Towards Spatiability: How to Assess the Relationship Between Map Application Design and Spatial Thinking?
Abstract
Introduction: The quality of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in interactive map applications can benefit the understanding of spatial data, contributing to decision-making. Objective: To propose a new quality criterion in HCI and a method to assess the design’s ability to support spatial understanding. Methodology: To define spaciability as a new quality criterion in HCI, based on spatial thinking and comparison with other criteria. The Spaciability Inspection Method (SIM) is also defined to evaluate the design of map applications. Results: Spaciability encompasses perspectives not considered by other quality criteria. Furthermore, SIM demonstrates the potential to produce important insights for spatial understanding.
Keywords:
Spatiability, Spatial Thinking, HCI Quality Criteria, Evaluation Methods, Map Applications
References
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Lee, J. e Bednarz, R. (2012). Components of spatial thinking: Evidence from a spatial thinking ability test. Journal of geography, 111(1):15–26.
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Norman, D. A. (2013). The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition. Basic Books, New York, NY.
Prado, A. B., Baranauskas, M. C. C., e Medeiros, C. M. B. (2000). Cartography and geographic information systems as semiotic systems: a comparative analysis. In Proceedings of the 8th ACM international symposium on Advances in Geographic Information Systems, pages 161–166.
Prates, R. O. e Barbosa, S. D. J. (2003). Avaliação de interfaces de usuário–conceitos e métodos. In Jornada de Atualização em Informática do Congresso da Sociedade Brasileira de Computação, Capítulo, volume 6, page 28. sn.
Prates, R. O., de Souza, C. S., e Barbosa, S. D. J. (2000). A method for evaluating the communicability of user interfaces. Interactions, 7(1):31–38.
Preece, J., Rogers, Y., e Sharp, H. (2015). Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction. John Wiley Sons, Chichester, West Sussex, UK, 4 edition.
Rottmann, S., Loitsch, C., e Weber, G. (2022). Accessible mobile map application and interaction for people with visual or mobility impairments. In Proceedings of Mensch Und Computer 2022, MuC ’22, page 119–127, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
Rubin, J. e Chisnell, D. (2008). Handbook of usability testing: How to plan, design, and conduct effective tests. John Wiley & Sons.
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Yu, J. E. e Chattopadhyay, D. (2020). “maps are hard for me”: identifying how older adults struggle with mobile maps. In Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, pages 1–8.
Barbosa, S. D., Silva, B. S. d., Silveira, M. S., Gasparini, I., Darin, T., e Barbosa, G. D. (2021). Interação Humano-Computador e Experiência do Usuário. Autopublicação.
Berendsen, M. E., Hodza, P., e Hamerlinck, J. D. (2023). Researching student interaction with gis software while learning spatial concepts: toward a standard measure of gis interaction. Journal of Geography, 122(4):81–92.
Bollini, L., De Palma, R., Nota, R., e Pietra, R. (2014). User experience & usability for mobile geo-referenced apps. a case study applied to cultural heritage field. In Computational Science and Its Applications–ICCSA 2014: 14th International Conference, Guimarães, Portugal, June 30–July 3, 2014, Proceedings, Part II 14, pages 652–662. Springer.
Coleti, T., Divino, S., Salgado, A., Zacarias, R., Saraiva, J., Gonçalves, D., Morandini, M., e Santos, R. (2024). Grandihc-br 2025-2035 - gc5 - human-data interaction, data literacy and usable privacy. In Anais do XXIII Simpósio Brasileiro sobre Fatores Humanos em Sistemas Computacionais, pages 1003–1026, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. SBC.
da Silva Junior, D., Alves, D., Carneiro, N., Matos, E., Baranauskas, M., e Mendoza, Y. (2024). Grandihc-br 2025-2035 - gc1: New theoretical and methodological approaches in hci. In Anais do XXIII Simpósio Brasileiro sobre Fatores Humanos em Sistemas Computacionais, pages 939–968, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. SBC.
de Souza, C. S. (2005). Semiotic engineering: bringing designers and users together at interaction time. Interacting with Computers, 17(3):317–341.
de Souza, C. S., Prates, R. O., e Barbosa, S. D. (1999). A method for evaluating software communicability. Monografias em Ciência da Computação. Departamento de Informática. PUC-RioInf, 1200(1):11–99.
Griffin, A. L. (2020). Trustworthy maps. Journal of Spatial Information Science, 2020(20):5–19.
