Use, user, and usability research for mobile geo-applications for personal orientation and navigation

This paper deals with the communication of a specific type of information: geographic information. Map displays are the major communication tool, but are nowadays embedded in more complex information systems in which for example, hard- and software, user interfaces, (connections to) databases and other means of communication also play a role. This is demonstrated by a research project directed towards the improvement of mobile geo-applications for pedestrian navigation. In this research a user-centered design methodology has been applied. This paper emphasizes the use, user and usability research that has been executed in the requirement analysis stage of the user-centered design process. So far, this stage has been neglected in the geographic and cartographic information domain. Another problem is that the required user research has not often been executed in the proper field context. Therefore, a unique technical solution for observing the users who are interacting with their pedestrian navigation system, and, at the same time, with their geographic environment, is presented in this paper as well. The current outcome is a conceptual design of a prototype of an improved pedestrian navigation system.