InfoVis:Wiki - User contributions [en]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T12:46:18Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen1.jpg]] 
Figure 1 
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen2.jpg]] 
Figure 2: point marked with black circle can be edited in the medical notes sheet (see Figure 3) 
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen3.jpg]] 
Figure 3 

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) and pressing the "Suche Patienten"-Button, the application displays a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the main window, which is for this purpose an "Patient view" window. Data of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (see 3).
 
ad 2: Patient information 
This section displays the patient's name and birth-date. More detailed information about the patient is given (in the main-window) when the name of the patient is clicked with the mouse. The information is shown then in the main window and "Patiens view", respectively. There, the patient's data can be modified.
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (see 4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. Values that reside below or above the optimum range - at the chosen date - (see 6) are highlighted red. Values that are within the reference range are black. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further research.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The user can drag and drop one or more tests (the amount is not limited) from the list (see 3) into the main window and the sub-windows, respectively. Empty sub-windows (where no examinations are dropped)show a message that says, that an examination can be dragged and dropped into this window. Each sub-window, which contains an examination, displays detailed information of the tests/examinations over time. The values obtained over time are visualised with a graph (line chart). The sub-windows are divided by horizontal lines into three parts. Examination values that reside above the reference interval are drawn at the top. The part in the middle shows values that reside within the interval. The bottom part shows test results that reside below the reference interval. Additionally, the values are marked with colored circles: red, if the value is too low or too high; green, if the value resides within the optimal interval. The light grey marked region marks the results that refer to the "main" date, which can be selected by simple clicking on a date in the timeline above (see 6).By clicking with the mouse into a sub-window, a window opens and the information is shown larger scaled. In this window, the user can modify the size/scalefactor of the value axis and also the time axis.
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which refers to a single result of an examination, can be selected by mouseclick. A texteditor opens, and the user can write some important notes for a specific examination result (see Figure 2 + 3). By clicking on the name of the doctor in the notices window, some informations about the doctor, as hospital, department etc. are shown in the same window.
 
ad 6: Timeline 
As stated before, the main window displays examination results over time. On the timeline, the user can select a specific date by simply clicking on it with the mouse. The selected date is the date of interest. The font of the selected date appears a bit larger than the fonts of the dates beside. Values that were obtained at this date, are shown in the grey marked area of the main window. The user is also able to scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the timeline). By scrolling, results of the examinations in the main window get adjusted - according to the time interval that is currently shown int the timeline. Below the timeline are two arrows, that point to the left and right. The user can scale the shown timeline interval by pulling the arrows to the left or to the right (with the mouse). In this manner, the user can see and compare more values obtained at distinct dates (see Figure 2).
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown image the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with stuff of the same or other hospitals.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. personal layout etc.).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T12:45:07Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen1.jpg]] 
Figure 1 
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen2.jpg]] 
Figure 2: point marked with black circle can be edited in the medical notes sheet (see Figure 3) 
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen3.jpg]] 
Figure 3 

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) and pressing the "Suche Patienten"-Button, the application displays a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the main window, which is for this purpose an "Patient view" window. Data of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (see 3).
 
ad 2: Patient information 
This section displays the patient's name and birth-date. More detailed information about the patient is given (in the main-window) when the name of the patient is clicked with the mouse. The information is shown then in the main window and "Patiens view", respectively. There, the patient's data can be modified.
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (see 4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. Values that reside below or above the optimum range - at the chosen date - (see 6) are highlighted red. Values that are within the reference range are black. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further research.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The user can drag and drop one or more tests (the amount is not limited) from the list (see 3) into the main window and the sub-windows, respectively. Empty sub-windows (where no examinations are dropped)show a message that says, that an examination can be dragged and dropped into this window. Each sub-window, which contains an examination, displays detailed information of the tests/examinations over time. The values obtained over time are visualised with a graph (line chart). The sub-windows are divided by horizontal lines into three parts. Examination values that reside above the reference interval are drawn at the top. The part in the middle shows values that reside within the interval. The bottom part shows test results that reside below the reference interval. Additionally, the values are marked with colored circles: red, if the value is too low or too high; green, if the value resides within the optimal interval. The light grey marked region marks the results that refer to the "main" date, which can be selected by simple clicking on a date in the timeline above (see 6).By clicking with the mouse into a sub-window, a window opens and the information is shown larger scaled. In this window, the user can modify the scale the value axis and also the time axis.
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which refers to a single result of an examination, can be selected by mouseclick. A texteditor opens, and the user can write some important notes for a specific examination result (see Figure 2 + 3). By clicking on the name of the doctor in the notices window, some informations about the doctor, as hospital, department etc. are shown in the same window.
 
ad 6: Timeline 
As stated before, the main window displays examination results over time. On the timeline, the user can select a specific date by simply clicking on it with the mouse. The selected date is the date of interest. The font of the selected date appears a bit larger than the fonts of the dates beside. Values that were obtained at this date, are shown in the grey marked area of the main window. The user is also able to scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the timeline). By scrolling, results of the examinations in the main window get adjusted - according to the time interval that is currently shown int the timeline. Below the timeline are two arrows, that point to the left and right. The user can scale the shown timeline interval by pulling the arrows to the left or to the right (with the mouse). In this manner, the user can see and compare more values obtained at distinct dates (see Figure 2).
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown image the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with stuff of the same or other hospitals.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. personal layout etc.).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching talk:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T12:15:21Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Bewertung ==

'''Punkte: 28 von 40'''

'''Begründung:'''

Datensatzanalyse: 
=> eine sehr gute Analyse der Daten! Eine Hierarchie kann allerdings indirekt in den Daten stecken (z.B. dass manche Werte bestimmten Organen zuzuordnen sind)  
Zweck der Visualisierung: 
=> der Zweck der Visualisierung könnte hier ausführlicher beschrieben werden 

Konzept: 
=> nur eine Abb. 
=> Wo ist ablesbar, wie weit ein Wert über bzw. unter der Norm liegt? (Werteskalen?) 
=> Farbwahl teilweise problematisch (gelber, oranger Linienzug vor grauem Hintergrund) 
=> Legende? (zwecks Erklärung der Farbkodierung (rot, blau, grüner Hintergrund, ...) 
=> Es fehlen Interface-Elemente, die auf Drag&Drop Funktion hinweisen (etwa tool tips) 
=> Der Referenzwert liegt im Kreismittelpunkt - das macht exaktes Ablesen von Werten schwierig 
=> die unterschiedlich langen Zeitabstände zwischen den Proben werden in der Zeitskala durch gleich lange Intervalle visualisiert; dadurch kann ein falscher Eindruck entstehen 
=> in der Zeitleiste gibt es keinerlei (visuelle) Hinweise, ob die Entwicklung der Werte positiv/negativ ist - d.h. ob die Werte inner- oder außerhalb der Norm liegen 
=> Farbverlauf ist zu vermeiden (Data-Ink-Ratio: welche relevante Information steckt darin?) 
=> Medical Notes: Wozu der Umweg über den Pfeil (5)? Warum nicht gleich direkt per Klick auf das Kreissymbol den Editor öffnen? Welche Hinweise gibt es, dass die Kreise interaktiv sind? 
=> Wie kann der User die Ansicht vergrößern? 
=> Die Selektion der Tests in der Zeitleiste nach Datum ist nicht sehr intuitiv (Slider unterhalb der Zeitleiste unüblich; hebt sich wenig vom Hintergrund ab) 

'''Notiz:'''
Wir haben versucht, die Applikation übersichtlicher und intuitver zu gestalten.
Die Zielgruppenbeschreibung wurde erweitert.

ALT:

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

'''''Ihr habt die Möglichkeit, die angegebenen Dinge noch bis einschließlich 29.02.2008 zu verbessern - dann wird natürlich eure Punkteanzahl aufgewertet!'''''

-- [[User:ASchratt|Alexander Schratt]] 13:46, 08 February 2008 (CEST)

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T12:13:06Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen1.jpg]] 
Figure 1 
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen2.jpg]] 
Figure 2: point marked with black circle can be edited in the medical notes sheet (see Figure 3) 
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen3.jpg]] 
Figure 3 

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) and pressing the "Suche Patienten"-Button, the application displays a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the main window, which is for this purpose an "Patient view" window. Data of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (see 3).
 
ad 2: Patient information 
This section displays the patient's name and birth-date. More detailed information about the patient is given (in the main-window) when the name of the patient is clicked with the mouse. The information is shown then in the main window and "Patiens view", respectively. There, the patient's data can be modified.
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (see 4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. Values that reside below or above the optimum range - at the chosen date - (see 6) are highlighted red. Values that are within the reference range are black. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further research.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The user can drag and drop one or more tests (the amount is not limited) from the list (see 3) into the main window and the sub-windows, respectively. Empty sub-windows (where no examinations are dropped)show a message that says, that an examination can be dragged and dropped into this window. Each sub-window, which contains an examination, displays detailed information of the tests/examinations over time. The values obtained over time are visualised with a graph (line chart). The sub-windows are divided by horizontal lines into three parts. Examination values that reside above the reference interval are drawn at the top. The part in the middle shows values that reside within the interval. The bottom part shows test results that reside below the reference interval. Additionally, the values are marked with colored circles: red, if the value is too low or too high; green, if the value resides within the optimal interval. The light grey marked region marks the results that refer to the "main" date, which can be selected by simple clicking on a date in the timeline above (see 6).
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which refers to a single result of an examination, can be selected by mouseclick. A texteditor opens, and the user can write some important notes for a specific examination result (see Figure 2 + 3). By clicking on the name of the doctor in the notices window, some informations about the doctor, as hospital, department etc. are shown in the same window.
 
ad 6: Timeline 
As stated before, the main window displays examination results over time. On the timeline, the user can select a specific date by simply clicking on it with the mouse. The selected date is the date of interest. The font of the selected date appears a bit larger than the fonts of the dates beside. Values that were obtained at this date, are shown in the grey marked area of the main window. The user is also able to scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the timeline). By scrolling, results of the examinations in the main window get adjusted - according to the time interval that is currently shown int the timeline. Below the timeline are two arrows, that point to the left and right. The user can scale the shown timeline interval by pulling the arrows to the left or to the right (with the mouse). In this manner, the user can see and compare more values obtained at distinct dates (see Figure 2).
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown image the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with stuff of the same or other hospitals.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. personal layout etc.).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T12:08:26Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen1.jpg]] 
Figure 1 
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen2.jpg]] 
Figure 2: point marked with black circle can be edited in the medical notes sheet (see Figure 3) 
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen3.jpg]] 
Figure 3

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) and pressing the "Suche Patienten"-Button, the application displays a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the main window, which is for this purpose an "Patient view" window. Data of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (see 3).
 
ad 2: Patient information 
This section displays the patient's name and birth-date. More detailed information about the patient is given (in the main-window) when the name of the patient is clicked with the mouse. The information is shown then in the main window and "Patiens view", respectively. There, the patient's data can be modified.
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (see 4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. Values that reside below or above the optimum range - at the chosen date - (see 6) are highlighted red. Values that are within the reference range are black. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further research.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The user can drag and drop one or more tests (the amount is not limited) from the list (see 3) into the main window and the sub-windows, respectively. Empty sub-windows (where no examinations are dropped)show a message that says, that an examination can be dragged and dropped into this window. Each sub-window, which contains an examination, displays detailed information of the tests/examinations over time. The values obtained over time are visualised with a graph (line chart). The sub-windows are divided by horizontal lines into three parts. Examination values that reside above the reference interval are drawn at the top. The part in the middle shows values that reside within the interval. The bottom part shows test results that reside below the reference interval. Additionally, the values are marked with colored circles: red, if the value is too low or too high; green, if the value resides within the optimal interval. The light grey marked region marks the results that refer to the "main" date, which can be selected by simple clicking on a date in the timeline above (see 6).
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which refers to a single result of an examination, can be selected by mouseclick. A texteditor opens, and the user can write some important notes for a specific examination result (see Figure 2).
 
ad 6: Timeline 
As stated before, the main window displays examination results over time. On the timeline, the user can select a specific date by simply clicking on it with the mouse. The selected date is the date of interest. The font of the selected date appears a bit larger than the fonts of the dates beside. Values that were obtained at this date, are shown in the grey marked area of the main window. The user is also able to scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the timeline). By scrolling, results of the examinations in the main window get adjusted - according to the time interval that is currently shown int the timeline. Below the timeline are two arrows, that point to the left and right. The user can scale the shown timeline interval by pulling the arrows to the left or to the right (with the mouse). In this manner, the user can see and compare more values obtained at distinct dates (see Figure 2).
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T12:07:23Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen1.jpg]] 
Figure 1: 
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen2.jpg]] 
Figure 2: point marked with black circle can be edited in the medical notes sheet (see Figure 3) 
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen3.jpg]]
Figure 3:

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) and pressing the "Suche Patienten"-Button, the application displays a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the main window, which is for this purpose an "Patient view" window. Data of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (see 3).
 
