Terms of Reference

UX Commission Terms of Reference: 2023-2027

  1. Website and Social Media: Maintain and expand the ICA Commission website and social media on user experience (UX) issues: https://use.icaci.org/. Usability is identified as one of the 10 main research themes in the ICA agenda, and UX design encapsulates issues related to map use, maps users, and map usability. Map UX design herein is defined as the set of workflows, methods, and techniques needed for a successful user outcome with a map or interactive mapping system, as well as a productive and satisfying user process while arriving at this outcome.
  1. Bibliography: Maintain an online bibliographic database on user studies and UX design research in Cartography and related fields: https://www.zotero.org/groups/928693/uuui/library. The bibliography includes references on the following topics: map-based user interfaces (UI) and user experience (UX) design; user-centered design and usability engineering, as applied to map design and development; studies of user abilities and differences therein; use case studies with print, web-based, and mobile maps; methods and techniques for evaluating products; the use of emerging mapping technologies.
  1. Educational Workshops: Organize training workshops for students and non-specialists on map-based user studies and UX design, with an emphasis on enabling participation from the Global South.
  1. NextGen Cartographers Support: Provide institutional and logistical support to the Next Generation Cartographers initiative derived in part from the UX-organized listening sessions on how to better include early career students, researchers, and professionals from diverse backgrounds in the ICA.
  1. Open Educational Resources: Develop and disseminate open educational resources to support user studies in cartography. Materials will include UX definitions, methodological best practices, benchmark datasets, and case studies, as well as archived presentations and notes from UX educational and scholarly events.
  1. Scholarly Workshops: Jointly organize with other ICA Commissions pre-conference workshops in disciplines adjacent to Cartography (e.g., Geography, GIScience, Information Visualization, Human-Computer Interaction) aimed at research and design innovations.
  1. ICA Sessions: Organize special sessions on map-based user studies and UX design at future ICA conferences as well as other regional ICA conferences. Original scientific contributions will be gathered and organized through the UX Commission website.
  1. UX Research Agenda: Jointly organize with other ICA Commissions research agenda papers and/or special issues on topics intersecting with user studies and UX design. Prospective topics include analytical reasoning, atlas UX, reproducibility, and visual storytelling in cartography, although topics will evolve through the workshop process.