Usability Problems of Web Map Sites

The aim of the study was to evaluate the usability of web map sites through different usability methods. The following map sites were evaluated: Google Maps, MSN Maps & Directions, MapQuest and Multimap.com. Half of the evaluations were carried out with expert evaluations, during which usability engineers and cartographers examined the sites by paying attention to their features and functionality. Additionally, usability tests were carried out in a usability laboratory. The usability problems found were compared both quantitatively and qualitatively, and grouped according to their severity for the use situation. The most common usability problems found were related to the user interfaces, maps, and direction, address and place searches of the map sites.

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