Enhancing Usability : The Role of Interactive Maps in Event-Oriented Platforms

Sammanfattning

Studies in human-computer interaction indicate that spatial representations improvenavigation and reduce cognitive effort in digital systems. This study investigates whetheran interactive map affects perceived usability in an event-based platform for students. Theplatform was developed in two versions: one combining an event list with a map andone presenting only a list. Testing was conducted with twenty-two students, where halfevaluated the map version and half the list-only version. The System Usability Scale (SUS)was used with additional questions. Both versions received above-average scores, 79.1with the map and 76.6without, indicating no significant difference. Users without the mapexpressed a need for clearer locationinformation, whileuserswiththemapreportedhigherperceived usefulness. The findings suggest that usability aspects introduced by interactivemaps cannot be fully captured by SUS and that complementary evaluation methods areneeded to identify nuanced usability differences in event-based systems.