Developing web-GIS applications according to HCI guidelines: The viti-vaud project

Abstract

A variety of different projects makes it possible to develop fullfunctional web GIS-applications. Nowadays most of these projects focus on one specific part of a system (e.g. a map-engine, scripts for datavisualization etc). Although certain GIS projects concentrate on the development of web-interfaces, some problems arise (e.g. consistencyproblems) when these projects are compiled and modified to fit a certain context. Furthermore the development of a system according to Human Computer Interaction (HCI) guidelines involves the participation of the end-user at almost all stages of the process. This chapter describes the adaptation of HCI guidelines during the development of a specific web-GIS application, based on open source-GIS projects: an interactive system for wine cultivation in the Swiss canton of Vaud. Based on this work, some design suggestions for developers of web - GIS projects are presented.