Information Visualization
the use of abstracted, interactive, and visual representations of information for the generation of #Insight
volume
massive number of elements and/or attributes recorded for each element
variety
derived from multiple sources and include multiple information types; often crowdsourced and volunteered
velocity
includes real-time streams
veracity
of varying quality, inherent vagueness, or general ambiguity
Shneiderman's Information Seeking Mantra
a design philosophy for revealing new insights into big data
coordinated multi-view (CMV) visualization
coordination of #Operators across multiple visual isomorphs
brushing
use of #DirectManipulation to choose the items that will receive an operator
linking
coordination of the operator performed to one view to the same information items in other views
arranging views
adjusting the layout of the coordinated views
highlighting
the visual feedback provided across views when brushing
functional
how strong is the visual feedback
salience
highlighted objects are visible and distinct
consistency
the same highlighting solution is used across views
speed
there are no highlighting performance penalties
analytical
does it interfere with map reading tasks (objectives+operands)
geography
highlighting preserves the position/extent of the feature
symbolization
highlighting preserves the symbol styling of the feature
context
highlighting preserves the symbol styling of surrounding features
Usability Engineering
an approach to design/development (UI) focused on building positive user experiences (UX)
diffusion of innovation
adoption of technology is slow and led by small subset of the potential user group
stakeholders
highly motivated, early adopters
target users
the entire community of intended users
the chasm
the transition point at which the majority of potential users do or do not integrate the technology into their workflows
muddling through
making due with an interface that does not really work for you
usability
the ease of using an interface to accomplish the user's goals/objectives
learnability
how quickly an interface can be used without prior use
transparent usability
an interface that requires little-to-no learning to use
multi-layered interface
provision of a cascading information-to-interface ratio
memorability
how quickly an interface can be used after an extended break in use
convention
a commonly observed interface design solution
slippy map
a multiscale web mapping service that supports panning and zooming (and often retrieve)
efficiency
how quickly an interface can be employed, once learned, to complete desired tasks
pointing mileage
the pointing distance traveled (in pixels) using a pointing device #Probing
pointing workload
the number of clicks or taps using a pointing device
error frequency and severity
the number of mistakes made with an interface and overall impact of mistakes on the session
error recovery
ability to undo an incorrect interaction or reset the map to the initial view
subjective satisfaction
how well the interface is liked by its targeted users
utility
the usefulness of the interface to the target user group
insight
discretized understanding about the nature of the studied (geographic) phenomenon or process
analytical product
the overall outcome of analytical reasoning with the map #VisualAnalytics
usability-utility tradeoff
a condition in which usability and utility act as competing forces during interface design/development
Rob's UX Design Mantra
utility is relative to the user, usability is relative to utility, and the user is relative to usability
user-centered design
an approach to interface design and development that solicits input/feedback from target users early and often
interface evaluation
assessment of the usability and/or utility of an interface
discount interface evaluation
multiple rounds of evaluation, but with a small subset of participants each round
needs assessment
characterizing the target users and target use case
user persona
a description of the envisioned target users of an interface
work domain analysis
characterizing the target users and target use case
user case scenario
a description (story) of the envisioned target uses of the interface
conceptual development
textual description of system functionality
competitive analysis
a critical comparison of a suite of similar applications by their relative merits
requirements document
a listing of the required functionality #Utility
prototyping
visual description of system functionality
wireframe
a rough visual prototype outlining the functionality and layout of a proposed application
specification sheet
enumeration of all global and local design decisions
interaction & usability studies
testing versions of the interface during design and development
evaluation source
the type of person providing input/feedback
expert-based
feedback from usability consultants or stakeholders
theory-based
feedback applied by designers/developers themselves
user-based
feedback solicited from target users
formative evaluation
user feedback on alpha and beta version of the interface
alpha
partially functional, buggy
beta
fully functional, buggy
implementation
development of the interface
summative evaluation
user feedback after v1 of the interface is deployed
feature creep
requests for additional features, after users see what is possible/functional
feature loops
features in the requirements document requiring additional, unforeseen features
debugging
removal of errors; optimization/stabilization of code
action log / bug log
a log of usability issues and coding errors that need to be addressed prior to transition of the interface
transition
migration of the interface to the actual user environment
how?
the fundamental cartographic interaction primitives and the design of cartographic interfaces that implement them
interaction operands (abbreviated)
the digital/virtual receiving the operator #InterfacedCenteredPerspective
information type
how information items are defined
Shneiderman's (1996) task-by-type taxonomy
an organization of different interactive visualizations
1-dimensional
information with one dimension organized in a sequential manner
2-dimensional
information with two distinct dimensions indicating spatial position/extent (or using a metaphor of spatial position)
3-dimensional
information with three distinct dimensions indicating spatial position/extent
temporal
information with one dimension indicating position/extent in time
multi-dimensional
information with multiple (3+) attribute dimensions
tree
information in which all items link to a parent item, excepting the root
network
information in which items link to an arbitrary number of other items without hierarchy
scented widgets
UI controls that include simple visualizations to reveal the operand and thus inform interaction
information component
how information items are anchored to the phenomenon they represent
Peuquet's (1994) TRIAD
a framework for indexing information that includes three fundamental information components
location
indexing by geographic/spatial position or extent
objects
indexing by attributes
time
indexing by a temporal position (timestamp) or extent (time interval)
spatiotemporal
information items anchored in space (2- or 3-dimensional) and time (temporal)
reading level
the percentage of all map features under consideration (after Bertin 1967|1983) #Representation
interaction level
application of Bertin's reading levels to interactive environments
elementary
interpretation of only one map feature
general
interpretation of many-to-all map features
retrieve
request details on demand about a map feature of interest
dynamic label
retrieve activates and populates a place name label
information window
retrieve activates and populates an information container directly atop that map
information panel
retrieve activates and populates an information container anchored outside of the map
arrange
manipulate the layout of the map and linked views
calculate
derive new information about a map feature of interest