A usability evaluation of web map interface

• Main Authors: Han-tsai Liu, 劉漢財
• Other Authors: Manlai You
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2005
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/62688275854847465649

碩士 === 國立雲林科技大學 === 工業設計系碩士班 === 93 === With the progressing development of network technology, more and more information can be received from the Internet network. The Web map is a kind of appliance service software which allows users to search locations and routes with the help of the Internet. The way interfaces are designed will determine the use of the Web map. The main goal of this research is to find out better functions and interfaces of the Web map and facilitate the usage of the public with the method of usability evaluation. After analyzing the operating patterns and the ways those functions are assembled in of the present Web maps, the results are: The main operating modes of the Web map are zooming, moving and panning. In the research, the zooming and the panning are selected to be experimented in the simulations. The zooming mode can be divided into two sub-modes: the original-center zooming and the re-center zooming; also, the panning mode can be divided into two sub-modes: the combined-panning and the distributed-panning. All those four sub-modes listed above can be paired into four new different operation interfaces. They are 1) the original-center zooming with combined-panning button 2) the original-center zooming with distributed panning button 3) the re-center zooming with the combined panning button 4) The re-center zooming with the distributed-panning button. The experiment method of between –subjects is used in the experiment. Each examinee was designed to use each operating interface from all those four modes. The total time spent, the frequency of each function used by examinees and the level of subjective satisfaction are recorded. After statistical analysis, the discoveries are: 1) the original-center zooming provides fast ways to zoom in and out, which therefore helps faster searching in smaller range 2)The re-center zooming which operates as moving the cursor to re-frame the zooming section helps reduce the time spent either with the combined or the distributed panning button. 3) As for the using cognition, the examinees always reversed the movement by misunderstanding the one they moved is the map itself but in fact the frame. 4) In addition, the male examinees did better jobs than the female examinees in the experiment, and students with design backgrounds also did better than students without any design backgrounds. Hopefully, the results of the research will provide relative references for designers in the fields of Web map and interface designs.