How to include users in the design and development of cyberinfrastructures?

Abstract

Cyberinfrastructures have reached their production level as far as their capability to serve researchers and connect big data is concerned. However, users face difficulties while they perform complex operations via cyberinfrastructures by using their user interfaces (UIs), for big data analysis and research. Using these infrastructures users perform operations such as data access, data visualization to complete their research activities. Unfortunately, there are not enough studies and projects conducted so far that provides guidelines to developers to design and develop interfaces that meet user requirements in cyberinfrastructures. These infrastructures are also known as e-infrastructures, big data infrastructures, open data infrastructures, virtual research environments. In this work, guidelines are recommended so that user requirements can directly be incorporated into the design and development of cyberinfrastructure applications serving a particular target audience. In this paper, an example of a cyberinfrastructure is given, using which users can be involved in its design and the development. These techniques can then also be transferred to the designers and developers of other cyberinfrastructures to improve the user experience as well as usability of UIs and associated services. Furthermore, these techniques can be enhanced even further and generalized to meet the requirements of users of applications other than cyberinfrastructures.