ad 2: Patient information 
This section displays the patient's name and birth-date. More detailed information about the patient is given (in the main-window) when the name of the patient is clicked with the mouse. The information is shown then in the main window and "Patiens view", respectively. There, the patient's data can be modified.
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (see 4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. Values that reside below or above the optimum range - at the chosen date - (see 6) are highlighted red. Values that are within the reference range are black. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further research.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The user can drag and drop one or more tests (the amount is not limited) from the list (see 3) into the main window and the sub-windows, respectively. Empty sub-windows (where no examinations are dropped)show a message that says, that an examination can be dragged and dropped into this window. Each sub-window, which contains an examination, displays detailed information of the tests/examinations over time. The values obtained over time are visualised with a graph (line chart). The sub-windows are divided by horizontal lines into three parts. Examination values that reside above the reference interval are drawn at the top. The part in the middle shows values that reside within the interval. The bottom part shows test results that reside below the reference interval. Additionally, the values are marked with colored circles: red, if the value is too low or too high; green, if the value resides within the optimal interval. The light grey marked region marks the results that refer to the "main" date, which can be selected by simple clicking on a date in the timeline above (see 6).
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which refers to a single result of an examination, can be selected by mouseclick. A texteditor opens, and the user can write some important notes for a specific examination result (see Figure 2).
 
ad 6: Timeline 
As stated before, the main window displays examination results over time. On the timeline, the user can select a specific date by simply clicking on it with the mouse. The selected date is the date of interest. The font of the selected date appears a bit larger than the fonts of the dates beside. Values that were obtained at this date, are shown in the grey marked area of the main window. The user is also able to scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the timeline). By scrolling, results of the examinations in the main window get adjusted - according to the time interval that is currently shown int the timeline. Below the timeline are two arrows, that point to the left and right. The user can scale the shown timeline interval by pulling the arrows to the left or to the right (with the mouse). In this manner, the user can see and compare more values obtained at distinct dates (see Figure 2).
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T12:05:30Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen1.jpg]]
Figure 1
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen2.jpg]]
Figure 2: point marked with black circle can be edited in the medical notes sheet (see Figure 3)
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen3.jpg]]
Figure 2

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) and pressing the "Suche Patienten"-Button, the application displays a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the main window, which is for this purpose an "Patient view" window. Data of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (see 3).
 
ad 2: Patient information 
This section displays the patient's name and birth-date. More detailed information about the patient is given (in the main-window) when the name of the patient is clicked with the mouse. The information is shown then in the main window and "Patiens view", respectively. There, the patient's data can be modified.
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (see 4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. Values that reside below or above the optimum range - at the chosen date - (see 6) are highlighted red. Values that are within the reference range are black. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further research.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The user can drag and drop one or more tests (the amount is not limited) from the list (see 3) into the main window and the sub-windows, respectively. Empty sub-windows (where no examinations are dropped)show a message that says, that an examination can be dragged and dropped into this window. Each sub-window, which contains an examination, displays detailed information of the tests/examinations over time. The values obtained over time are visualised with a graph (line chart). The sub-windows are divided by horizontal lines into three parts. Examination values that reside above the reference interval are drawn at the top. The part in the middle shows values that reside within the interval. The bottom part shows test results that reside below the reference interval. Additionally, the values are marked with colored circles: red, if the value is too low or too high; green, if the value resides within the optimal interval. The light grey marked region marks the results that refer to the "main" date, which can be selected by simple clicking on a date in the timeline above (see 6).
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which refers to a single result of an examination, can be selected by mouseclick. A texteditor opens, and the user can write some important notes for a specific examination result (see Figure 2).
 
ad 6: Timeline 
As stated before, the main window displays examination results over time. On the timeline, the user can select a specific date by simply clicking on it with the mouse. The selected date is the date of interest. The font of the selected date appears a bit larger than the fonts of the dates beside. Values that were obtained at this date, are shown in the grey marked area of the main window. The user is also able to scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the timeline). By scrolling, results of the examinations in the main window get adjusted - according to the time interval that is currently shown int the timeline. Below the timeline are two arrows, that point to the left and right. The user can scale the shown timeline interval by pulling the arrows to the left or to the right (with the mouse). In this manner, the user can see and compare more values obtained at distinct dates (see Figure 2).
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

File:Diamont screen3.jpg

2008-02-29T12:04:14Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193: New page: == Summary == == Copyright status == == Source ==

== Summary ==

== Copyright status ==

== Source ==

File:Diamont screen2.jpg

2008-02-29T12:02:29Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193: New page: == Summary == == Copyright status == == Source ==

== Summary ==

== Copyright status ==

== Source ==

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T12:00:57Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen1.jpg]]
Figure 1
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen2.jpg]]
Figure 2

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) and pressing the "Suche Patienten"-Button, the application displays a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the main window, which is for this purpose an "Patient view" window. Data of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (see 3).
 
ad 2: Patient information 
This section displays the patient's name and birth-date. More detailed information about the patient is given (in the main-window) when the name of the patient is clicked with the mouse. The information is shown then in the main window and "Patiens view", respectively. There, the patient's data can be modified.
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (see 4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. Values that reside below or above the optimum range - at the chosen date - (see 6) are highlighted red. Values that are within the reference range are black. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further research.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The user can drag and drop one or more tests (the amount is not limited) from the list (see 3) into the main window and the sub-windows, respectively. Empty sub-windows (where no examinations are dropped)show a message that says, that an examination can be dragged and dropped into this window. Each sub-window, which contains an examination, displays detailed information of the tests/examinations over time. The values obtained over time are visualised with a graph (line chart). The sub-windows are divided by horizontal lines into three parts. Examination values that reside above the reference interval are drawn at the top. The part in the middle shows values that reside within the interval. The bottom part shows test results that reside below the reference interval. Additionally, the values are marked with colored circles: red, if the value is too low or too high; green, if the value resides within the optimal interval. The light grey marked region marks the results that refer to the "main" date, which can be selected by simple clicking on a date in the timeline above (see 6).
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which refers to a single result of an examination, can be selected by mouseclick. A texteditor opens, and the user can write some important notes for a specific examination result (see Figure 2).
 
ad 6: Timeline 
As stated before, the main window displays examination results over time. On the timeline, the user can select a specific date by simply clicking on it with the mouse. The selected date is the date of interest. The font of the selected date appears a bit larger than the fonts of the dates beside. Values that were obtained at this date, are shown in the grey marked area of the main window. The user is also able to scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the timeline). By scrolling, results of the examinations in the main window get adjusted - according to the time interval that is currently shown int the timeline. Below the timeline are two arrows, that point to the left and right. The user can scale the shown timeline interval by pulling the arrows to the left or to the right (with the mouse). In this manner, the user can see and compare more values obtained at distinct dates (see Figure 2).
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T10:43:35Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

NEW!!!
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen1.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) and pressing the "Suche Patienten"-Button, the application displays a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the main window, which is for this purpose an "Patient view" window. Data of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (see 3).
 
ad 2: Patient information 
This section displays the patient's name and birth-date. More detailed information about the patient is given (in the main-window) when the name of the patient is clicked with the mouse. The information is shown then in the main window and "Patiens view", respectively. There, the patient's data can be modified.
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (see 4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. Values that reside below or above the optimum range - at the chosen date - (see 6) are highlighted red. Values that are within the reference range are black. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further research.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The user can drag and drop one or more tests (the amount is not limited) from the list (see 3) into the main window and the sub-windows, respectively. Empty sub-windows (where no examinations are dropped)show a message that says, that an examination can be dragged and dropped into this window. Each sub-window, which contains an examination, displays detailed information of the tests/examinations over time. The values obtained over time are visualised with a graph (line chart). The sub-windows are divided by horizontal lines into three parts. Examination values that reside above the reference interval are drawn at the top. The part in the middle shows values that reside within the interval. The bottom part shows test results that reside below the reference interval. Additionally, the values are marked with colored circles: red, if the value is too low or too high; green, if the value resides within the optimal interval. The light grey marked region marks the results that refer to the "main" date, which can be selected by simple clicking on a date in the timeline above (see 6).
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which refers to a single result of an examination, can be selected by mouseclick. A texteditor opens, and the user can write some important notes for a specific examination result (see Figure 2).
 
ad 6: Timeline 
As stated before, the main window displays examination results over time. On the timeline, the user can select a specific date by simply clicking on it with the mouse. The selected date is the date of interest. The font of the selected date appears a bit larger than the fonts of the dates beside. Values that were obtained at this date, are shown in the grey marked area of the main window. The user is also able to scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the timeline). By scrolling, results of the examinations in the main window get adjusted - according to the time interval that is currently shown int the timeline. Below the timeline are two arrows, that point to the left and right. The user can scale the shown timeline interval by pulling the arrows to the left or to the right (with the mouse). In this manner, the user can see and compare more values obtained at distinct dates (see Figure 2).
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T10:42:29Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

NEW!!!
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen1.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) and pressing the "Suche Patienten"-Button, the application displays a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the main window, which is for this purpose an "Patient view" window. Data of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (see 3).
 
ad 2: Patient information 
This section displays the patient's name and birth-date. More detailed information about the patient is given (in the main-window) when the name of the patient is clicked with the mouse. The information is shown then in the main window and "Patiens view", respectively. There, the patient's data can be modified.
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (see 4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. Values that reside below or above the optimum range - at the chosen date - (see 6) are highlighted red. Values that are within the reference range are black. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further research.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The user can drag and drop one or more tests (the amount is not limited) from the list (see 3) into the main window and the sub-windows, respectively. Empty sub-windows (where no examinations are dropped)show a message that says, that an examination can be dragged and dropped into this window. Each sub-window, which contains an examination, displays detailed information of the tests/examinations over time. The values obtained over time are visualised with a graph (line chart). The sub-windows are divided by horizontal lines into three parts. Examination values that reside above the reference interval are drawn at the top. The part in the middle shows values that reside within the interval. The bottom part shows test results that reside below the reference interval. Additionally, the values are marked with colored circles: red, if the value is too low or too high; green, if the value resides within the optimal interval. The light grey marked region marks the results that refer to the "main" date, which can be selected by simple clicking on a date in the timeline above (see 6).
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which refers to a single result of an examination, can be selected by mouseclick. A texteditor opens, and the user can write some important notes for this examination result (see Figure 2).
 
ad 6: Timeline 
As stated before, the main window displays examination results over time. On the timeline, the user can select a specific date by simply clicking on it with the mouse. The selected date is the date of interest. The font of the selected date appears a bit larger than the fonts of the dates beside. Values that were obtained at this date, are shown in the grey marked area of the main window. The user is also able to scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the timeline). By scrolling, results of the examinations in the main window get adjusted - according to the time interval that is currently shown int the timeline. Below the timeline are two arrows, that point to the left and right. The user can scale the shown timeline interval by pulling the arrows to the left or to the right (with the mouse). In this manner, the user can see and compare more values obtained at distinct dates (see Figure 2).
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T10:38:44Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

NEW!!!
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen1.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the main window, which is for this purpose an "Patient view" window. Data of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (see 3).
 
ad 2: Patient information 
This section displays the patient's name and birth-date. More detailed information about the patient is given (in the main-window) when the name of the patient is clicked with the mouse. The information is shown then in the main window and "Patiens view", respectively. There, the patient's data can be modified.
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (see 4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. Values that reside below or above the optimum range - at the chosen date - (see 6) are highlighted red. Values that are within the reference range are black. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further research.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The user can drag and drop one or more tests (the amount is not limited) from the list (3) into the main window and the sub-windows, respectively. Empty sub-windows (where no examinations are dropped)show a message that says, that an examination can be dragged and dropped into this window. Each sub-window, which contains an examination, displays detailed information of the tests/examinations over time. The values obtained over time are visualised with a graph (line chart). The sub-windows are divided by horizontal lines into three parts. Examination values that reside above the reference interval are drawn at the top. The part in the middle shows values that reside within the interval. The bottom part shows test results that reside below the reference interval. Additionally, the values are marked with colored circles: red, if the value is too low or too high; green, if the value resides within the optimal interval. The light grey marked region marks the results that refer to the "main" date, which can be selected by simple clicking on a date in the timeline above (see 6).
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which refers to a single result of an examination, can be selected by mouseclick. A texteditor opens, and the user can write some important notes for this examination result (see Figure 2).
 
ad 6: Timeline 
As stated before, the main window displays examination results over time. On the timeline, the user can select a specific date by simply clicking on it with the mouse. The selected date is the date of interest. The font of the selected date appears a bit larger than the fonts of the dates beside. Values that were obtained at this date, are shown in the grey marked area of the main window. The user is also able to scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the timeline). By scrolling, results of the examinations in the main window get adjusted - according to the time interval that is currently shown int the timeline. Below the timeline are two arrows, that point to the left and right. The user can scale the shown timeline interval by pulling the arrows to the left or to the right (with the mouse). In this manner, the user can see and compare more values obtained at distinct dates (see Figure 2).
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T10:30:46Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

NEW!!!
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen1.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the "timeline" window, which is for this purpose an "information" window. Information of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (see 3).
 
