Information Visualization:Navigation

Chris North

cs3724: HCI

Review

• Shneiderman’s Info. Vis. mantra?•

• Strategies for Multi-D visualization:•

1-D and 2-D Spaces

• 1-D: info has strong 1-D organization• text doc, slideshows, video, audio, lists, timelines

• 2-D: info has strong 2-D organization• spreadsheets, graphs, maps, formatted docs, color chooser,

images

PowerPoint Slide Sorter

• Data Space: 1D array of slides

• Visualization: 2D array, nav 1D

Typical Navigation

1D scrollbar 2D scrollbars

What’smissing?

Keyhole Problem

• Where am I?

• Where can I go?

• Where do I want to go?

• How do I get there?

• Lack of context, overview

Text Overviews

(MS Word)

Visual Overview

• Show me the data!• Map, organization (spatial layout of concepts)

• What information is (not) available?

• Adds context info, relationships

• Enables direct access

• Encourages exploration

• HCI metrics: • Improves user performance, learning time, satisfaction

Insight

Navigation Strategies

• Detail Only

• Overview+Detail• Multiple views

• Zooming

• Focus+Context• Distortion, fisheye

Zooming: 1D

• Lifelines: http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/lifelines/

Zooming large 2D spaces

• http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/image.asp?S=10&T=1&X=2689&Y=20639&Z=17&W=2

Zooming: 2D

• KidPad, HiNote, Jazz

• http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/jazz/

• Semantic zooming: • Don’t just show things at different size

• change objects to make sense

• E.g. add/remove detail info

• Powers of Ten

• Controls?

Overview+Detail: 1D

• SeeSoft

Overview+Detail: 1D

• Home automation:• Timeline for scheduling, set on/off flags

• Calendar shows overview of schedule

Overview+Detail: 2D

Overview: Detail:

• Zoom factor = 5

Square in overview tightly-coupled to scroll bars of detail

Overview+Detail

• Multiple views:• overview

• detail view

• Views are linked:• Selector in overview navigates detail

• Navigating detail updates selector in overview

Multiple levels = large scale

• Zoom factor = 125

overview intermediate view

intermediate view detail view

Multiple FociLinkit

Focus+Context: 1D

• Fisheye Menu: http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/fisheyemenu/

• Perspective Wall

Focus+Context: 2D

Comparison

• Zooming:• natural• Infinite scalability• Lose overview when zoom in

• Overview+Detail:• Good scalability, chaining• Multiple foci• Disconnect between views, back-n-forth

• Focus+Context:• Integrated overview with detail, connected• Least scalable• Distortion, overview unstable

Quiz

• Spotfire?

• TableLens?