Haklay, M. e Zafiri, A. (2008). Usability engineering for gis: learning from a screenshot. The Cartographic Journal, 45(2):87–97.
Hassenzahl, M. (2010). Experience design: Technology for all the right reasons, volume 8. Morgan & Claypool Publishers.
International Organization for Standardization (2018). Ergonomics of human-system interaction — Part 11: Usability: Defnitions and concepts (Norma ISO 9241-11:2018). [link].
Jo, I. e Hong, J. E. (2020). Effect of learning gis on spatial concept understanding. Journal of Geography, 119(3):87–97.
Lee, J. e Bednarz, R. (2012). Components of spatial thinking: Evidence from a spatial thinking ability test. Journal of geography, 111(1):15–26.
Lewis, C. e Wharton, C. (1997). Cognitive walkthroughs. In Handbook of human-computer interaction, pages 717–732. Elsevier.
Logan, J. R. (2012). Making a place for space: Spatial thinking in social science. Annual review of sociology, 38.
Manduca, C. A. e Mogk, D. W. (2006). Earth and Mind: How Geologists Think and Learn about the Earth. Geological Society of America.
Marquez, J. O., Meirelles, P., e da Silva, T. S. (2021). Towards usability heuristics for interactive web maps. In Proceedings of the XX Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems, IHC ’21, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
Melo, A. M. e Baranauskas, M. C. C. (2006). Design para a inclusão: desafios e proposta. In Proceedings of VII Brazilian Symposium on Human Factors in Computing Systems, IHC ’06, page 11–20, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
Montello, D. R. (1993). Scale and multiple psychologies of space. Spatial Information Theory A Theoretical Basis for GIS, pages 312–321.
National Research Council (2006). Learning to Think Spatially: GIS as a Support System in the K-12 Curriculum. National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.
Neto, A. S., Melo, P., Barbosa, E., e Mota, M. (2023). Usability considerations in social mobile maps to encourage social change. In Anais do XXII Simpósio Brasileiro sobre Fatores Humanos em Sistemas Computacionais, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. SBC.
Newcombe, N. S. e Shipley, T. F. (2015). Thinking about spatial thinking: New typology, new assessments. The Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 62:179–214.
Nielsen, J. (1994). Heuristic evaluation. In Nielsen, J. e Mack, R. L., editors, Usability Inspection Methods, pages 25–62. John Wiley Sons, New York.
Norman, D. A. (2013). The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition. Basic Books, New York, NY.
Prado, A. B., Baranauskas, M. C. C., e Medeiros, C. M. B. (2000). Cartography and geographic information systems as semiotic systems: a comparative analysis. In Proceedings of the 8th ACM international symposium on Advances in Geographic Information Systems, pages 161–166.
Prates, R. O. e Barbosa, S. D. J. (2003). Avaliação de interfaces de usuário–conceitos e métodos. In Jornada de Atualização em Informática do Congresso da Sociedade Brasileira de Computação, Capítulo, volume 6, page 28. sn.
Prates, R. O., de Souza, C. S., e Barbosa, S. D. J. (2000). A method for evaluating the communicability of user interfaces. Interactions, 7(1):31–38.
Preece, J., Rogers, Y., e Sharp, H. (2015). Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction. John Wiley Sons, Chichester, West Sussex, UK, 4 edition.
Rottmann, S., Loitsch, C., e Weber, G. (2022). Accessible mobile map application and interaction for people with visual or mobility impairments. In Proceedings of Mensch Und Computer 2022, MuC ’22, page 119–127, New York, NY, USA. Association for Computing Machinery.
Rubin, J. e Chisnell, D. (2008). Handbook of usability testing: How to plan, design, and conduct effective tests. John Wiley & Sons.
W3C. Web content accessibility guidelines (wcag) 2.1. Acessado em: [link]. w3.org/TR/WCAG21/em 04/05/2025.
Yu, J. E. e Chattopadhyay, D. (2020). “maps are hard for me”: identifying how older adults struggle with mobile maps. In Proceedings of the 22nd International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility, pages 1–8.
Published
2025-09-08
How to Cite
DA SILVA NETO, André Avelino; MOTA, Marcelle Pereira.
Towards Spatiability: How to Assess the Relationship Between Map Application Design and Spatial Thinking?. In: BRAZILIAN SYMPOSIUM ON HUMAN FACTORS IN COMPUTATIONAL SYSTEMS (IHC), 24. , 2025, Belo Horizonte/MG.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2025
.
p. 675-694.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/ihc.2025.10852.
