Designing Beescape NexGen: A Geovisualization Tool to Support Pollinator Health

Keywords: user-centered design, geovisualization, interactive maps, environmental decision support, pollinators
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Interactive maps are increasingly used to help facilitate science-based decision making. However, in order for those tools to be effective, cartographers must make design choices that consider specific user needs, a challenge that is compounded when there are multiple invested stakeholder groups. Here, we present research from a multi-year project to develop a spatial decision-support tool called Beescape, built to help manage bees and other pollinators by allowing users to visualize the location of environmental risks and resources. In early usability work, our team determined the prototype was a poor fit for serving beekeepers, and that key stakeholder groups also included agricultural growers, conservationists, and scientists. As a result, our team conducted a needs assessment workshop with members of all four stakeholder groups with the aim of eliciting options and goals for a redesigned spatial decision support tool. Here, we present past and present iterations of the Beescape tool, highlighting additional features prompted by the spatial questions stakeholders asked during needs assessment research, including a printable localized report card, expanded temporal and spatial scales, and the incorporation of iNaturalist and cropland landcover data. Our results and research process can help guide the development of future map-oriented decision making tools, leveraging continued collaborations between cartographers and other scientific disciplines.