ad 2: Patient detail information 
This section displays patient informations such as name, birthdate. The informations can be modified either by using the Menu (7)or by selecting it from the record list using the search function.
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (see 4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. Values that reside below or above the optimum range - at the chosen date - (see 6) are highlighted red. Values that are within the reference range are black. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further research.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The user can drag and drop one or more tests (the amount is not limited) from the list (3) into the main window and the sub-windows, respectively. Empty sub-windows (where no examinations are dropped)show a message that says, that an examination can be dragged and dropped into this window. Each sub-window, which contains an examination, displays detailed information of the tests/examinations over time. The values obtained over time are visualised with a graph (line chart). The sub-windows are divided by horizontal lines into three parts. Examination values that reside above the reference interval are drawn at the top. The part in the middle shows values that reside within the interval. The bottom part shows test results that reside below the reference interval. Additionally, the values are marked with colored circles: red, if the value is too low or too high; green, if the value resides within the optimal interval. The light grey marked region marks the results that refer to the "main" date, which can be selected by simple clicking on a date in the timeline above (see 6).
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which refers to a single result of an examination, can be selected by mouseclick. A texteditor opens, and the user can write some important notes for this examination result (see Figure 2).
 
ad 6: Timeline 
As stated before, the main window displays examination results over time. On the timeline, the user can select a specific date by simply clicking on it with the mouse. The selected date is the date of interest. The font of the selected date appears a bit larger than the fonts of the dates beside. Values that were obtained at this date, are shown in the grey marked area of the main window. The user is also able to scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the timeline). By scrolling, results of the examinations in the main window get adjusted - according to the time interval that is currently shown int the timeline. Below the timeline are two arrows, that point to the left and right. The user can scale the shown timeline interval by pulling the arrows to the left or to the right (with the mouse). In this manner, the user can see and compare more values obtained at distinct dates (see Figure 2).
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T09:56:38Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

NEW!!!
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen1.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the "timeline" window, which is for this purpose an "information" window. Information of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (3).
 
ad 2: Patient detail information 
This section displays patient informations such as name, birthdate and habitation, which can be customized using the menu function (7).
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. Values that reside below or above the optimum range - at the chosen date - (6) are highlighted red. Values that are within the reference range are black. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further research.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The user can drag and drop one or more tests from the list (3) into the main window and the sub-windows, respectively. Each sub-window displays detailed information of the tests/examinations over time. The values obtained over time are visualised with a graph (line chart). Dates can be selected in the timeline above (6). Each sub-window is divided by horizontal lines into three parts. Examination values that reside above the reference interval are drawn at the top. The part in the middle shows values that reside within the interval. The bottom part shows test results that reside below the reference interval. Additionally, the values are marked with colored circles: red, if the value is too low or too high; green, if the value resides within the optimal interval.

 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6: Timeline / Graph 
This window displays test results over time. It is a linegraph. On the x-axis are specific times/dates and on the y-axis the results of examinations. Each line visualises the results of one specific examination (the same examinations which are shown in the main window). We have choosed a linegraph to visualise the data for the purpose of putting the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. He can scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the graph)and he can select a certain date (when test results were collected) by dragging the arrow below the timeline. By selecting a specific date the results of the examinations in the main window change - according to the examination results which were taken at this date. The color of each line in the graph is the same as the fill color of the refering test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T09:27:40Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

NEW!!!
[[{{ns:6}}:Diamont_screen1.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the "timeline" window, which is for this purpose an "information" window. Information of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (3).
 
ad 2: Patient detail information 
This section displays patient informations such as name, birthdate and habitation, which can be customized using the menu function (7).
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. The test list holds information on several other aspects of the tests, by using a color-coded printing method. Test values which are low compared to their reference range are printed blue, while values which are to high are printed red. Values that are within the reference range are shown in black color. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further investigation. Tests that have been dropped to the main window (4) are printed with a green background, so that the user can tell just by looking at the list, which tests are currently under observation by the program.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test/examination results for one specific date (which can be selected in the timeline below). The user can drag and drop a test (or tests) he is interested in into this window to display it's information. The window is divided by horizontal lines into three parts, which are described in the following. The upper and lower sections are separated from the middle section by dashed (horizontal)lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color (red). The upper sections show test results where the value resides above the top limit of the reference interval for this test. The center part shows all tests with results that reside within interval. The bottom part displays all tests that reside below the minimum of the reference interval. Each test is displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information - name of the test/examination, result value and unit. The colors are similar to the colors of the line graph of (6). Each color denotes one test.
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6: Timeline / Graph 
This window displays test results over time. It is a linegraph. On the x-axis are specific times/dates and on the y-axis the results of examinations. Each line visualises the results of one specific examination (the same examinations which are shown in the main window). We have choosed a linegraph to visualise the data for the purpose of putting the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. He can scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the graph)and he can select a certain date (when test results were collected) by dragging the arrow below the timeline. By selecting a specific date the results of the examinations in the main window change - according to the examination results which were taken at this date. The color of each line in the graph is the same as the fill color of the refering test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

File:Diamont screen1.jpg

2008-02-29T09:26:51Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193: New page: == Summary == == Copyright status == == Source ==

== Summary ==

== Copyright status ==

== Source ==

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-02-29T02:43:57Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

NEW!!!
[[Image:Ournew.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the "timeline" window, which is for this purpose an "information" window. Information of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (3).
 
ad 2: Patient detail information 
This section displays patient informations such as name, birthdate and habitation, which can be customized using the menu function (7).
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. The test list holds information on several other aspects of the tests, by using a color-coded printing method. Test values which are low compared to their reference range are printed blue, while values which are to high are printed red. Values that are within the reference range are shown in black color. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further investigation. Tests that have been dropped to the main window (4) are printed with a green background, so that the user can tell just by looking at the list, which tests are currently under observation by the program.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test/examination results for one specific date (which can be selected in the timeline below). The user can drag and drop a test (or tests) he is interested in into this window to display it's information. The window is divided by horizontal lines into three parts, which are described in the following. The upper and lower sections are separated from the middle section by dashed (horizontal)lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color (red). The upper sections show test results where the value resides above the top limit of the reference interval for this test. The center part shows all tests with results that reside within interval. The bottom part displays all tests that reside below the minimum of the reference interval. Each test is displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information - name of the test/examination, result value and unit. The colors are similar to the colors of the line graph of (6). Each color denotes one test.
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6: Timeline / Graph 
This window displays test results over time. It is a linegraph. On the x-axis are specific times/dates and on the y-axis the results of examinations. Each line visualises the results of one specific examination (the same examinations which are shown in the main window). We have choosed a linegraph to visualise the data for the purpose of putting the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. He can scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the graph)and he can select a certain date (when test results were collected) by dragging the arrow below the timeline. By selecting a specific date the results of the examinations in the main window change - according to the examination results which were taken at this date. The color of each line in the graph is the same as the fill color of the refering test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

File:Ournew.jpg

2008-02-29T02:41:38Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193: New page: == Summary == == Copyright status == == Source ==

== Summary ==

== Copyright status ==

== Source ==

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 3

2008-01-08T10:58:39Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe3.html Description of the third task]
=== Assigned Graphic ===
[[Image:Radon_Level.jpg]]
Established Percentage of Homes that Exceed EPA's Recommended Level for Radon

== Terminology ==
Edward Tufte introduced a concept that he coined the '''"data-ink ratio"''' [Tufte et al., 1999]: The data-ink ratio describes how much of a graphic represents salient data. The equation according to Tufte is as follows: '' (data-ink) / (all-ink used to print the graphic) = data-ink-ratio''. The data-ink ratio resides in the interval 0 and 1. The goal is to maximize the ratio by eliminating unnecessary and redundant data. 
{{Quotation|In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.|Antoine de Saint Exupery}}

== Critics ==

=== At First Glance ===
One of the first things that the observer sees by taking a look at the graphic is, that nearly a half of all the US states cannot be matched according to the legend. For the blank (white filled) states there is no further explanation in the legend. So, it's not clear if the states haven't been considered in this graphical representation of statistical data or if it's simply the result of a bad copy or print. 
{{Quotation|Graphics must not quote data out of context.|[Tufte et al., 1999]}}

===Colors And Fill Styles===
Because of the different font sizes of the abbreviations we assume that states with higher percentages are those that are more important to us, because they are at higher risk than the others (amount of nuclear radiation). The use of different font sizes in this graphic is not the ideal solution. A better way would be to use more saturated colors or gray values for those states we want to highlight. 

It's difficult to detect differences in the shading of two used gray values (0-10% and 25%+). Using colors or gray values that visualy seem to be different from each other would make the states more distinguishable in this graphic - concerning the fact that different statements (percentages of homes) should be related to the states. 

Additionally, for the purpose of pointing out the main message of the representation - "some countries have higher percentages than others, hence, there is more radiation and more risk" - it's very useful to use distinct color or gray values to emphasize and highlight exactly this fact. For other graphical representations it's often better to use similar color values. 

Of course, sometimes it is not possible to use colors for such graphics because of economic issues, as common daily print media for instance. 

There is a variety of fill styles (solid monochromatic fills and patterns) in the graphical representation that couldn't be easily interpreted by the observer. Each percentage range is either represented by a pattern or a solid fill color. It is not very clear, why some ranges/classes are visualised by patterns and others not. The class with the lowest percentage (0 - < 10%) has a striped fill pattern. The next class (10 - < 15%) has a solid color fill that is nearly black. The following class (15 - < 20%) has a slightly lighter fill color than the previous one. The next one (20 - < 25%) uses a pattern again whereas the following is filled with a solid color again. It would be better to choose one fill style - solid color or pattern. Otherwise an observer could misconceive the graphic as interpreting each fill style - solid color or pattern - belonging together. And this would be a wrong message given by the representation.

===Data Ink (Ratio)===
====Lines And Borders====
For the purpose of visualising the borders of the US states, relatively thick lines were used. Using thinner lines would save some data-ink and would perhaps improve a bit the reading efficiency. 

The exactness of the map is another point we want to discuss. Some US states in the map have a double line as state border (such as the borders between North and South Dakota; Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois; Kansas and Oklahoma and some others). Another defect is that some states seem to be drawn upon another state because of bad drawn borders.
The missing accuracy in this graphic leads to confusion of the observer. Such defects should be avoided.

====Written Data / Labeling====
The use of larger font sizes for the abbreviations of the states according to the class they belong - small font sizes for low values and larger font sizes for high percentage values - is a valid way (according to [Few, 2004a]) to point out some data, but in this case, due to the amount of data and the usage of different gray values, it's not clear why the font sizes vary (at first view). It looks a bit unorganized. For instance, the area covered by Michigan (MI), Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY)and Tennessee (TN): At first glance, this states seem to share some information or data because the font-size used is the same for all of these states. But in fact, Michigan is the state with the lowest percentage value by comparison with the other mentioned states. The use of one distinct font size and a simple color or fill pattern for differentiation would be more than enough. 

A problem is the labeling of very small states, e.g. states like Maryland (MA) which have it's location in the nothern part of the east coast. The placement of labels in the center of states is not possible here. Choosing smaller font-sizes is not the best solution because the letters would not be readable any more. A solution could be to enlarge the whole graphic or to put - like it is realised in the graphic - some arrows or lines which point to the states. 

The use of state abbreviations instead of full names as labels is the right choice here because there would be hardly any place for long names. But in addition, for the sake of clarity it would be nice if a legend could explain the abbreviations by giving the full names of the US states - for people who do not know the US state abbreviations. 

== Improvements ==
*First thing we considered to be changed in the original graphic were the fill colors / patterns. In the "original" image, these are not consistent because solid colors and patterns were mixed up. We decided only to use solid color fills for different classes. States that are at higher risk are darker than the states in lower percentage ranges. 

*We use the same font and size for all labels to make the graphic better legible. Hence, only the color shading visualises which state is member of which class. 

*The thickness of the borders between the states are thinner than in the "original" image. In the legend at the bottom of the graphic the data is ordered by the percentage ranges (an therefore also by the color intensity). This makes the graphic easier to understand. 

*We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make it much clearer - we draw the background white and lines a bit thinner. 

[[Image:Usa_Kopie.gif]]

== Comments ==
"We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make it much clearer."

''Soll heißen: Ihr habt den grauen Bereich um die Karte entfernt, oder?''

A: Ja, wir haben den grauen Bereich entfernt und die Linien etwas dünner gezeichnet.

''Sonstiges:'' 
''- keine exakte Klassenbildung (besser: 0 - < 10%, 10 - < 20%, usw.)'' 

A: Haben wir nun geändert.

''- Die Grüntöne sind mit Ausnahme von "above 25%" z.T. sehr schwer zu unterscheiden (insbesondere 15-20 und 20-25).'' 
''Ich würde hier eher eine Skala von Hellgelb über Orange bis Dunkelrot verwenden (zudem wird Rot eher mit Gefahr assoziiert als Grün).'' 
''Für "Undefined" würde ich ein Hellgrau verwenden, das wäre neutral.''

