Design #3:Map User Interface
Learnability:
The map display of this UI design is easy to learn because it is intuitive to plan events by location on a map. Also, the map interface is externally consistent with other online maps such as Google Maps. It is easy to recognize that the locations with a star on them are the ones where lunch events are being planned, but less intuitive that the special star with the circle around it indicates events you have already joined. However, when you move the mouse over one of these stars, a tooltip box pops up with event details so the user can quickly figure out the significance of the stars on the map. This pop up is also externally consistent with Google Maps.
This UI is also very learnable because we kept the event details very simple. The app only requires basic information to plan a lunch and provides a comments box for any unique event details. The button to make a new lunch event is large and the only button on the bottom of the page, so it is visibly very different from the rest of the map.
Some issues with the map design may be that users have trouble orienting themselves on the map initially. They might not be certain what area the map covers and have to move around the map to orient themselves. They might also not realize that they may need to search around the map to see further away events that are not captured in the current map frame.
Efficiency:
This map design makes it very efficient to see all the lunch events around your area, but the tradeoff for this is that it is less efficient to see lunch events that are more distant from you because you have to move the map to another location. The search bar helps for quickly focusing the map on another location, but this is still less efficient than the lunch events being shown all on one map frame.
It is also easy to get quick information on a lunch event because of the tooltip popup that is displayed when the user hovers over a star (marking an event you have been invited to or started). The My Lunches map is less visible than the main map, but it makes it easier for the user to see details about the lunches he or she has already joined.
Safety:
The map design makes it harder to go back to the details of an event on the map because you have to locate the restaurant again and click on the popup in order to access the lunch details page. If you have accepted this lunch, you can also see it on the My Lunches map, but this feature is less visible. You need to navigate to the lunch details page to also remove yourself from the lunch.
It’s hard for users to forget about the lunches they’ve committed to because the person who creates a lunch can send out a reminder as the event approaches. The event organizer can also ask users to re-confirm their attendance shortly before the event so that people actually commit to coming and do not forget about their commitment.
If the organizer makes a mistake on the event details, he or she can go back to the event details page. There, the organizer can delete the event, which will notify the people who have already joined the lunch, or edit event details, which will return them to the form they filled out when they created the event.