Integration of National-Level Geospatial Ecological Tools and Data (2014)

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120 Usability Testing Moderator Guide Objectives The purpose of this research is to conduct usability testing on the Eco-Plan website, in order to assess the perceptions and needs of target audiences, identify any potential usability issues and unmet needs, and understand how the site might be improved to increase overall user satisfaction. Topic Areas and Questions The primary scope of this study is the user experience of the Eco-Plan website. Although the connections between Eco- Plan website and Eco-Plan Advanced web application will be tested, the functionality on Eco-Plan Advanced is not the focus of this study. The following topic areas will be used to facilitate conversations: • Overall Impression. Understand users’ overall impression of the purpose, content, look, and feel of this site. • Content and Navigation. Evaluate how effectively users can locate the content they need, and whether the content is helpful and intuitive. • Map Data and Functions. Verify if the map data are clearly presented and have the right level of details, and identify any potential issues with the map functionality on the Eco-Plan site. • Eco-Plan Site and Eco-Plan Advanced. Assess the extent to which users understand the connections and differences of these two systems. Introduction Script Thank you for agreeing to help us today. Before we begin, I’d like to give you an overview of the process so you’ll know exactly what to expect. • In a few minutes, I’ll ask you to use your computer to com- plete a few tasks. • While you are working, please think out loud. It is very helpful for us to hear you describe what you are seeing, what you are trying to do, and what you are thinking. It’s important for you to know that we are interested in your honest feedback and opinion. • This test is about how well the website performs. This is not a test of your knowledge or computer skills. There are no right or wrong answers. • Through this session, I want to understand how people will actually use this website on their own. So, I may not be able to answer your questions right away. But we will work through the tasks together and discuss any questions in the end. • I have a colleague here with me to take notes, and there may be a couple of people in our team quietly observing. We will collect a video recording of this session. The recordings will only be used for this study and will not be released to any third parties. • Do you have any questions before we start? Participant Background • To start, please tell me a little bit about your work and role. • Would it be more appropriate to categorize your role as transportation planning, environmental analysis, GIS pro- fessional, or some combination? • Do you use any GIS systems for work? • Do you rely on others to provide maps or GIS analysis to you? • What kinds of environmental data do you use in your work? Where does that data come from? • Could you give me a couple of specific examples of how you might use environmental data in your job? A p p e n d i x H Testing Scripts

121 Usability Scenarios Scenario 1 (Overall Impression) Assume you are looking for information to help with trans- portation planning and come across the following website: http://c40-stage.icfwebservices.com/. Take a few minutes to look at the home page, and tell me what this site is about and if there’s anything of interest to you. Probing Questions • What do you think this site is for? Is the content easy to understand? Is there anything that confuses you? • Is there any other information you want to see here? • Where are you inclined to go next? Scenario 2 (Content and Navigation) Now click around, and find information that is relevant to your transportation planning work. Probing Questions • Is the content easy to understand? Is it helpful to you? Are there any terms that you find confusing? • What information is most useful on this (data details, map details) page? • What information is the least useful on this (data details, map details) page? • What is the additional information you would like to see here? • (If users focus on the map content and overlook the Data page) We will take a closer look at the map later. Is there any other useful information on the site besides the maps? Scenario 3 (Map Data and Functions) Pick a specific planning area, transportation network, or cor- ridor that you are interested in, and determine if there is any protected land in that area and who manages the land. Probing Questions • Is it clear which map you need to use? Do you understand the purpose of each map? • What does this map tell you? Is the information clearly pre- sented on the map? • What do you think of the level of details of the data on the map? • What is the source of the map data? • Do you normally look at protected land for your planning? Scenario 4 (Map Data and Functions) What other environmental issues are you concerned about? Use this website to find information about these issues in an area that you are interested in. Scenario 5 (Upload Data) Think of one of the transportation planning projects you worked on recently, add your planning area to the map, and determine if it causes any potential environmental issues. Probing Questions • How do you document the geospatial information of your planning area? What format do you use? • Is it clear what kind of file you can upload? • What do you expect to see after uploading the data? • What could you do with the information you found? Scenario 6 (Eco-Plan Advanced) Assume you find not all information on the map is directly relevant to you. Hide some data from the map, and send the simplified view to your colleagues. Probing Questions • (When a participant navigates to Eco-Plan Advanced) Do you know where you are now and why you come here? • Do you usually share map information with others? How do you share? • Have you used ArcGIS before? • Now that you have seen both Eco-Plan website and Eco-Plan Advanced, could you describe when you are likely to use Eco-Plan website and when you are likely to use Eco-Plan Advanced? Closing We are almost done. • Think back on what you have seen on the site today. How would you describe your overall experience? • Thinking about the content you saw, how useful was the content to you? What content seemed the most helpful? Which seemed the least helpful? • Which is the most helpful function on the map? Which is the least helpful function on the map? What additional function you would like to add to the map? • What was the hardest part? The easiest? • Do you have any additional comments or suggestions? • Questions from observers. (Moderator will check with observers to see if they have any questions before releasing participant). That’s all the questions we have for you. Thank you so much! Your feedback is very important, and we appreciate you sharing your experiences and thoughts with us.