A. Haben wir ausgebessert.
 
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

References:
*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 3

2008-01-08T10:58:16Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe3.html Description of the third task]
=== Assigned Graphic ===
[[Image:Radon_Level.jpg]]
Established Percentage of Homes that Exceed EPA's Recommended Level for Radon

== Terminology ==
Edward Tufte introduced a concept that he coined the '''"data-ink ratio"''' [Tufte et al., 1999]: The data-ink ratio describes how much of a graphic represents salient data. The equation according to Tufte is as follows: '' (data-ink) / (all-ink used to print the graphic) = data-ink-ratio''. The data-ink ratio resides in the interval 0 and 1. The goal is to maximize the ratio by eliminating unnecessary and redundant data. 
{{Quotation|In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.|Antoine de Saint Exupery}}

== Critics ==

=== At First Glance ===
One of the first things that the observer sees by taking a look at the graphic is, that nearly a half of all the US states cannot be matched according to the legend. For the blank (white filled) states there is no further explanation in the legend. So, it's not clear if the states haven't been considered in this graphical representation of statistical data or if it's simply the result of a bad copy or print. 
{{Quotation|Graphics must not quote data out of context.|[Tufte et al., 1999]}}

===Colors And Fill Styles===
Because of the different font sizes of the abbreviations we assume that states with higher percentages are those that are more important to us, because they are at higher risk than the others (amount of nuclear radiation). The use of different font sizes in this graphic is not the ideal solution. A better way would be to use more saturated colors or gray values for those states we want to highlight. 

It's difficult to detect differences in the shading of two used gray values (0-10% and 25%+). Using colors or gray values that visualy seem to be different from each other would make the states more distinguishable in this graphic - concerning the fact that different statements (percentages of homes) should be related to the states. 

Additionally, for the purpose of pointing out the main message of the representation - "some countries have higher percentages than others, hence, there is more radiation and more risk" - it's very useful to use distinct color or gray values to emphasize and highlight exactly this fact. For other graphical representations it's often better to use similar color values. 

Of course, sometimes it is not possible to use colors for such graphics because of economic issues, as common daily print media for instance. 

There is a variety of fill styles (solid monochromatic fills and patterns) in the graphical representation that couldn't be easily interpreted by the observer. Each percentage range is either represented by a pattern or a solid fill color. It is not very clear, why some ranges/classes are visualised by patterns and others not. The class with the lowest percentage (0 - < 10%) has a striped fill pattern. The next class (10 - < 15%) has a solid color fill that is nearly black. The following class (15 - < 20%) has a slightly lighter fill color than the previous one. The next one (20 - < 25%) uses a pattern again whereas the following is filled with a solid color again. It would be better to choose one fill style - solid color or pattern. Otherwise an observer could misconceive the graphic as interpreting each fill style - solid color or pattern - belonging together. And this would be a wrong message given by the representation.

===Data Ink (Ratio)===
====Lines And Borders====
For the purpose of visualising the borders of the US states, relatively thick lines were used. Using thinner lines would save some data-ink and would perhaps improve a bit the reading efficiency. 

The exactness of the map is another point we want to discuss. Some US states in the map have a double line as state border (such as the borders between North and South Dakota; Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois; Kansas and Oklahoma and some others). Another defect is that some states seem to be drawn upon another state because of bad drawn borders.
The missing accuracy in this graphic leads to confusion of the observer. Such defects should be avoided.

====Written Data / Labeling====
The use of larger font sizes for the abbreviations of the states according to the class they belong - small font sizes for low values and larger font sizes for high percentage values - is a valid way (according to [Few, 2004a]) to point out some data, but in this case, due to the amount of data and the usage of different gray values, it's not clear why the font sizes vary (at first view). It looks a bit unorganized. For instance, the area covered by Michigan (MI), Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY)and Tennessee (TN): At first glance, this states seem to share some information or data because the font-size used is the same for all of these states. But in fact, Michigan is the state with the lowest percentage value by comparison with the other mentioned states. The use of one distinct font size and a simple color or fill pattern for differentiation would be more than enough. 

A problem is the labeling of very small states, e.g. states like Maryland (MA) which have it's location in the nothern part of the east coast. The placement of labels in the center of states is not possible here. Choosing smaller font-sizes is not the best solution because the letters would not be readable any more. A solution could be to enlarge the whole graphic or to put - like it is realised in the graphic - some arrows or lines which point to the states. 

The use of state abbreviations instead of full names as labels is the right choice here because there would be hardly any place for long names. But in addition, for the sake of clarity it would be nice if a legend could explain the abbreviations by giving the full names of the US states - for people who do not know the US state abbreviations. 

== Improvements ==
*First thing we considered to be changed in the original graphic were the fill colors / patterns. In the "original" image, these are not consistent because solid colors and patterns were mixed up. We decided only to use solid color fills for different classes. States that are at higher risk are darker than the states in lower percentage ranges. 

*We use the same font and size for all labels to make the graphic better legible. Hence, only the color shading visualises which state is member of which class. 

*The thickness of the borders between the states are thinner than in the "original" image. In the legend at the bottom of the graphic the data is ordered by the percentage ranges (an therefore also by the color intensity). This makes the graphic easier to understand. 

*We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make it much clearer - we draw the background white and lines a bit thinner. 

[[Image:Usa_Kopie.gif.gif]]

== Comments ==
"We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make it much clearer."

''Soll heißen: Ihr habt den grauen Bereich um die Karte entfernt, oder?''

A: Ja, wir haben den grauen Bereich entfernt und die Linien etwas dünner gezeichnet.

''Sonstiges:'' 
''- keine exakte Klassenbildung (besser: 0 - < 10%, 10 - < 20%, usw.)'' 

A: Haben wir nun geändert.

''- Die Grüntöne sind mit Ausnahme von "above 25%" z.T. sehr schwer zu unterscheiden (insbesondere 15-20 und 20-25).'' 
''Ich würde hier eher eine Skala von Hellgelb über Orange bis Dunkelrot verwenden (zudem wird Rot eher mit Gefahr assoziiert als Grün).'' 
''Für "Undefined" würde ich ein Hellgrau verwenden, das wäre neutral.''

A. Haben wir ausgebessert.
 
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

References:
*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

File:Usa Kopie.gif

2008-01-08T10:57:45Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193: New page: == Summary == == Copyright status == == Source ==

== Summary ==

== Copyright status ==

== Source ==

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 3

2008-01-08T10:56:14Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe3.html Description of the third task]
=== Assigned Graphic ===
[[Image:Radon_Level.jpg]]
Established Percentage of Homes that Exceed EPA's Recommended Level for Radon

== Terminology ==
Edward Tufte introduced a concept that he coined the '''"data-ink ratio"''' [Tufte et al., 1999]: The data-ink ratio describes how much of a graphic represents salient data. The equation according to Tufte is as follows: '' (data-ink) / (all-ink used to print the graphic) = data-ink-ratio''. The data-ink ratio resides in the interval 0 and 1. The goal is to maximize the ratio by eliminating unnecessary and redundant data. 
{{Quotation|In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.|Antoine de Saint Exupery}}

== Critics ==

=== At First Glance ===
One of the first things that the observer sees by taking a look at the graphic is, that nearly a half of all the US states cannot be matched according to the legend. For the blank (white filled) states there is no further explanation in the legend. So, it's not clear if the states haven't been considered in this graphical representation of statistical data or if it's simply the result of a bad copy or print. 
{{Quotation|Graphics must not quote data out of context.|[Tufte et al., 1999]}}

===Colors And Fill Styles===
Because of the different font sizes of the abbreviations we assume that states with higher percentages are those that are more important to us, because they are at higher risk than the others (amount of nuclear radiation). The use of different font sizes in this graphic is not the ideal solution. A better way would be to use more saturated colors or gray values for those states we want to highlight. 

It's difficult to detect differences in the shading of two used gray values (0-10% and 25%+). Using colors or gray values that visualy seem to be different from each other would make the states more distinguishable in this graphic - concerning the fact that different statements (percentages of homes) should be related to the states. 

Additionally, for the purpose of pointing out the main message of the representation - "some countries have higher percentages than others, hence, there is more radiation and more risk" - it's very useful to use distinct color or gray values to emphasize and highlight exactly this fact. For other graphical representations it's often better to use similar color values. 

Of course, sometimes it is not possible to use colors for such graphics because of economic issues, as common daily print media for instance. 

There is a variety of fill styles (solid monochromatic fills and patterns) in the graphical representation that couldn't be easily interpreted by the observer. Each percentage range is either represented by a pattern or a solid fill color. It is not very clear, why some ranges/classes are visualised by patterns and others not. The class with the lowest percentage (0 - < 10%) has a striped fill pattern. The next class (10 - < 15%) has a solid color fill that is nearly black. The following class (15 - < 20%) has a slightly lighter fill color than the previous one. The next one (20 - < 25%) uses a pattern again whereas the following is filled with a solid color again. It would be better to choose one fill style - solid color or pattern. Otherwise an observer could misconceive the graphic as interpreting each fill style - solid color or pattern - belonging together. And this would be a wrong message given by the representation.

===Data Ink (Ratio)===
====Lines And Borders====
For the purpose of visualising the borders of the US states, relatively thick lines were used. Using thinner lines would save some data-ink and would perhaps improve a bit the reading efficiency. 

The exactness of the map is another point we want to discuss. Some US states in the map have a double line as state border (such as the borders between North and South Dakota; Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois; Kansas and Oklahoma and some others). Another defect is that some states seem to be drawn upon another state because of bad drawn borders.
The missing accuracy in this graphic leads to confusion of the observer. Such defects should be avoided.

====Written Data / Labeling====
The use of larger font sizes for the abbreviations of the states according to the class they belong - small font sizes for low values and larger font sizes for high percentage values - is a valid way (according to [Few, 2004a]) to point out some data, but in this case, due to the amount of data and the usage of different gray values, it's not clear why the font sizes vary (at first view). It looks a bit unorganized. For instance, the area covered by Michigan (MI), Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY)and Tennessee (TN): At first glance, this states seem to share some information or data because the font-size used is the same for all of these states. But in fact, Michigan is the state with the lowest percentage value by comparison with the other mentioned states. The use of one distinct font size and a simple color or fill pattern for differentiation would be more than enough. 

A problem is the labeling of very small states, e.g. states like Maryland (MA) which have it's location in the nothern part of the east coast. The placement of labels in the center of states is not possible here. Choosing smaller font-sizes is not the best solution because the letters would not be readable any more. A solution could be to enlarge the whole graphic or to put - like it is realised in the graphic - some arrows or lines which point to the states. 

The use of state abbreviations instead of full names as labels is the right choice here because there would be hardly any place for long names. But in addition, for the sake of clarity it would be nice if a legend could explain the abbreviations by giving the full names of the US states - for people who do not know the US state abbreviations. 

== Improvements ==
*First thing we considered to be changed in the original graphic were the fill colors / patterns. In the "original" image, these are not consistent because solid colors and patterns were mixed up. We decided only to use solid color fills for different classes. States that are at higher risk are darker than the states in lower percentage ranges. 

*We use the same font and size for all labels to make the graphic better legible. Hence, only the color shading visualises which state is member of which class. 

*The thickness of the borders between the states are thinner than in the "original" image. In the legend at the bottom of the graphic the data is ordered by the percentage ranges (an therefore also by the color intensity). This makes the graphic easier to understand. 

*We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make it much clearer - we draw the background white and lines a bit thinner. 

[[Image:Usa2.gif]]

== Comments ==
"We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make it much clearer."

''Soll heißen: Ihr habt den grauen Bereich um die Karte entfernt, oder?''

A: Ja, wir haben den grauen Bereich entfernt und die Linien etwas dünner gezeichnet.

''Sonstiges:'' 
''- keine exakte Klassenbildung (besser: 0 - < 10%, 10 - < 20%, usw.)'' 

A: Haben wir nun geändert.

''- Die Grüntöne sind mit Ausnahme von "above 25%" z.T. sehr schwer zu unterscheiden (insbesondere 15-20 und 20-25).'' 
''Ich würde hier eher eine Skala von Hellgelb über Orange bis Dunkelrot verwenden (zudem wird Rot eher mit Gefahr assoziiert als Grün).'' 
''Für "Undefined" würde ich ein Hellgrau verwenden, das wäre neutral.''

A. Haben wir ausgebessert.
 
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

References:
*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 3

2008-01-08T10:50:58Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe3.html Description of the third task]
=== Assigned Graphic ===
[[Image:Radon_Level.jpg]]
Established Percentage of Homes that Exceed EPA's Recommended Level for Radon

== Terminology ==
Edward Tufte introduced a concept that he coined the '''"data-ink ratio"''' [Tufte et al., 1999]: The data-ink ratio describes how much of a graphic represents salient data. The equation according to Tufte is as follows: '' (data-ink) / (all-ink used to print the graphic) = data-ink-ratio''. The data-ink ratio resides in the interval 0 and 1. The goal is to maximize the ratio by eliminating unnecessary and redundant data. 
{{Quotation|In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.|Antoine de Saint Exupery}}

== Critics ==

=== At First Glance ===
One of the first things that the observer sees by taking a look at the graphic is, that nearly a half of all the US states cannot be matched according to the legend. For the blank (white filled) states there is no further explanation in the legend. So, it's not clear if the states haven't been considered in this graphical representation of statistical data or if it's simply the result of a bad copy or print. 
{{Quotation|Graphics must not quote data out of context.|[Tufte et al., 1999]}}

===Colors And Fill Styles===
Because of the different font sizes of the abbreviations we assume that states with higher percentages are those that are more important to us, because they are at higher risk than the others (amount of nuclear radiation). The use of different font sizes in this graphic is not the ideal solution. A better way would be to use more saturated colors or gray values for those states we want to highlight. 

