data provision site designed for researchers in the Southwest Climate Science Center and hosted by the Western Regional Climate Center.

Toward a User-Centered Design of a Weather Forecasting Decision-Support Tool

“…This aligns with Oakley and Daudert's (2016) best practice of using consistent and expressive labels to direct system users. However, as an interface for work-related activities, Hazard Services users would need training on system functions and integrating the new system with existing organizational best practices.…”

“…Several scholars have applied usability methods to the user-centered design of weather, climate, and forecasting decision-support systems (Oakley and Daudert 2016;Timofeyeva-Livezey et al 2015;Ling et al 2015). Oakley and Daudert (2016) used a usability evaluation methodology to inform the design of a climate information website, resulting in a design more targeted to the needs of its end users. Similarly, Ling et al (2015) used a task-and-questionnaire-based approach to compare mental workload and usability between Warning Generation software (WarnGen) and an alternative prototype.…”

Climate Warming Trends in the U.S. Midwest Using Four Thermal Models

“…The Hadley Global Environment Model 2‐ Carbon Cycle projection was selected for use here as it aligns more closely in this summer temperature trend (Kumar et al, 2013). Daily time series data were obtained for the centroid of each county from the Southwest Climate and Environmental Information Collaborative for 1 Jan. 2018 to 31 Dec. 2099 (Oakley and Daudert, 2016; SCENIC, 2018). These data had been statistically downscaled from 250 to 6 km resolution from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 data set and Representative Concentration Pathways 4.5 and 8.5 (SCENIC, 2018).…”

How and why Upper Colorado River Basin land, water, and fire managers choose to use drought tools (or not)

“…Second, respondents emphasized that usability (Oakley and Daudert, 2016) is an important determinant of whether something can be successfully implemented in decision making or not (and thus whether or not it is perceived as salient). A USFS fire manager pointed out that how a tool is presented affects how successfully he can evaluate its relevance for his needs:…”