Think Before You code

(...& Other UX Considerations)

Lizzi Slivinski
Web GIS Specialist, ASFPM

Association of State Floodplain MANAGERS

Promote education, policies, and activities that mitigate current and future losses, costs, and human suffering caused by flooding, and to protect the natural and beneficial functions of floodplains - all without causing adverse impacts.

The Plan


  • What is UX? & Why should I care?
  • Case Study in UX: Toledo Flood Hazard Visualizer
    • Project Overview
    • Interface Development
    • Lessons Learned

UX

  • User Experience
  • How a User Feels about Interacting with your application
  • User Experience Design/Engineering

Usability

  • The ease of learning or using the product
  • The degree to which it is User Friendly
  • Accomplishing User's Goals, Success Rate

Utility

Usability

Good Design Combats this

UI

  • User Interface
  • Where a user interacts with your application
  • A point of contact

Application

User's View

Strategy

Data Centric

User Centric

The project

Economic Assessment of Green Infrastructure

Green Infrastructure

  • Storage
  • Infiltration
  • Permeable Building Techniques

Grey Infrastructure

  • Removal
  • Runoff
  • Impervious Surfaces

Toledo, Oh

Lucas County, OH 1996-2009

  • $52.17M in Property Damage
  • 35 Flood Events


Nuisance Flooding

NOAA Climate Data Center, Storm Events Database

Measuring R.O.I.

Hazus User DEFINED Facilities Analysis

Results

Plan

Know Thy User


Objective

  • Why are they here?
  • What do they want?
  • What do they need?

Skill

  • What do they know?
  • What is their level of technological proficiency?

  • What are your user's alternatives?
  • What aren't these alternatives doing?

Developing Strategy

Idea:

  • Show the report's findings on a map

Strategy:

  • Enable data exploration & coordinated visualization

  • Make more than a map

Prototyping

Research

User Feedback

  1. Legend
  2. Ability to Export the Data
  3. Separate Advanced and Basic Functionality

Design

Utility

Usability

What can't a basic user handle

Flood Hazard Visualizer

circa 12.29.14

...This isn't Working

Problem Areas

  1. Modes
  2. Single Menu

ADAPT

Rethinking Interface Design

  • Interface design should reinforce functional hierarchy.
  • Interfaces should have a clear entry point

Flood Hazard Visualizer

launched  01.09.15

Measure

DID IT WORK?

Usability Inventory


  • Approx. 20 Respondents
  • Format: Google Form Survey
  • 3 Basic Tasks

Benchmark Success Rates:

70-80%

Usability Inventory

Determine in which climate / land use scenario flood damages are the largest.

1.

Usability Inventory

Determine how many parcels were expected to be inundated (flooded) by a 5 year flood (20% Annual Chance) in Scenario 3.

2.

Explanations

  • Ambiguous wording

  • Trolling

Usability Inventory

Determine what color circle would correspond with a property that was 25% damaged.

3.

Usability Inventory

Overall

Conclusions

  • UX is Important
  • Know thy User
  • Seek input, & seek it often
  • Abandon approaches that aren't working
  • Think before you code

Lizzi Slivinski


@eslivinski

FLOODATLAS.ORG/TOLEDOFLOODHAZARDS

LIZZI@FLOODS.ORG

Libraries

Questions!?

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