It's difficult to detect differences in the shading of two used gray values (0-10% and 25%+). Using colors or gray values that visualy seem to be different from each other would make the states more distinguishable in this graphic - concerning the fact that different statements (percentages of homes) should be related to the states. 

Additionally, for the purpose of pointing out the main message of the representation - "some countries have higher percentages than others, hence, there is more radiation and more risk" - it's very useful to use distinct color or gray values to emphasize and highlight exactly this fact. For other graphical representations it's often better to use similar color values. 

Of course, sometimes it is not possible to use colors for such graphics because of economic issues, as common daily print media for instance. 

There is a variety of fill styles (solid monochromatic fills and patterns) in the graphical representation that couldn't be easily interpreted by the observer. Each percentage range is either represented by a pattern or a solid fill color. It is not very clear, why some ranges/classes are visualised by patterns and others not. The class with the lowest percentage (0 - 10%) has a striped fill pattern. The next class (10 - 15%) has a solid color fill that is nearly black. The following class (15 - 20%) has a slightly lighter fill color than the previous one. The next one (20 - 25%) uses a pattern again whereas the following is filled with a solid color again. It would be better to choose one fill style - solid color or pattern. Otherwise an observer could misconceive the graphic as interpreting each fill style - solid color or pattern - belonging together. And this would be a wrong message given by the representation.

===Data Ink (Ratio)===
====Lines And Borders====
For the purpose of visualising the borders of the US states, relatively thick lines were used. Using thinner lines would save some data-ink and would perhaps improve a bit the reading efficiency. 

The exactness of the map is another point we want to discuss. Some US states in the map have a double line as state border (such as the borders between North and South Dakota; Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois; Kansas and Oklahoma and some others). Another defect is that some states seem to be drawn upon another state because of bad drawn borders.
The missing accuracy in this graphic leads to confusion of the observer. Such defects should be avoided.

====Written Data / Labeling====
The use of larger font sizes for the abbreviations of the states according to the class they belong - small font sizes for low values and larger font sizes for high percentage values - is a valid way (according to [Few, 2004a]) to point out some data, but in this case, due to the amount of data and the usage of different gray values, it's not clear why the font sizes vary (at first view). It looks a bit unorganized. For instance, the area covered by Michigan (MI), Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY)and Tennessee (TN): At first glance, this states seem to share some information or data because the font-size used is the same for all of these states. But in fact, Michigan is the state with the lowest percentage value by comparison with the other mentioned states. The use of one distinct font size and a simple color or fill pattern for differentiation would be more than enough. 

A problem is the labeling of very small states, e.g. states like Maryland (MA) which have it's location in the nothern part of the east coast. The placement of labels in the center of states is not possible here. Choosing smaller font-sizes is not the best solution because the letters would not be readable any more. A solution could be to enlarge the whole graphic or to put - like it is realised in the graphic - some arrows or lines which point to the states. 

The use of state abbreviations instead of full names as labels is the right choice here because there would be hardly any place for long names. But in addition, for the sake of clarity it would be nice if a legend could explain the abbreviations by giving the full names of the US states - for people who do not know the US state abbreviations. 

== Improvements ==
*First thing we considered to be changed in the original graphic were the fill colors / patterns. In the "original" image, these are not consistent because solid colors and patterns were mixed up. We decided only to use solid color fills for different classes. States that are at higher risk are darker than the states in lower percentage ranges. 

*We use the same font and size for all labels to make the graphic better legible. Hence, only the color shading visualises which state is member of which class. 

*The thickness of the borders between the states are thinner than in the "original" image. In the legend at the bottom of the graphic the data is ordered by the percentage ranges (an therefore also by the color intensity). This makes the graphic easier to understand. 

*We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make it much clearer. 

''Soll heißen: Ihr habt den grauen Bereich um die Karte entfernt, oder?''

''Sonstiges:'' 
''- keine exakte Klassenbildung (besser: 0 - < 10%, 10 - < 20%, usw.)'' 

''- Die Grüntöne sind mit Ausnahme von "above 25%" z.T. sehr schwer zu unterscheiden (insbesondere 15-20 und 20-25).'' 
''Ich würde hier eher eine Skala von Hellgelb über Orange bis Dunkelrot verwenden (zudem wird Rot eher mit Gefahr assoziiert als Grün).'' 
''Für "Undefined" würde ich ein Hellgrau verwenden, das wäre neutral.''
 
 

[[Image:Usa2.gif]]

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

References:
*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

File:Usa2.gif

2008-01-08T10:50:26Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193: New page: == Summary == == Copyright status == == Source ==

== Summary ==

== Copyright status ==

== Source ==

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T20:10:23Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the "timeline" window, which is for this purpose an "information" window. Information of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (3).
 
ad 2: Patient detail information 
This section displays patient informations such as name, birthdate and habitation, which can be customized using the menu function (7).
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. The test list holds information on several other aspects of the tests, by using a color-coded printing method. Test values which are low compared to their reference range are printed blue, while values which are to high are printed red. Values that are within the reference range are shown in black color. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further investigation. Tests that have been dropped to the main window (4) are printed with a green background, so that the user can tell just by looking at the list, which tests are currently under observation by the program.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test/examination results for one specific date (which can be selected in the timeline below). The user can drag and drop a test (or tests) he is interested in into this window to display it's information. The window is divided by horizontal lines into three parts, which are described in the following. The upper and lower sections are separated from the middle section by dashed (horizontal)lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color (red). The upper sections show test results where the value resides above the top limit of the reference interval for this test. The center part shows all tests with results that reside within interval. The bottom part displays all tests that reside below the minimum of the reference interval. Each test is displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information - name of the test/examination, result value and unit. The colors are similar to the colors of the line graph of (6). Each color denotes one test.
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6: Timeline / Graph 
This window displays test results over time. It is a linegraph. On the x-axis are specific times/dates and on the y-axis the results of examinations. Each line visualises the results of one specific examination (the same examinations which are shown in the main window). We have choosed a linegraph to visualise the data for the purpose of putting the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. He can scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the graph)and he can select a certain date (when test results were collected) by dragging the arrow below the timeline. By selecting a specific date the results of the examinations in the main window change - according to the examination results which were taken at this date. The color of each line in the graph is the same as the fill color of the refering test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T20:09:40Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the "timeline" window, which is for this purpose an "information" window. Information of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (3).
 
ad 2: Patient detail information 
This section displays patient informations such as name, birthdate and habitation, which can be customized using the menu function (7).
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. The test list holds information on several other aspects of the tests, by using a color-coded printing method. Test values which are low compared to their reference range are printed blue, while values which are to high are printed red. Values that are within the reference range are shown in black color. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further investigation. Tests that have been dropped to the main window (4) are printed with a green background, so that the user can tell just by looking at the list, which tests are currently under observation by the program.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test/examination results for one specific date (which can be selected in the timeline below). The user can drag and drop a test (or tests) he is interested in into this window to display it's information. The window is divided by horizontal lines into three parts, which are described in the following. The upper and lower sections are separated from the middle section by dashed (horizontal)lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color (red). The upper sections show test results where the value resides above the top limit of the reference interval for this test. The center part shows all tests with results that reside within interval. The bottom part displays all tests that reside below the minimum of the reference interval. Each test is displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information - name of the test/examination, result value and unit. The colors are similar to the colors of the line graph of (6). Each color denotes one test.
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6: Timeline / Graph 
This window displays test results over time. It is a linegraph. On the x-axis are specific times/dates and on the y-axis the results of examinations. Each line visualises the results of one specific examination (the same examinations which are shown in the main window). We have choosed a linegraph to visualise the data for the purpose of putting the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. He can scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the graph)and he can select a certain date (when test results were collected) by dragging the arrow below the timeline. By selecting a specific date the results of the examinations in the main window change - according to the examination results which were taken at this date. The color of each line in the graph is the same as the fill color of the refering test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 
==References==

*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T20:06:43Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== Concept & Mockup for: The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the "timeline" window, which is for this purpose an "information" window. Information of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (3).
 
ad 2: Patient detail information 
This section displays patient informations such as name, birthdate and habitation, which can be customized using the menu function (7).
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. The test list holds information on several other aspects of the tests, by using a color-coded printing method. Test values which are low compared to their reference range are printed blue, while values which are to high are printed red. Values that are within the reference range are shown in black color. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further investigation. Tests that have been dropped to the main window (4) are printed with a green background, so that the user can tell just by looking at the list, which tests are currently under observation by the program.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test/examination results for one specific date (which can be selected in the timeline below). The user can drag and drop a test (or tests) he is interested in into this window to display it's information. The window is divided by horizontal lines into three parts, which are described in the following. The upper and lower sections are separated from the middle section by dashed (horizontal)lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color (red). The upper sections show test results where the value resides above the top limit of the reference interval for this test. The center part shows all tests with results that reside within interval. The bottom part displays all tests that reside below the minimum of the reference interval. Each test is displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information - name of the test/examination, result value and unit. The colors are similar to the colors of the line graph of (6). Each color denotes one test.
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6: Timeline / Graph 
This window displays test results over time. It is a linegraph. On the x-axis are specific times/dates and on the y-axis the results of examinations. Each line visualises the results of one specific examination (the same examinations which are shown in the main window). We have choosed a linegraph to visualise the data for the purpose of putting the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. He can scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the graph)and he can select a certain date (when test results were collected) by dragging the arrow below the timeline. By selecting a specific date the results of the examinations in the main window change - according to the examination results which were taken at this date. The color of each line in the graph is the same as the fill color of the refering test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T20:04:27Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from the test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the "timeline" window, which is for this purpose an "information" window. Information of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (3).
 
ad 2: Patient detail information 
This section displays patient informations such as name, birthdate and habitation, which can be customized using the menu function (7).
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. The test list holds information on several other aspects of the tests, by using a color-coded printing method. Test values which are low compared to their reference range are printed blue, while values which are to high are printed red. Values that are within the reference range are shown in black color. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further investigation. Tests that have been dropped to the main window (4) are printed with a green background, so that the user can tell just by looking at the list, which tests are currently under observation by the program.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test/examination results for one specific date (which can be selected in the timeline below). The user can drag and drop a test (or tests) he is interested in into this window to display it's information. The window is divided by horizontal lines into three parts, which are described in the following. The upper and lower sections are separated from the middle section by dashed (horizontal)lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color (red). The upper sections show test results where the value resides above the top limit of the reference interval for this test. The center part shows all tests with results that reside within interval. The bottom part displays all tests that reside below the minimum of the reference interval. Each test is displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information - name of the test/examination, result value and unit. The colors are similar to the colors of the line graph of (6). Each color denotes one test.
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6: Timeline / Graph 
This window displays test results over time. It is a linegraph. On the x-axis are specific times/dates and on the y-axis the results of examinations. Each line visualises the results of one specific examination (the same examinations which are shown in the main window). We have choosed a linegraph to visualise the data for the purpose of putting the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. He can scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the graph)and he can select a certain date (when test results were collected) by dragging the arrow below the timeline. By selecting a specific date the results of the examinations in the main window change - according to the examination results which were taken at this date. The color of each line in the graph is the same as the fill color of the refering test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T20:03:31Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed for medical staff, i.e. doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier legible and better organized view on the data from test sets. The application is made as a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The idea is, to share the data with all hospitals and medical institutions. Therefore, the software has to be installed in each medical institution and the data itself is located on a remote server.

In the following, we will provide a detailed description of DIAMONT's interface. The red colored numbers mark the parts of the interface we want to describe in detail.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of records in the main window. By single-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patient is shown in the "timeline" window, which is for this purpose an "information" window. Information of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc. Double-clicking a row will load the patients test values to the list of available tests (3).
 
ad 2: Patient detail information 
This section displays patient informations such as name, birthdate and habitation, which can be customized using the menu function (7).
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. The test list holds information on several other aspects of the tests, by using a color-coded printing method. Test values which are low compared to their reference range are printed blue, while values which are to high are printed red. Values that are within the reference range are shown in black color. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further investigation. Tests that have been dropped to the main window (4) are printed with a green background, so that the user can tell just by looking at the list, which tests are currently under observation by the program.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test/examination results for one specific date (which can be selected in the timeline below). The user can drag and drop a test (or tests) he is interested in into this window to display it's information. The window is divided by horizontal lines into three parts, which are described in the following. The upper and lower sections are separated from the middle section by dashed (horizontal)lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color (red). The upper sections show test results where the value resides above the top limit of the reference interval for this test. The center part shows all tests with results that reside within interval. The bottom part displays all tests that reside below the minimum of the reference interval. Each test is displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information - name of the test/examination, result value and unit. The colors are similar to the colors of the line graph of (6). Each color denotes one test.
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6: Timeline / Graph 
This window displays test results over time. It is a linegraph. On the x-axis are specific times/dates and on the y-axis the results of examinations. Each line visualises the results of one specific examination (the same examinations which are shown in the main window). We have choosed a linegraph to visualise the data for the purpose of putting the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. He can scroll through the time by using a scroll bar (the arrows positioned on the left and right of the graph)and he can select a certain date (when test results were collected) by dragging the arrow below the timeline. By selecting a specific date the results of the examinations in the main window change - according to the examination results which were taken at this date. The color of each line in the graph is the same as the fill color of the refering test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific functions of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T19:12:48Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed to be used by the hospital's medical staff including doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier and better organized view on the data from test sets. It is meant to be realized either in a form of a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The accessed data has to been accessible remotely, therefore needs to be located on a server.

