User Centred Cartography in Action: Co Designing the TED INCRA/UFPR Monitoring Dashboard with Design Thinking

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11137/1982-3908_2026_49_63963

Keywords:

Design Thinking, User‑Centred GIS, Land Regularisation

Abstract

Geospatial systems frequently encounter usability challenges due to complex interfaces, vast amounts of spatial data, and a misalignment with user needs, which impact their effectiveness and user satisfaction. The present study proposes a methodology for mitigating this issue through the implementation of a Design-Thinking workflow, operationalised through three participatory workshops, collaborative Miro boards and iterative wireframe validation. The present study was conducted within the framework of an eight-project land-regularisation programme known as TED-INCRA/UFPR, which is jointly administered by Brazil’s National Institute for Colonisation and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) and the Federal University of Paraná. The following procedures were undertaken: (i) the elicitation of cartographic and system requirements was conducted through a structured Empathy-Definition cycle, (ii) the co-design of indicators and layouts occurred during Ideation and low-fidelity sketching, and (iii) the refinement of mid-fidelity wireframes took place in a collective Testing session. The artefacts thus obtained were then utilised directly in system development, resulting in the production of a Django/Vue indicators dashboard with a Leaflet/PostGIS. The findings of this study demonstrate that adapting Design Thinking to incorporate cartographic guidelines and open-source development practices results in the creation of a scalable, user-centred monitoring tool. This tool is characterised by its traceability from initial Miro sketches to production code, thus offering a transferable blueprint for the execution of other multidisciplinary geospatial projects.

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Author Biographies

Jaqueline Pisetta, Universidade Federal do Paraná

Jaqueline is a Ph.D. candidate in the Graduate Program in Geodetic Sciences at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Brazil. She holds a Master’s degree in the same field and is affiliated with LabGEOLivre, a research group at UFPR focused on open geospatial technologies.

Silvana Philippi Camboim, Universidade Federal do Paraná

She has a degree in Cartographic Engineering from the Federal University of Paraná (1999), a master's degree in Environmental Management from the University of Nottingham, UK (2003), and a PhD in Geodetic Sciences from the Federal University of Paraná (2012). She is currently a professor at the Federal University of Paraná and was a visiting researcher at the Politecnico di Milano (2023). She has experience in the field of Geosciences, with an emphasis on Cartography, Geographic Information Science, Spatial Databases and Spatial Data Infrastructure. She was chair of the Open Source Geotechnologies Commission (2015-2023) and is vice chair of the Geosemantics Commission (2023-present) of the International Cartographic Association, Board Member of the OSGeo Foundation, Vice-chair for South America of the GeoForAll Network (ICA-ISPRS-OSGeo) and co-chair of the ISPRS Working Group on Openness in Geospatial Science and Remote Sensing.

Alex Sebastião Constancio, Universidade Federal do Paraná

He is a Ph.D. from Programa de Pós-graduação em Gestão da Informação (PPGGI) at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Brazil and holds a Master's deggre from the same program. He works as a software enginer at UFPR and develops researches on Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning.

Vitor Silva de Araujo, Universidade Federal do Paraná

Vitor Silva de Araujo is a PhD student at the Federal University of Paraná, with a degree in Cartographic Engineering and Surveying and participation in projects for the development of cartographic symbols and cartographic data bases, spatial data modeling with an emphasis on interoperability of cartographic systems and development of geospatial applications.

Edison Flávio de Souza, Universidade Federal do Paraná

He is an Information Technology Analyst, specialist in Geoprocessing at UFPR - Federal University of Paraná, works at the Statistics and Data Science Coordination at UFPR and is a member of Labgeolivre and Lageamb, GIS research laboratories also at UFPR.

Estephanie Daiane Batista da Silva, Universidade Federal do Paraná

She is a M.Sc. candidate in the Postgraduate Program in Geodetic Sciences at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Brazil, and affiliated with LabGEOLivre, a UFPR research group focused on open geospatial technologies.

Lilian de Fatima Bencz, Universidade Federal do Paraná

Lilian Bencz is a M.Sc. candidate in the Postgraduate Program in Geodetic Sciences at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Brazil, with a degree in Cartographic Engineering and Surveying and affiliated with LabGEOLivre, a UFPR research group focused on open geospatial technologies.

Luis Henrique da Costa, Universidade Federal do Paraná

He is a M.Sc. candidate in the Graduate Program in Geodetic Sciences at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Brazil, and is affiliated with LabGEOLivre, a research group at UFPR focused on open geospatial technologies.

Valmir Antunes Pereira, Universidade Federal do Paraná

He holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR) and an MBA in Strategic Business Management from the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Brazil. He currently works as an Information Security Manager at UFPR and as GeoIT Manager at LAGEAMB, a UFPR research laboratory focused on geoprocessing and environmental studies.

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Published

2026-07-06

How to Cite

Pisetta, J. (2026) “User Centred Cartography in Action: Co Designing the TED INCRA/UFPR Monitoring Dashboard with Design Thinking”, Anuário do Instituto de Geociências. Rio de Janeiro, BR, 49. doi: 10.11137/1982-3908_2026_49_63963.

Issue

Vol. 49 (2026): Anuário do Instituto de Geociências

Section

Geography

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This journal is licensed under a Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.