BSc group thesis supervision: LIvent, a location-based event discovery platform

Abstract

This study investigates how a location-based event discovery platform can be designed to enhance user satisfaction with consideration for usability and user experience (UX) design. Existing event discovery platforms often suffer from fragmented information structures, limited filtering functionality, unintuitive navigation, and low visibility for smaller local events. To address these limitations, a map-based event platform for Östergötland, Sweden, called LIvent, was designed and evaluated.

The study followed an iterative and user-centered development process consisting of three implementation iterations combined with formative and summative usability testing. The platform integrated features such as interactive map visualization, synchronized map-and-list navigation, advanced filtering, event clustering, and a structured but low-friction event creation flow. Data collection combined quantitative usability metrics, including the System Usability Scale (SUS), task performance, and navigability measurements, with qualitative feedback gathered through think-aloud usability testing.

The results indicate that user satisfaction in location-based event systems can be significantly improved through intuitive spatial visualization, efficient filtering mechanisms, and usability-focused interaction design. Iterative usability testing enabled continuous refinement of the platform, resulting in clearer navigation, reduced information overload, and a more intuitive user experience. The findings further demonstrate the importance of integrating user-centered UX principles throughout the development process when designing interactive map-based systems.

The study contributes to the design and empirical evaluation of a localized event discovery platform and provides insights into how usability and UX design decisions influence user satisfaction in location-based applications.

My role as supervisor

The team built LIvent in TDDD83, LiU's bachelor project where each group of eight runs like a small startup around its own product. I was the group's supervisor, with Martin Sjölund as examiner.

My role was keeping eight people's scope realistic, keeping iterations on schedule, reviewing and steering the scientific thesis writing, and making sure the evaluation could answer the research question. Along the way I met the group at its weekly supervision meetings, played the financier at its funding pitch together with the examiner, and gave feedback on the thesis before it went to opposition.