Customizable process design for collaborative geographic analysis

Geographic analysis can lead to better outcomes in a collaborative manner but requires complicated interactions among participants, support resources and analytic tools. A structural and explicit process that consists of a series of activities can help coordinate these interactions and improve collaboration. To address different geographic problems, the processes are supposed to be customized according to specific geographic analysis methods. However, the common scientific workflow-based process customization method seems inappropriate to provide a multiuser-engaged and interaction-intensive process. The process customization of collaborative geographic analysis still needs to consider the (1) progressive clarification of the process, (2) control of participant flows, and (3) record of various interactions. In addition, to support the implementation of collaborative geographic analysis, a process-oriented environment is required, in which various resources and tools can be coordinated and accessed to conduct different interactions. Therefore, this article proposes a customizable process-based strategy for collaborative geographic analysis. The strategy includes the customization of the collaborative geographic analysis process and a support method for process-based geographic analysis implementation. To verify the feasibility and capability, the proposed method was implemented in a prototype system, and a process for traffic noise assessment was constructed and performed via the system. The results suggest that the proposed strategy can effectively improve geographic analysis by customizing processes, guiding participants, performing interactions, and recording operations throughout the process.