122 Functionality Test Scripts Eco-Plan is a collaborative geospatial tool whose goal is to provide current environmental data to be used in transporta- tion planning. Eco-Plan provides transportation planners with easy-to-use geospatial data that define areas of critical habitats, endangered species, watersheds and wetlands, as well as built environments. The Eco-Plan tool provides the ability to easily visualize—and avoid—conflicts between ecological assets and transportation plans. The tool consists of two major components: • Eco-Plan: Portal of theme maps, data layers, and resources to help novice users explore relevant environmental and ecological data during planning. • Eco-Plan Advanced: Interactive ArcGIS Online portal with preloaded theme maps and data layers to help experienced users integrate state and local data and per- form geoprocessing. The purpose of this study is to investigate the functionality of the Eco-Plan website (Tasks 1–5) and Eco-Plan Advanced web application (Tasks 6–13). Your feedback will help us to uncover issues on this tool and guide us to enhance the content and functionality. Each test script below lists the steps you need to carry out in order to successfully complete the task. Each step also describes the expected result. Please mark whether the actual result matched the expected result, and record any difficul- ties, comments, or questions you may have in the space pro- vided. A short questionnaire is included at the end for you to assess the overall experience and indicate how useful the content and functionality are. Task 1: Review the Eco-Plan Website Purpose: Become familiar with the Eco-Plan website Step # Procedure Expected Result Actual Result As expected? Other/Comments 1 Go to http://c40-stage .icfwebservices.com/ The Eco-Plan home page appears. Y N 2 Review the home page. Look for a coherent general structure, a clear layout, a pleasing color scheme, and easy-to-understand navigation. Y N Task 2: Get Started Purpose: Start using Eco-Plan Step # Procedure Expected Result Actual Result As expected? Other/Comments 1 In the top navigation, click “Get Started”. You are prompted to the Get Started page; the first item in the “accordion”—find your area or load your project—is expanded. Y N 2 Click “Find your area or load your project”. A content box pops up, describing this upcoming feature and asking users to send an e-mail message to indicate if this feature would be useful. Y N 3 Click “Review protected areas”. The map of your area/project displays protected areas and ownership. Y N 4 Click “Explore land cover”. The map of your area/project displays the types of land cover. Y N 5 Click “Identify critical habitat and species at risk”. The map of your area/project displays the critical habitats and at-risk species. Y N 6 Click “View Watershed and wetlands maps”. The map of your area/project displays wetlands, watershed boundaries, water monitoring locations, and shorelines. Y N 7 Click “Review the potential for development in unprotected areas”. The map of your area/project displays areas with high ecological values and development pressures affecting these resources. Y N 8 Click “Next steps”. The links and short descriptions are presented for you to navigate to Map Details page and Eco-Plan Advanced, respectively. Y N

123 Task 3: Review the Map Gallery Purpose: Review precompiled maps Step # Procedure Expected Result Actual Result As expected? Other/Comments 1 In the top navigation, click “Maps”. OR Under Next steps of the Get Started page, click “Map Details”. You are prompted to the Map Gallery page. Y N 2 Review the map gallery. One precompiled map gallery with four maps is presented. Y N 3 Review the maps in the map gallery. Maps present a useful grouping of federal data sets. Y N 4 Click a map of your choice. You are prompted to a Map page, displaying your selected map and other information (e.g., description, user tips, data services). Y N 5 Click the Details link at the top left-hand corner of the map. Description of this map is displayed on the left side of the map. Y N 6 Click Legend link next to Details link. The legend of this map is displayed on the left side of the map. Y N 7 Click the “+” or “-” icons at the top left-hand corner of the map. The map zooms in or out as selected. Y N 8 Click the “Basemap” drop- down menu at the top right- hand corner of the map; select a basemap. The map redraws to reflect the selected basemap. Y N Task 4: Explore Additional Map Functionality Purpose: Explore additional features of precompiled maps Step # Procedure Expected Result Actual Result As expected? Other/Comments 1 From the map page (after a map has been selected from a map gallery), enter an address in the “Find address or place” window at the top right-hand of the map; click “Enter”. You are prompted to the desired address or place on the map. Y N 2 Click a color-coded area on the map. A content box presents on the map and displays detailed information of the selected area. Y N 3 Click “Upload your transpor- tation plan” at the bottom left-hand of the map. A content box pops up, describing the acceptable data format. Y N 4 Click “Cancel” or the “X” icon. The context box is closed. Y N 5 Click “Open Eco-Plan Advanced for more func- tions” at the bottom of the map. A new browser tab opens in your browser, prompting you to the larger map on ArcGIS Online. Y N 6 Go back to the previous browser tab. Open the map page on the Eco-Plan website again. Y N