The next subsections will provide a detailed look at the interface of the DIAMONT application. The reference numbers reference the red numbers located on the scrrenshot of the application.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of records in the main window. By double-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patien is shown in the "timeline" window, which is for this purpose an "information" window. Information of the patient can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc.
 
ad 2: Patient detail information 
This section displays patient informations such as name, birthdate and habitation, which can be customized using the menu function (7).
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the tests/examinations that are represented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. The test list holds information on several other aspects of the tests, by using a color-coded printing method. Test values which are low compared to their reference range are printed blue, while values which are to high are printed red. Values that are within the reference range are shown in black color. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further investigation. Tests that have been dropped to the main window (4) are printed with a green background, so that the user can tell just by looking at the list, which tests are currently under observation by the program.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. First, its being used to select a patient by his/hers name (and some additional information) from a list returned by the search process. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test results. The user of this application drags and drops a test (or tests) he is interested in into this field to display it. This field has three sections aligned vertically filling up its full height and aligns the tests as follows. The upper and lower sections are being separated from the middle section by dashed lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color. The upper sections holds test with the result with a value that lies above the top limit of the normal interval for this test. The center part holds all the tests with a result that lies in the normal interval. The last bottom part displays all tests that lie underneath the minimum of the normal interval. Each test is being displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information. This information holds the name of the test, the value of the test and the units for this value. This field provides only information about the test results obtained during one test. The user can see these results in a time context in the window beneath this one (marked as 6 in the picture above). He can also navigate through multiple tests by using this window.
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6: Timeline / Graph 
This window displays time series lines that reference the tests being picked by dragging a test from the left window into the main window. Its being used for two purposes. The first is to put the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. The other purpose of this window is to navigate through the time using it as time line. The user needs to select a certain date (dates in this window reference test dates) which makes the application reload the data in the main window. The color of each line in this graph is the same as the background color of this test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data. The leftmost and rightmost arrows are being used to scroll through the the graph.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific function of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T19:11:19Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that people who do not have any medical knowledge, are not able to make a diagnosis based on the data. They can basically determine which test results do not reside within the reference intervals. The data is very private and should only be seen from people authorized people - like medical stuff.

== The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed to be used by the hospital's medical staff including doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier and better organized view on the data from test sets. It is meant to be realized either in a form of a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The accessed data has to been accessible remotely, therefore needs to be located on a server.

The next subsections will provide a detailed look at the interface of the DIAMONT application. The reference numbers reference the red numbers located on the scrrenshot of the application.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of records in the main window. By double-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patien is shown in the "timeline" window, which is for this purpose an "information" window. Information of the patien can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc.
 
ad 2: Patient detail information 
This section displays patient informations such as name, birthdate and habitation, which can be customized using the menu function (7).
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the test that are presented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. The test list holds information on several other aspects of the tests, by using a color-coded printing method. Test values which are low compared to their reference range are printed blue, while values which are to high are printed red. Values that are within the reference range are shown in black color. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further investigation. Tests that have been dropped to the main window (4) are printed with a green background, so that the user can tell just by looking at the list, which tests are currently under observation by the program.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. First, its being used to select a patient by his/hers name (and some additional information) from a list returned by the search process. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test results. The user of this application drags and drops a test (or tests) he is interested in into this field to display it. This field has three sections aligned vertically filling up its full height and aligns the tests as follows. The upper and lower sections are being separated from the middle section by dashed lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color. The upper sections holds test with the result with a value that lies above the top limit of the normal interval for this test. The center part holds all the tests with a result that lies in the normal interval. The last bottom part displays all tests that lie underneath the minimum of the normal interval. Each test is being displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information. This information holds the name of the test, the value of the test and the units for this value. This field provides only information about the test results obtained during one test. The user can see these results in a time context in the window beneath this one (marked as 6 in the picture above). He can also navigate through multiple tests by using this window.
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6: Timeline / Graph 
This window displays time series lines that reference the tests being picked by dragging a test from the left window into the main window. Its being used for two purposes. The first is to put the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. The other purpose of this window is to navigate through the time using it as time line. The user needs to select a certain date (dates in this window reference test dates) which makes the application reload the data in the main window. The color of each line in this graph is the same as the background color of this test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data. The leftmost and rightmost arrows are being used to scroll through the the graph.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific function of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T19:05:06Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that the most common people can't start anything with this data. They can basically determine which test results don't match the reference interval and therefore didn't go well but this data needs to be interpreted by a specialist.
Another thing is that this data is private and should therefore not be seen by anyone except for the doctor and the patient.

== The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed to be used by the hospital's medical staff including doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier and better organized view on the data from test sets. It is meant to be realized either in a form of a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The accessed data has to been accessible remotely, therefore needs to be located on a server.

The next subsections will provide a detailed look at the interface of the DIAMONT application. The reference numbers reference the red numbers located on the scrrenshot of the application.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of records in the main window. By double-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patien is shown in the "timeline" window, which is for this purpose an "information" window. Information of the patien can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc.
 
ad 2: Patient detail information 
This section displays patient informations such as name, birthdate and habitation, which can be customized using the menu function (7).
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the test that are presented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (4), the examination information is visualised in the main window. The test list holds information on several other aspects of the tests, by using a color-coded printing method. Test values which are low compared to their reference range are printed blue, while values which are to high are printed red. Values that are within the reference range are shown in black color. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further investigation. Tests that have been dropped to the main window (4) are printed with a green background, so that the user can tell just by looking at the list, which tests are currently under observation by the program.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. First, its being used to select a patient by his/hers name (and some additional information) from a list returned by the search process. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test results. The user of this application drags and drops a test (or tests) he is interested in into this field to display it. This field has three sections aligned vertically filling up its full height and aligns the tests as follows. The upper and lower sections are being separated from the middle section by dashed lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color. The upper sections holds test with the result with a value that lies above the top limit of the normal interval for this test. The center part holds all the tests with a result that lies in the normal interval. The last bottom part displays all tests that lie underneath the minimum of the normal interval. Each test is being displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information. This information holds the name of the test, the value of the test and the units for this value. This field provides only information about the test results obtained during one test. The user can see these results in a time context in the window beneath this one (marked as 6 in the picture above). He can also navigate through multiple tests by using this window.
 
ad 5: Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6: Timeline / Graph 
This window displays time series lines that reference the tests being picked by dragging a test from the left window into the main window. Its being used for two purposes. The first is to put the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. The other purpose of this window is to navigate through the time using it as time line. The user needs to select a certain date (dates in this window reference test dates) which makes the application reload the data in the main window. The color of each line in this graph is the same as the background color of this test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data. The leftmost and rightmost arrows are being used to scroll through the the graph.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific function of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T19:01:24Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that the most common people can't start anything with this data. They can basically determine which test results don't match the reference interval and therefore didn't go well but this data needs to be interpreted by a specialist.
Another thing is that this data is private and should therefore not be seen by anyone except for the doctor and the patient.

== The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed to be used by the hospital's medical staff including doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier and better organized view on the data from test sets. It is meant to be realized either in a form of a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The accessed data has to been accessible remotely, therefore needs to be located on a server.

The next subsections will provide a detailed look at the interface of the DIAMONT application. The reference numbers reference the red numbers located on the scrrenshot of the application.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows to search for specific patients. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of records in the main window. By double-clicking a row, more detailed information about the selected patien is shown in the "timeline" window, which is for this purpose an "information" window. Information of the patien can be: name, date of birth, dates of hospitals stays etc.
 
ad 2: Patient detail information 
This section displays patient informations such as name, birthdate and habitation, which can be customized using the menu function (7).
 
ad 3: List of available tests 
The list of available tests shows the names of the test that are presented in the dataset. By dragging a test into the main window (4), this tests inforamtion is visualised in the main window. The test list holds information on several other aspects of the tests, by using a color-coded printing method. Test values which are low compared to their reference range are printed blue, while values which are to high are printed red. Values that are within the reference range are shown in black color. This feature allows the user to quickly scan the tests for outstanding values, that might be interesting for further investigation. Tests that have been dropped to the main window (4) are printed with a green background, so that the user can tell just by looking at the list, which tests are currently under observation by the program.
 
ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. First, its being used to select a patient by his/hers name (and some additional information) from a list returned by the search process. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test results. The user of this application drags and drops a test (or tests) he is interested in into this field to display it. This field has three sections aligned vertically filling up its full height and aligns the tests as follows. The upper and lower sections are being separated from the middle section by dashed lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color. The upper sections holds test with the result with a value that lies above the top limit of the normal interval for this test. The center part holds all the tests with a result that lies in the normal interval. The last bottom part displays all tests that lie underneath the minimum of the normal interval. Each test is being displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information. This information holds the name of the test, the value of the test and the units for this value. This field provides only information about the test results obtained during one test. The user can see these results in a time context in the window beneath this one (marked as 6 in the picture above). He can also navigate through multiple tests by using this window.
 
ad 5:Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6:Timeline / Graph 
This window displays time series lines that reference the tests being picked by dragging a test from the left window into the main window. Its being used for two purposes. The first is to put the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. The other purpose of this window is to navigate through the time using it as time line. The user needs to select a certain date (dates in this window reference test dates) which makes the application reload the data in the main window. The color of each line in this graph is the same as the background color of this test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data. The leftmost and rightmost arrows are being used to scroll through the the graph.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Send Message/Data: The user can share notes or views with other physicans of the hospital.
* Options: The user can customize specific function of the program (e.g. data of the patient that is shown in the patient detail information section (2)).
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

 
XXX '''REMOVE FROM HERE''' XXX
== Aufgabenstellung ==

Aufgabe ist das Design einer interaktiven Visualisierungsapplikation zur Darstellung und Exploration (des zeitlichen Verlaufs) von Laborwerten einer Blutuntersuchung. BenutzerInnen, Einsatzzweck, Tasks, etc. sollen von Euch selbst festgelegt und beschrieben werden.

[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Beschreibung der Aufgabe 4]

=== Beispiele für derartige Datensätze ===

[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

XXX '''REMOVE TO HERE '''XXX
== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T18:43:09Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Description of the application field ==
The two tables above show medical data, which are two diagnostic findings of a patient recorded at different dates. In each table row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the interval of "optimal" values are shown. The examination results descripe the amount of chemical compounds or substances in the patient's body. Diagnostic findings play an important role for medical diagnosis. 
The first table consists of more rows than the second. Perhaps less substances in body were examined or the tableview shows only a short section of the results. 

Each table has four columns. The names of the examinations and the name of the substances the patient has been tested on, respectively, are written in the first column. The result values - numerical values - for each examination are denoted in the second column. Some values are floating point numbers, others are integers. The reason of using floating numbers is, that small variances of the values may cause high differences in diagnosis. One examination has more than one result ("Differential Blutb."), but we don't know the meaning of this results. Some of the cells in this column are marked with "*". This indicates that a value does not reside in an interval (specified in the fourth column). In the third column, the units of the results are shown. The fourth column lists the intervals of reference values - the "optimal" values - for each examination. If a value resides within an interval, the result is "good" - which means that the patient has no lack and no overrun of a specific element. 
Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that the most common people can't start anything with this data. They can basically determine which test results don't match the reference interval and therefore didn't go well but this data needs to be interpreted by a specialist.
Another thing is that this data is private and should therefore not be seen by anyone except for the doctor and the patient.

== The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed to be used by the hospital's medical staff including doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier and better organized view on the data from test sets. It is meant to be realized either in a form of a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The accessed data has to been accessible remotely, therefore needs to be located on a server.

The next subsections will provide a detailed look at the interface of the DIAMONT application. The reference numbers reference the red numbers located on the scrrenshot of the application.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 
The patient search section allows searching patient records. Using DIAMONT it will be typically the first step to look up a specific patient record. By simply typing in a name (or other inforamtion which can be used to identify a patient) the program shows a list of corresponding patient records in the main window. By selecting a name, more detailed information on that specific record is shown in the timeline window. By double-clicking a name, the program will load the corresponding dataset into the detail information window on the left.

ad 2: Patient detail information 
Jakob

ad 3: List of available tests 
Jakob

ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. First, its being used to select a patient by his/hers name (and some additional information) from a list returned by the search process. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test results. The user of this application drags and drops a test (or tests) he is interested in into this field to display it. This field has three sections aligned vertically filling up its full height and aligns the tests as follows. The upper and lower sections are being separated from the middle section by dashed lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color. The upper sections holds test with the result with a value that lies above the top limit of the normal interval for this test. The center part holds all the tests with a result that lies in the normal interval. The last bottom part displays all tests that lie underneath the minimum of the normal interval. Each test is being displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information. This information holds the name of the test, the value of the test and the units for this value. This field provides only information about the test results obtained during one test. The user can see these results in a time context in the window beneath this one (marked as 6 in the picture above). He can also navigate through multiple tests by using this window.
 
ad 5:Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6:Timeline / Graph 
This window displays time series lines that reference the tests being picked by dragging a test from the left window into the main window. Its being used for two purposes. The first is to put the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. The other purpose of this window is to navigate through the time using it as time line. The user needs to select a certain date (dates in this window reference test dates) which makes the application reload the data in the main window. The color of each line in this graph is the same as the background color of this test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data. The leftmost and rightmost arrows are being used to scroll through the the graph.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
* Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

 
XXX '''REMOVE FROM HERE''' XXX
== Aufgabenstellung ==

Aufgabe ist das Design einer interaktiven Visualisierungsapplikation zur Darstellung und Exploration (des zeitlichen Verlaufs) von Laborwerten einer Blutuntersuchung. BenutzerInnen, Einsatzzweck, Tasks, etc. sollen von Euch selbst festgelegt und beschrieben werden.

