Task analysis in transportation planning for user interface metaphor design Jörn Möltgen Institute for Geoinformatics University of Münster

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Outline VUGIS Motivation and Goal Metaphors for User Interfaces Where do metaphors come from ? From task analysis to design An example from transportation planning

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Integration of GIS, Environmental models and transportation models in transportation planning Supported by a grant from the ministry of science of North-Rhine Westphalia (MSWWF-NRW) within the Innovationsprogramm Forschung, Programmschwerpunkt Mobilität und Verkehr von morgen

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Motivation GIS use for transportation domain can improve efficiency but most GIS are intended for expert use Transportation planners belong to group of non-experts over featured systems decrease usability existing data collections cannot be transformed in information value for the planner Planning processes become lengthy and intransparent

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Motivation (2) existing: –Data: NWSIB, GDF, ATKIS, ALK, … –Models:transportation and environmental –Systems:GIS missing: usability for decision-making innovation: services for planers

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Goals Direct GIS access for transportation planners –intuitive use of GIS –using the planners language Translation between GIS and planner Metaphors help to extend the field of users

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Visualisation GIS Database ATKIS ALK??? Semantic Mapper User Interface GIS Functions Transportation Models Environmental Models Other Models NoiseNumber of cars... Services Goals

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Visualisation GIS Database ATKIS ??? Semantic Mapper User Interface GIS Functions Transportation Models Environmental Models Other Models NoiseNumber of cars... Levels of user citizens politicians decision makers Träger öffentl. Belange domain planner GIS experts

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Metaphors for User Interfaces Allow to understand one thing in terms of another, without thinking the two are the same (Sweetser 1990) Well-tested method for UI design XEROX STAR They link the underlying system to the userss ontology Source domain of metaphor establish an ontology of UI

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Metaphors for User Interfaces Distinction of paradigms and metaphors –Paradigms conceptualise the overall systems use –Metaphors depend on the framework given by the paradigm domain metaphors assign additional functions to metaphors

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Where do metaphors usually come from ? Choosing from a set of commonly known metaphors Invention, evaluation, redesign Observing explanations Principles: structure, applicability, suitability, coherence…. NO right or wrong way for metaphor selection Thorough understanding of problem domain is frequently missing

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen From task analysis to design Task analysis includes establishing of: –the actual users, –planning goals, –what information they need and they generate, –methods they use, –how do decision rules look like, –which workflows can be supported by computer use, –are the users more casual, occasional or rather daily users

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Methodology

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen User Task Model

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen User Task Model Species and biotopes Existence,He alth and well- being Soil Scenery/ Recreation Climate Water Protectable Objects Evaluation of inventories Judging of protectuable objects with respect to sensitivity pre-strain under consideration of environmental objectives and probable effects from the planned object Overlay Generation of a map with potential conflicts

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Use Case

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Scenario A transportation planer sends the plan with the intended route of the new road to her colleagues at the office for environmental protection in order to create a map that shows potential conflicts of the object with biotopes. The office for environmental protection gets biotope data from the LÖBF. But before the office for environmental protection checks whether it owns appropriate data itself. The resulting map shows fruit-meadow, hedges, shrubberies, natural monuments, forest, a small river, and out-dying plants and bird hotbeds. Then they superimpose the planned road

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Analysis of scenario intended routemap creation Conflicts mapData check fruit-meadowShow hedgessuperimpose shrubberies natural monu. Forest River Red-list species bird hotbeds Objects Services and Metaphors

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Systems Task Model

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Conclusions UIs are needed that communicate within the users language Metaphors can map between the users domain and the software Metaphors establish an ontology of the user interface light-years from home to find a metaphor like the GIS desktop metaphor for transportation planning. Task analysis is the point of departure for user oriented metaphor. The acid test for our approach is still pending.

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen consequently... ….transportation planners need services instead of just data and GIS

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen Data for planning processes Heterogenity of data Example: Landesstraßenbedarfsplan Biotopkataster, Bodendenkmäler, Bodenkarten, Geländemodelle, Flächennutzungspläne, Flora-Fauna- Habitatflächen, Gebietsentwicklungspläne, historische Anlage, hydrologische Karten, Landesentwicklungspläne, Naturschutzgebiete, Naturdenkmale, Straßenkarten, Topologische Karten, Wasserschutzgebiete, Unfalldaten, Verkehrsmengen, Verkehrsprognosen, Straßenzustandswerte und Schadstoff- und Lärmbelastung Different views of the same space

Institute for Geoinformatics, MünsterJörn Möltgen