Case Studies

Government Mapping Website

User Interaction Testing of an Online Atlas

The Background

This government department has developed an online atlas to replace their paper-based atlas for use by the general public and educational sector.

They have partnered with a number of other government departments to display their data in a series of maps with accompanying text for issues-based "themes" that the Canadian government has identified as high priority. The volume of maps and map-related data continues to grow as new intra-government and other organizational partners see the value of displaying their data in spatial format.

The Challenge

To continue to evolve the user interface of the website to accommodate new content while enabling users to rapidly find relevant information and use the interactive mapping tools to fully exploit the map capabilities.

The Project

As one of the phases of this strategic project, Maskery was brought in to conduct a series of user interaction tests on various aspects of the website to identify effective site design components, particularly new content for ease-of-navigation to content elements. Tests included a variety of site design aspects:

User interaction tests were conducted with alternative designs wire-framed to determine which was the most effective solution for users. The results of the tests were used to make final design decisions prior to going live on the site.

The Result

The mapping website continues to evolve to better meet user needs. Ongoing surveys continue to monitor user satisfaction with the site and expectations for content and navigation.

The mapping group is now seen as a centre of excellence for displaying geo-spatial information by other government departments and is expanding the service offerings to any groups needing support displaying their own data in map format.