[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Beschreibung der Aufgabe 4]

=== Beispiele für derartige Datensätze ===

[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

XXX '''REMOVE TO HERE '''XXX
== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T17:27:41Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Analysis of the application area ==
Our sample data belongs into the medical field of application. We are dealing with diagnostic findings which are basically sets of multiple tests that play a supportive role in doctors' decisions about the diagnosis. Given these two examples we can see that the second finding holds multiple times as much data as the first one. This indicates that each patient has a specialized set if tests that has been chosen for him by his doctor.

The data has been arranged into four columns. The first column holds the name of the test or the name of the subject the patient has been tested on. The second column holds the outcome of the test. In all cases we can see here, we are dealing with numbers. But some of these numbers are floating point numbers, others are integers. One of these tests even returns multiple values as result. Some of the cells in this column have been marked using the star character (*). This indicates that a value does not lie in an interval specified in the fourth column. The third column specifies the units of the results. The fourth column specifies the reference values for each of these tests, i.e. an interval that specifies acceptable values for this test. Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that the most common people can't start anything with this data. They can basically determine which test results don't match the reference interval and therefore didn't go well but this data needs to be interpreted by a specialist.
Another thing is that this data is private and should therefore not be seen by anyone except for the doctor and the patient.

== The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed to be used by the hospital's medical staff including doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier and better organized view on the data from test sets. It is meant to be realized either in a form of a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The accessed data has to been accessible remotely, therefore needs to be located on a server.

The next subsections will provide a detailed look at the interface of the DIAMONT application. The reference numbers reference the red numbers located on the scrrenshot of the application.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 

Jakob

ad 2: Patient detail information 
Jakob

ad 3: List of available tests 
Jakob

ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. First, its being used to select a patient by his/hers name (and some additional information) from a list returned by the search process. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test results. The user of this application drags and drops a test (or tests) he is interested in into this field to display it. This field has three sections aligned vertically filling up its full height and aligns the tests as follows. The upper and lower sections are being separated from the middle section by dashed lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color. The upper sections holds test with the result with a value that lies above the top limit of the normal interval for this test. The center part holds all the tests with a result that lies in the normal interval. The last bottom part displays all tests that lie underneath the minimum of the normal interval. Each test is being displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information. This information holds the name of the test, the value of the test and the units for this value. This field provides only information about the test results obtained during one test. The user can see these results in a time context in the window beneath this one (marked as 6 in the picture above). He can also navigate through multiple tests by using this window.
 
ad 5:Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6:Timeline / Graph 
This window displays time series lines that reference the tests being picked by dragging a test from the left window into the main window. Its being used for two purposes. The first is to put the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. The other purpose of this window is to navigate through the time using it as time line. The user needs to select a certain date (dates in this window reference test dates) which makes the application reload the data in the main window. The color of each line in this graph is the same as the background color of this test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data. The leftmost and rightmost arrows are being used to scroll through the the graph.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
Help: The user can read the documentation of the software and instructions of software usage.
 

 
XXX '''REMOVE FROM HERE''' XXX
== Aufgabenstellung ==

Aufgabe ist das Design einer interaktiven Visualisierungsapplikation zur Darstellung und Exploration (des zeitlichen Verlaufs) von Laborwerten einer Blutuntersuchung. BenutzerInnen, Einsatzzweck, Tasks, etc. sollen von Euch selbst festgelegt und beschrieben werden.

[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Beschreibung der Aufgabe 4]

=== Beispiele für derartige Datensätze ===

[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

XXX '''REMOVE TO HERE '''XXX
== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T17:24:01Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Analysis of the application area ==
Our sample data belongs into the medical field of application. We are dealing with diagnostic findings which are basically sets of multiple tests that play a supportive role in doctors' decisions about the diagnosis. Given these two examples we can see that the second finding holds multiple times as much data as the first one. This indicates that each patient has a specialized set if tests that has been chosen for him by his doctor.

The data has been arranged into four columns. The first column holds the name of the test or the name of the subject the patient has been tested on. The second column holds the outcome of the test. In all cases we can see here, we are dealing with numbers. But some of these numbers are floating point numbers, others are integers. One of these tests even returns multiple values as result. Some of the cells in this column have been marked using the star character (*). This indicates that a value does not lie in an interval specified in the fourth column. The third column specifies the units of the results. The fourth column specifies the reference values for each of these tests, i.e. an interval that specifies acceptable values for this test. Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that the most common people can't start anything with this data. They can basically determine which test results don't match the reference interval and therefore didn't go well but this data needs to be interpreted by a specialist.
Another thing is that this data is private and should therefore not be seen by anyone except for the doctor and the patient.

== The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed to be used by the hospital's medical staff including doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier and better organized view on the data from test sets. It is meant to be realized either in a form of a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The accessed data has to been accessible remotely, therefore needs to be located on a server.

The next subsections will provide a detailed look at the interface of the DIAMONT application. The reference numbers reference the red numbers located on the scrrenshot of the application.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 

Jakob

ad 2: Patient detail information 
Jakob

ad 3: List of available tests 
Jakob

ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. First, its being used to select a patient by his/hers name (and some additional information) from a list returned by the search process. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test results. The user of this application drags and drops a test (or tests) he is interested in into this field to display it. This field has three sections aligned vertically filling up its full height and aligns the tests as follows. The upper and lower sections are being separated from the middle section by dashed lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color. The upper sections holds test with the result with a value that lies above the top limit of the normal interval for this test. The center part holds all the tests with a result that lies in the normal interval. The last bottom part displays all tests that lie underneath the minimum of the normal interval. Each test is being displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information. This information holds the name of the test, the value of the test and the units for this value. This field provides only information about the test results obtained during one test. The user can see these results in a time context in the window beneath this one (marked as 6 in the picture above). He can also navigate through multiple tests by using this window.
 
ad 5:Medical Notes 
Each circle in the main window, which shows the result value of one examination, can be selected by mouseclick. After selection, the user can click on the arrow at (5) and a texteditor opens. He can write some important notes there.
 
ad 6:Timeline / Graph 
This window displays time series lines that reference the tests being picked by dragging a test from the left window into the main window. Its being used for two purposes. The first is to put the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. The other purpose of this window is to navigate through the time using it as time line. The user needs to select a certain date (dates in this window reference test dates) which makes the application reload the data in the main window. The color of each line in this graph is the same as the background color of this test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data. The leftmost and rightmost arrows are being used to scroll through the the graph.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
 

 
XXX '''REMOVE FROM HERE''' XXX
== Aufgabenstellung ==

Aufgabe ist das Design einer interaktiven Visualisierungsapplikation zur Darstellung und Exploration (des zeitlichen Verlaufs) von Laborwerten einer Blutuntersuchung. BenutzerInnen, Einsatzzweck, Tasks, etc. sollen von Euch selbst festgelegt und beschrieben werden.

[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Beschreibung der Aufgabe 4]

=== Beispiele für derartige Datensätze ===

[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

XXX '''REMOVE TO HERE '''XXX
== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T17:06:24Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Analysis of the application area ==
Our sample data belongs into the medical field of application. We are dealing with diagnostic findings which are basically sets of multiple tests that play a supportive role in doctors' decisions about the diagnosis. Given these two examples we can see that the second finding holds multiple times as much data as the first one. This indicates that each patient has a specialized set if tests that has been chosen for him by his doctor.

The data has been arranged into four columns. The first column holds the name of the test or the name of the subject the patient has been tested on. The second column holds the outcome of the test. In all cases we can see here, we are dealing with numbers. But some of these numbers are floating point numbers, others are integers. One of these tests even returns multiple values as result. Some of the cells in this column have been marked using the star character (*). This indicates that a value does not lie in an interval specified in the fourth column. The third column specifies the units of the results. The fourth column specifies the reference values for each of these tests, i.e. an interval that specifies acceptable values for this test. Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that the most common people can't start anything with this data. They can basically determine which test results don't match the reference interval and therefore didn't go well but this data needs to be interpreted by a specialist.
Another thing is that this data is private and should therefore not be seen by anyone except for the doctor and the patient.

== The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed to be used by the hospital's medical staff including doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier and better organized view on the data from test sets. It is meant to be realized either in a form of a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The accessed data has to been accessible remotely, therefore needs to be located on a server.

The next subsections will provide a detailed look at the interface of the DIAMONT application. The reference numbers reference the red numbers located on the scrrenshot of the application.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 

Jakob

ad 2: Patient detail information 
Jakob

ad 3: List of available tests 
Jakob

ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. First, its being used to select a patient by his/hers name (and some additional information) from a list returned by the search process. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test results. The user of this application drags and drops a test (or tests) he is interested in into this field to display it. This field has three sections aligned vertically filling up its full height and aligns the tests as follows. The upper and lower sections are being separated from the middle section by dashed lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color. The upper sections holds test with the result with a value that lies above the top limit of the normal interval for this test. The center part holds all the tests with a result that lies in the normal interval. The last bottom part displays all tests that lie underneath the minimum of the normal interval. Each test is being displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information. This information holds the name of the test, the value of the test and the units for this value. This field provides only information about the test results obtained during one test. The user can see these results in a time context in the window beneath this one (marked as 6 in the picture above). He can also navigate through multiple tests by using this window.
 
ad 5:Medical Notes 
Martha
 
ad 6:Timeline / Graph 
This window displays time series lines that reference the tests being picked by dragging a test from the left window into the main window. Its being used for two purposes. The first is to put the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. The other purpose of this window is to navigate through the time using it as time line. The user needs to select a certain date (dates in this window reference test dates) which makes the application reload the data in the main window. The color of each line in this graph is the same as the background color of this test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data. The leftmost and rightmost arrows are being used to scroll through the the graph.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
 

 
XXX '''REMOVE FROM HERE''' XXX
== Aufgabenstellung ==

Aufgabe ist das Design einer interaktiven Visualisierungsapplikation zur Darstellung und Exploration (des zeitlichen Verlaufs) von Laborwerten einer Blutuntersuchung. BenutzerInnen, Einsatzzweck, Tasks, etc. sollen von Euch selbst festgelegt und beschrieben werden.

[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Beschreibung der Aufgabe 4]

=== Beispiele für derartige Datensätze ===

[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

XXX '''REMOVE TO HERE '''XXX
== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T17:05:32Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Analysis of the application area ==
Our sample data belongs into the medical field of application. We are dealing with diagnostic findings which are basically sets of multiple tests that play a supportive role in doctors' decisions about the diagnosis. Given these two examples we can see that the second finding holds multiple times as much data as the first one. This indicates that each patient has a specialized set if tests that has been chosen for him by his doctor.

The data has been arranged into four columns. The first column holds the name of the test or the name of the subject the patient has been tested on. The second column holds the outcome of the test. In all cases we can see here, we are dealing with numbers. But some of these numbers are floating point numbers, others are integers. One of these tests even returns multiple values as result. Some of the cells in this column have been marked using the star character (*). This indicates that a value does not lie in an interval specified in the fourth column. The third column specifies the units of the results. The fourth column specifies the reference values for each of these tests, i.e. an interval that specifies acceptable values for this test. Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that the most common people can't start anything with this data. They can basically determine which test results don't match the reference interval and therefore didn't go well but this data needs to be interpreted by a specialist.
Another thing is that this data is private and should therefore not be seen by anyone except for the doctor and the patient.

== The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed to be used by the hospital's medical staff including doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier and better organized view on the data from test sets. It is meant to be realized either in a form of a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The accessed data has to been accessible remotely, therefore needs to be located on a server.

The next subsections will provide a detailed look at the interface of the DIAMONT application. The reference numbers reference the red numbers located on the scrrenshot of the application.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 

Jakob

ad 2: Patient detail information 
Jakob

ad 3: List of available tests 
Jakob

ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. First, its being used to select a patient by his/hers name (and some additional information) from a list returned by the search process. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test results. The user of this application drags and drops a test (or tests) he is interested in into this field to display it. This field has three sections aligned vertically filling up its full height and aligns the tests as follows. The upper and lower sections are being separated from the middle section by dashed lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color. The upper sections holds test with the result with a value that lies above the top limit of the normal interval for this test. The center part holds all the tests with a result that lies in the normal interval. The last bottom part displays all tests that lie underneath the minimum of the normal interval. Each test is being displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information. This information holds the name of the test, the value of the test and the units for this value. This field provides only information about the test results obtained during one test. The user can see these results in a time context in the window beneath this one (marked as 6 in the picture above). He can also navigate through multiple tests by using this window.
ad 5:Medical Notes 
Martha
 
ad 6:Timeline / Graph 
This window displays time series lines that reference the tests being picked by dragging a test from the left window into the main window. Its being used for two purposes. The first is to put the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. The other purpose of this window is to navigate through the time using it as time line. The user needs to select a certain date (dates in this window reference test dates) which makes the application reload the data in the main window. The color of each line in this graph is the same as the background color of this test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data. The leftmost and rightmost arrows are being used to scroll through the the graph.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
 

 
XXX '''REMOVE FROM HERE''' XXX
== Aufgabenstellung ==

Aufgabe ist das Design einer interaktiven Visualisierungsapplikation zur Darstellung und Exploration (des zeitlichen Verlaufs) von Laborwerten einer Blutuntersuchung. BenutzerInnen, Einsatzzweck, Tasks, etc. sollen von Euch selbst festgelegt und beschrieben werden.

