Newsgroups: comp.infosystems.gis
Date:         Fri, 21 Aug 1992 15:45:00 PDT
              <GIS-L@UBVM.BITNET>
From:         Jay Sandhu <esri!adriatic!jay@UUNET.UU.NET>
Subject:      Re: GIS User interfaces
X-To:         uunet!UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu!GIS-L@uunet.UU.NET

I posted this earlier to the UIGIS-L by mistake, here's another try.
Jay
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Thanks to all that have responded. I think most of you realized that
it was an attempt to break the stalemate on "what's an interface" debate
that crops up now and then.  The sheer number of responses reflect
the problems we face when developing systems. Every user has a different
expectation. However one thing is certain and true for all of us:
"We want computer software to be intutive, easy to use and assist us
and to let us be innovative in our tasks." That is the role of the interface.

Each of us has an interest in what the interface is and I think that
sometimes clouds the issue of a GIS interface.  To me GIS is not only the
software from a particular vendor, rather the GIS as the institution
that consists of the hardware, software, data, people, methods and
products.  The role of the interface is to make sure that the products
an institute creates can be automated and in doing so, the interface
is developed to enable the people (users) to do their job.

Since no one has tried to answer the questions I raised, let me try
again with a different strategy:

Q1.  I am a cartogrpher and I make maps for a living. I am tired
of cleaning pens and making a constant thickness line on my
scribe coat. I need a computer software system to help facillitate
me in my work.  None of the commercial systems I have evaluated are
easy to use so I have turned to you, the experts, to design an
interface so that I can do my job and take the tedium out of
keeping my pens clean and my scribe coat whole.

Ans.
  (In your own words, write the design for the appropriate Interface
   to common cartographic tasks. The interface sholuld allow the
   cartographer to be able to define templates for the types of maps
   he produces.)

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Q2. I work in the city land records office and keep track of land
parcels, owners. My boss has forced this computer software on me
to use, please, help me to understand and use it, please devise an
interface to it that I can do my job.
Ans.
  (In your own words, write the design for the appropriate Interface
   to common tasks carried out at the department of land records.)

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Q3. I work at the state's division of natural resources and manage
lots of information about soils, vegetation, water resources, etc.
I have heard about something called GIS that can help me do things
quickly and compute areas soil types, compute volume of water in
the states reservoirs. Please, what do I type at the system prompt
to make a tabulation of all the resources?
Ans.
  (In your own words, write the design for the appropriate Interface
   to common tasks carried out at the department of natural resources.)

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Q4. I am the police chief and I have been told that this here GIS
can tell me where the crimes are happening in my city. Now how to
I find that out and make it tell me where the next crime is likely
to occur?
Ans.
  (In your own words, write the design for the appropriate Interface
   to facillitate the police chief in his quest to fight crime.)

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Q5. I am the city's traffic engineer and want to create a new bypass
to reduce congestion. I need to do this keeping in mind existing
home owners and keeping noise levels in check. How do I customize
the menu to add a "make bypass" option.
Ans.
  (In your own words, write the design for the appropriate Interface
   to facillitate the traffic engineer to make a bypass to reduce
   congestion.)

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Jay Sandhu
email: jsandhu@esri.com