124 You have now completed Tasks 1–5, which are the tasks involved in the Eco-Plan website functionality testing. Thank you! Please help us improve users’ experience with Eco-Plan by filling out the following questionnaire, based on your experi- ence testing the Eco-Plan website. Task 5: Review Eco-Plan Data Purpose: Learn how to search for data and open data sets Step # Procedure Expected Result Actual Result As expected? Other/Comments 1 In the top navigation, click “Data”. OR In the main area of the home page, click “View Current Data”. You are prompted to the Data Gallery page, which is a compilation of data sets divided into 3 categories: Natural Environment, Cultural/Social, and Built Environment. Y N 2 Click a data set of your choice. You are prompted to a “Data” page, which contains various information on the selected data set: Source, URL, Status, Description, User tip, etc. Y N Please continue to Tasks 6–13, which test the functionality of the Eco-Plan Advanced web application. Eco-Plan Advanced is an interactive ArcGIS Online portal with preloaded theme maps and data layers to help experienced users integrate state and local data and perform geoprocessing. Completing the Eco-Plan Advanced web application functionality testing tasks should take about 2 hours. Your feedback will help us to uncover issues with this tool and guide us to enhance the content and functionality. eco-plan Questionnaire 1. Which browser were you using while performing the tasks? M Chrome M Firefox M Safari M IE10 M IE9 M IE8 M IE7 or older M Other (Please specify) 2. How satisfied are you with the following aspects of the Eco-Plan website? Very Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neither Satisfied Very Satisfied 2.1 Ease of use 2.2 Usefulness of content 2.3 Navigation 3. How relevant are the theme maps on the Eco-Plan website to your transportation planning? 4. Is there any content or terms you find confusing? 5. What content or function do you like most? 6. What content or function do you NOT like? 7. What additional content or function would you like to have on the Eco-Plan website? 8. How would you use the Eco-Plan website in your planning efforts? 9. Do you have any additional comments or suggestions?

125 Task 6: Create a Free ArcGIS Account Purpose: Create an account in order to be able to create maps and manipulate geographical data Step # Procedure Expected Result Actual Result As expected? Other/Comments 1 Go to https://www.arcgis .com/home/signin.html. You are prompted to the ArcGIS Sign-In page. Y N 2 Click “Create a Public Account”. You are prompted to the “Create Your Account” page. Y N 3 Enter your details in all 9 fields (all are required). Fields are filled in. Y N 4 Select “Identify Question” from the drop-down and enter the answer. Answer field is filled in. Y N 5 Click “Terms of Use,” read, click “I ACCEPT”. Pop-up clears. Y N 6 Click “CREATE MY ACCOUNT”. You are prompted to the “My Profile” page. Y N 7 Optional: Click “Edit My Profile” to make changes to the profile. Edits to the profile are saved. Y N Task 7: Create and Save a Map Purpose: Create a map that will allow you to experiment with web-based geographical data Step # Procedure Expected Result Actual Result As expected? Other/Comments 1 In your ArcGIS account, click “MAP” (top navigation). You are prompted to the “My Map” page. Y N 2 Zoom in to find the area of your choice, or enter an address in the search bar (top right); be patient—it may take a few moments for the server to respond. The map is showing the requested area. Y N 3 Click “Save,” then “Save as”; enter a title, tags, and sum- mary; click “SAVE MAP”. The pop-up clears; the name of your new map appears in the left-hand list of maps. Y N Task 8: Select a BaseMap Purpose: View a variety of geographical data available for your newly created map Step # Procedure Expected Result Actual Result As expected? Other/Comments 1 From the top navigation, select “Basemap”. A pop-up window appears with several basemap options. Y N 2 Select one of the basemaps (and be patient—it may take some moments for the basemap to load). If you see the following message: “Data is not available here at this scale. Try zooming out or mapping a new location,” use the zoom-out tool (the minus sign) to zoom out; repeat until the basemap for your selected map is visible. Y N 3 Click “Save” (top navigation), select “Save” to save your map with the selected basemap; click “Save As” to specify a new name for this map. Map is saved with the basemap data. Y N

126 Task 9: Find and Add Data Purpose: Add data to your map or basemap Step # Procedure Expected Result Actual Result As expected? Other/Comments 1 From the top navigation, select “Add”. A pop-up window appears with four options. Y N 2 Select “Add Layers from the Web”. A pop-up window appears. Y N 3 (3a) Select “an ArcGIS Server Web Service”; enter the following url: http://maps1 .arcgisonline.com/arcGIS/ rest/services/USFS_ Ecological_Subregion/ MapServer Y N (3b) Click “ADD LAYER”. Note: This particular layer displays the various ecological subregions within the U.S. A layer of color (or several colors) appears on top of your basemap; the left-hand panel now displays a checked check box named “USFS Ecological Subregion”. 4 In the left-hand panel, uncheck the “USFS Ecological Subregion”. The colorful layer depicting the ecological subregion is removed from the basemap. Y N 5 Click “Save” (top navigation), select “Save” to save your map with the newly added layer; click “Save As” to specify a new name. Map is saved with the layer data. Y N Task 10: Change Basemap Purpose: Change the basemap of your map Step # Procedure Expected Result Actual Result As expected? Other/Comments 1 From the top navigation, select “Basemap”. A pop-up window appears with several basemap options. Y N 2 Select one of the basemaps— different from the one you selected under Task 3 (and be patient—it may take some moments for the basemap to load). The new basemap is now visible. Y N 3 Click “Save” (top navigation), select “Save As,” and specify a new name for this map. The new map is saved with the basemap data. Y N 4 Check to verify that any previ- ously added layers are still functional on the new base- map. You may need to add them again (see Task 9). Previously added layers are functional with the new basemap. Y N

127 Task 11: Change Transparency Purpose: Change the transparency of your basemap or a layer Step # Procedure Expected Result Actual Result As expected? Other/Comments 1 In the left-hand panel, make sure your USFS Ecological Subregion layer is checked. USFS Ecological Subregion layer is active. Y N 2 Click the down arrow to the right of the map name (or layer name). A menu pops up. Y N 3 Select “Transparency”. A small slide menu pops up, where “Opaque” is 0% and “Transparent” is 100%. Y N 4 Slide the slider to 50%; click the map. The slider pop-up clears and the basemap (or the selected layer) is more transparent. Y N Note: You may need to zoom in or out in order for the new transparency setting to appear. 5 Optional: save your map with the new transparency setting. The map is saved with the new transparency setting. Y N Task 12: Change Visibility Range Purpose: Change the visibility range of your map Step # Procedure Expected Result Actual Result As expected? Other/Comments 1 In the left-hand panel, make sure your USFS Ecological Subregion layer is checked. USFS Ecological Subregion layer is active. Y N 2 Click the down arrow to the right of the layer name. A menu pops up. Y N 3 Select “Set Visibility Range”. A small window pops up, displaying “Only show this layer when zoomed” and two entry fields. Y N 4 From the top drop-down, “In closer than,” select “1:12,000,000 (Country)”; from the bottom drop-down, “Out further than,” select “1:20,000 (Neighborhood)”; click the map. The pop-up window clears. Y N 5 Zoom out until the entire U.S. is visible. The USFS Ecological Subregion is not visible, since it is outside the range you indicated in step. Y N 6 Zoom in closer to your region. The USFS Ecological Subregion is visible again. Y N

128 You have now completed Tasks 6–13, which are the tasks involved in the Eco-Plan Advanced web application func- tionality testing. Thank you! Task 13: Find an Existing Eco-Plan Theme Map and Save It Locally Purpose: Find an existing Eco-Plan theme map and save it locally Step # Procedure Expected Result Actual Result As expected? Other/Comments 1 In your URL window, enter one of the following URLs (and be patient—it may take a few moments for the server to respond): 7 http://bit.ly/1em8jjM (Critical Habitat and At-Risk Species) 7 http://bit.ly/1em6Yt0 (Protected Areas and Boundaries) 7 http://bit.ly/1em7J5n (Watersheds and Wetlands) The existing Eco-Plan map is visible on your screen. Y N 2 Click “Save” and select “Save As”; specify a new name for this map. The Eco-Plan theme map is saved in your local account. Y N Please help us improve users’ experience with Eco-Plan Advanced by filling out the following questionnaire, based on your experience testing the application. eco-plan Advanced Questionnaire 1. What functions of Eco-Plan Advanced do you like most? 2. What additional functions would you like to have on Eco-Plan Advanced? 3. How would you use Eco-Plan Advanced web application in your planning efforts? 4. Are the differences between Eco-Plan and Eco-Plan Advanced clear to you? 5. Do you have any additional comments or suggestions?