Usability Assessment of VGI Systems Interfaces in Feature Insert Task.

A volunteered geographic information system (VGI) is a computer application which allows an individual voluntarily visualizes, organizes, and disseminates geographical data and information for free use by any user (Tulloch, 2008). The main goal of a VGI is to obtain volunteered geographical data, so it is essential to consider the user´s interaction with all the interface elements in its development. VGI systems such as OpenStreetMap have different interaction processes with the user, which entail different types of interfaces, functions, and forms. The execution of the same task can then be processed and performed in different ways, depending on the system used. Different interaction processes can lead to several user experiences, and affect the quality of the geographical information collected. The interaction process can also influence maintenance of active users and the addition of new volunteers. The aim of this research is therefore to obtain an overview of the usability of VGI systems, specifically in terms of geographical features insertion, from system access until the success or failure of the task execution. To achieve this, we asked users with different levels of familiarity with Wikimapia, OpenStreetMap, and Wikiloc to execute a set of tasks with the objective of inserting one or more features in these systems

Keywords:
VGI; Usability; User's experience