Redesigning Graphical User Interface of Open-Source Geospatial Software in a Community-Driven Way
A Case Study of GRASS GIS
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22032661 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Linda Karlovska (0009-0002-7051-1343, Czech Technical University in Prague), Anna Petrasova (0000-0002-5120-5538, North Carolina State University), Vaclav Petras (0000-0001-5566-9236, North Carolina State University), Martin Landa (0000-0001-6869-3542, Czech Technical University in Prague) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 376 |
| Publication date | 2023-09-10 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2220-9964 • E-ISSN: 2220-9964 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/ijgi12090376 |
| OpenAlex | W4386601497 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 34 |
Learning to use geographic information system (GIS) software effectively may be intimidating due to the extensive range of features it offers. The GRASS GIS software, in particular, presents additional challenges for first-time users in terms of its complex startup procedure and unique terminology associated with its data structure. On the other hand, a substantial part of the GRASS user community including us as developers recognized and embraced the advantages of the current approach. Given the controversial nature of the whole issue, we decided to actively involve regular users by conducting several formal surveys and by performing usability testing. Throughout this process, we discovered that resolving specific software issues through pure user-centered design is not always feasible, particularly in the context of open-source scientific software where the boundary between users and developers is very fuzzy. To address this challenge, we adopted the user-centered methodology tailored to the requirements of open-source scientific software development, which we refer to as community-driven design. This paper describes the community-driven redesigning process on the GRASS GIS case study and sets a foundation for applying community-driven design in other open-source scientific projects by providing insights into effective software development practices driven by the needs and input of the project’s community
Geospatial analysis · Human–computer interaction · Software development · Software engineering · Terminology · Usability · User interface · User story · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Geographic Information Systems Studies · Scientific Computing and Data Management · Semantic Web and Ontologies · Software
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |