Online Biodiversity Resources - Principles for Usability
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17161/bi.v4i0.35Keywords:
portal, user interface, requirements analysis, end usersAbstract
Online biodiversity portals and databases enabling access to large volumes of biological information represent a potentially extensive set of resources for a variety of user groups. However, in order for these resources to live up to their promise they need to be both useful and easy to use. We discuss a number of principles for designing systems for usability, examine how these have been applied to the development of online biodiversity resources and compare this with a portal project developed by the Astrophysics community. We highlight a lack of user involvement and formalised requirements analysis by biodiversity projects resulting in a poor understanding of both the users and their tasks. We suggest a change in the way large biodiversity portal projects are structured, that is by providing infrastructure and supporting user groups developing individual interfaces.Metrics
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Published
2007-11-13
Issue
Section
Articles (peer-reviewed)
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Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. All articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial license.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
How to Cite
Neale, Sophie, M. R. Pullan, and M. F. Watson. 2007. “Online Biodiversity Resources - Principles for Usability”. Biodiversity Informatics 4 (November). https://doi.org/10.17161/bi.v4i0.35.