[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Beschreibung der Aufgabe 4]

=== Beispiele für derartige Datensätze ===

[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

XXX '''REMOVE TO HERE '''XXX
== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T17:03:24Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Analysis of the application area ==
Our sample data belongs into the medical field of application. We are dealing with diagnostic findings which are basically sets of multiple tests that play a supportive role in doctors' decisions about the diagnosis. Given these two examples we can see that the second finding holds multiple times as much data as the first one. This indicates that each patient has a specialized set if tests that has been chosen for him by his doctor.

The data has been arranged into four columns. The first column holds the name of the test or the name of the subject the patient has been tested on. The second column holds the outcome of the test. In all cases we can see here, we are dealing with numbers. But some of these numbers are floating point numbers, others are integers. One of these tests even returns multiple values as result. Some of the cells in this column have been marked using the star character (*). This indicates that a value does not lie in an interval specified in the fourth column. The third column specifies the units of the results. The fourth column specifies the reference values for each of these tests, i.e. an interval that specifies acceptable values for this test. Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that the most common people can't start anything with this data. They can basically determine which test results don't match the reference interval and therefore didn't go well but this data needs to be interpreted by a specialist.
Another thing is that this data is private and should therefore not be seen by anyone except for the doctor and the patient.

== The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed to be used by the hospital's medical staff including doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier and better organized view on the data from test sets. It is meant to be realized either in a form of a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The accessed data has to been accessible remotely, therefore needs to be located on a server.

The next subsections will provide a detailed look at the interface of the DIAMONT application. The reference numbers reference the red numbers located on the scrrenshot of the application.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search 

Jakob

ad 2: Patient detail information 
Jakob

ad 3: List of available tests 
Jakob

ad 4: Main Window 
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. First, its being used to select a patient by his/hers name (and some additional information) from a list returned by the search process. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test results. The user of this application drags and drops a test (or tests) he is interested in into this field to display it. This field has three sections aligned vertically filling up its full height and aligns the tests as follows. The upper and lower sections are being separated from the middle section by dashed lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color. The upper sections holds test with the result with a value that lies above the top limit of the normal interval for this test. The center part holds all the tests with a result that lies in the normal interval. The last bottom part displays all tests that lie underneath the minimum of the normal interval. Each test is being displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information. This information holds the name of the test, the value of the test and the units for this value. This field provides only information about the test results obtained during one test. The user can see these results in a time context in the window beneath this one (marked as 6 in the picture above). He can also navigate through multiple tests by using this window.
ad 5:Medical Notes 
Martha
ad 6: Timeline / Graph 
This window displays time series lines that reference the tests being picked by dragging a test from the left window into the main window. Its being used for two purposes. The first is to put the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. The other purpose of this window is to navigate through the time using it as time line. The user needs to select a certain date (dates in this window reference test dates) which makes the application reload the data in the main window. The color of each line in this graph is the same as the background color of this test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data. The leftmost and rightmost arrows are being used to scroll through the the graph.
 
ad 7: Menu 
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.
 

 
XXX '''REMOVE FROM HERE''' XXX
== Aufgabenstellung ==

Aufgabe ist das Design einer interaktiven Visualisierungsapplikation zur Darstellung und Exploration (des zeitlichen Verlaufs) von Laborwerten einer Blutuntersuchung. BenutzerInnen, Einsatzzweck, Tasks, etc. sollen von Euch selbst festgelegt und beschrieben werden.

[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Beschreibung der Aufgabe 4]

=== Beispiele für derartige Datensätze ===

[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

XXX '''REMOVE TO HERE '''XXX
== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T17:01:27Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Description of the fourth task]
=== Assigned data / model ===
[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

== Analysis of the application area ==
Our sample data belongs into the medical field of application. We are dealing with diagnostic findings which are basically sets of multiple tests that play a supportive role in doctors' decisions about the diagnosis. Given these two examples we can see that the second finding holds multiple times as much data as the first one. This indicates that each patient has a specialized set if tests that has been chosen for him by his doctor.

The data has been arranged into four columns. The first column holds the name of the test or the name of the subject the patient has been tested on. The second column holds the outcome of the test. In all cases we can see here, we are dealing with numbers. But some of these numbers are floating point numbers, others are integers. One of these tests even returns multiple values as result. Some of the cells in this column have been marked using the star character (*). This indicates that a value does not lie in an interval specified in the fourth column. The third column specifies the units of the results. The fourth column specifies the reference values for each of these tests, i.e. an interval that specifies acceptable values for this test. Multiple forms of intervals are being used, e.g:
* bis 200
* 220-480
* <66

The data is sorted ascending using the first column (the name of the test). None of the values can be classified as nominal or ordinal. We are only dealing with floating point numbers (continuous) and integers (discrete). There is also no hierarchy in this data. It's actually a list of key value pairs where the value-part can contain one or multiple values and an information about the units used and reference.

But the use of diagnostic findings in practice is slightly different. They are not being used as standalone tables with some test results. The values are being examined how they change in time. This fact changes the dimensionality of all data (test key-value-pairs) from 1-dimensional to 2-dimensional because they usually change over time. This is the main issue why we would suggest a different presentation of this data in a more clearer, simpler and legible way.

=== Target group ===
The target group (the data has been produced for) is definitely hospital/medical staff. We think that the most common people can't start anything with this data. They can basically determine which test results don't match the reference interval and therefore didn't go well but this data needs to be interpreted by a specialist.
Another thing is that this data is private and should therefore not be seen by anyone except for the doctor and the patient.

== The DIAMONT application ==
We named our application '''DIAMONT''' which stands for '''DIA'''gnosis '''MON'''itoring '''T'''ool. This tool has been designed to be used by the hospital's medical staff including doctors and nurses. It shall provide a more easier and better organized view on the data from test sets. It is meant to be realized either in a form of a desktop application or as a PDA (handheld-gadget) application. The accessed data has to been accessible remotely, therefore needs to be located on a server.

The next subsections will provide a detailed look at the interface of the DIAMONT application. The reference numbers reference the red numbers located on the scrrenshot of the application.

[[{{ns:6}}:0708_Gruppe_07_diamont.jpg]]

ad 1: Patient Search

Jakob

ad 2: Patient detail information
Jakob

ad 3: List of available tests
Jakob

ad 4: Main Window
The main window provides the most detailed view on the data. First, its being used to select a patient by his/hers name (and some additional information) from a list returned by the search process. The main purpose of this window is to display detailed information of the test results. The user of this application drags and drops a test (or tests) he is interested in into this field to display it. This field has three sections aligned vertically filling up its full height and aligns the tests as follows. The upper and lower sections are being separated from the middle section by dashed lines. Additionally, they are filled with a gradient color. The upper sections holds test with the result with a value that lies above the top limit of the normal interval for this test. The center part holds all the tests with a result that lies in the normal interval. The last bottom part displays all tests that lie underneath the minimum of the normal interval. Each test is being displayed as a circle with a certain background color with some textual information. This information holds the name of the test, the value of the test and the units for this value. This field provides only information about the test results obtained during one test. The user can see these results in a time context in the window beneath this one (marked as 6 in the picture above). He can also navigate through multiple tests by using this window.
ad 5:Medical Notes
Martha
ad 6: Timeline / Graph
This window displays time series lines that reference the tests being picked by dragging a test from the left window into the main window. Its being used for two purposes. The first is to put the test results into a time context. The user can follow the progress of the selected tests, search for anomalies or/and find correlations. The other purpose of this window is to navigate through the time using it as time line. The user needs to select a certain date (dates in this window reference test dates) which makes the application reload the data in the main window. The color of each line in this graph is the same as the background color of this test in the main window. The user can also enlarge the region of this window to get a better representation of the data. The leftmost and rightmost arrows are being used to scroll through the the graph.
ad 7: Menu ===
By pressing the "Menu"-Button, a pop-up window opens and some options are listed. 
The options:

* Print shown diagnostic results: The shown picture in the main window and a table which contains informations for each examination can be printed.
* Print line chart: The shown section in (5) can be printed. Additionally, the user has the option to define the from/to-dates new. A list of the shown examinations and related information is printed too (in form of a table).
* Print whole diagnostic report: The whole set of diagnostic findings of the picked date (which is displayed in the main window)can be printed in form of a table. In each row, one examination, it's result, the unit of the result and the range of optimal result values is put column by column. The user has also the possibility to choose another date for printing the related diagnostic findings.

 
XXX '''REMOVE FROM HERE''' XXX
== Aufgabenstellung ==

Aufgabe ist das Design einer interaktiven Visualisierungsapplikation zur Darstellung und Exploration (des zeitlichen Verlaufs) von Laborwerten einer Blutuntersuchung. BenutzerInnen, Einsatzzweck, Tasks, etc. sollen von Euch selbst festgelegt und beschrieben werden.

[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe4.html Beschreibung der Aufgabe 4]

=== Beispiele für derartige Datensätze ===

[[Image:20061115_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

[[Image:20070920_blutuntersuchung.jpg]]

XXX '''REMOVE TO HERE '''XXX
== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 4

2008-01-04T15:45:09Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 3

2007-12-14T18:22:45Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe3.html Description of the third task]
=== Assigned Graphic ===
[[Image:Radon_Level.jpg]]
Established Percentage of Homes that Exceed EPA's Recommended Level for Radon

== Terminology ==
Edward Tufte introduced a concept that he coined the '''"data-ink ratio"''' [Tufte et al., 1999]: The data-ink ratio describes how much of a graphic represents salient data. The equation according to Tufte is as follows: '' (data-ink) / (all-ink used to print the graphic) = data-ink-ratio''. The data-ink ratio resides in the interval 0 and 1. The goal is to maximize the ratio by eliminating unnecessary and redundant data. 
{{Quotation|In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.|Antoine de Saint Exupery}}

== Critics ==

=== At First Glance ===
One of the first things that the observer sees by taking a look at the graphic is, that nearly a half of all the US states cannot be matched according to the legend. For the blank (white filled) states there is no further explanation in the legend. So, it's not clear if the states haven't been considered in this graphical representation of statistical data or if it's simply the result of a bad copy or print. 
{{Quotation|Graphics must not quote data out of context.|[Tufte et al., 1999]}}

===Colors And Fill Styles===
Because of the different font sizes of the abbreviations we assume that states with higher percentages are those that are more important to us, because they are at higher risk than the others (amount of nuclear radiation). The use of different font sizes in this graphic is not the ideal solution. A better way would be to use more saturated colors or gray values for those states we want to highlight. 

It's difficult to detect differences in the shading of two used gray values (0-10% and 25%+). Using colors or gray values that visualy seem to be different from each other would make the states more distinguishable in this graphic - concerning the fact that different statements (percentages of homes) should be related to the states. 

Additionally, for the purpose of pointing out the main message of the representation - "some countries have higher percentages than others, hence, there is more radiation and more risk" - it's very useful to use distinct color or gray values to emphasize and highlight exactly this fact. For other graphical representations it's often better to use similar color values. 

Of course, sometimes it is not possible to use colors for such graphics because of economic issues, as common daily print media for instance. 

There is a variety of fill styles (solid monochromatic fills and patterns) in the graphical representation that couldn't be easily interpreted by the observer. Each percentage range is either represented by a pattern or a solid fill color. It is not very clear, why some ranges/classes are visualised by patterns and others not. The class with the lowest percentage (0 - 10%) has a striped fill pattern. The next class (10 - 15%) has a solid color fill that is nearly black. The following class (15 - 20%) has a slightly lighter fill color than the previous one. The next one (20 - 25%) uses a pattern again whereas the following is filled with a solid color again. It would be better to choose one fill style - solid color or pattern. Otherwise an observer could misconceive the graphic as interpreting each fill style - solid color or pattern - belonging together. And this would be a wrong message given by the representation.

===Data Ink (Ratio)===
====Lines And Borders====
For the purpose of visualising the borders of the US states, relatively thick lines were used. Using thinner lines would save some data-ink and would perhaps improve a bit the reading efficiency. 

The exactness of the map is another point we want to discuss. Some US states in the map have a double line as state border (such as the borders between North and South Dakota; Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois; Kansas and Oklahoma and some others). Another defect is that some states seem to be drawn upon another state because of bad drawn borders.
The missing accuracy in this graphic leads to confusion of the observer. Such defects should be avoided.

====Written Data / Labeling====
The use of larger font sizes for the abbreviations of the states according to the class they belong - small font sizes for low values and larger font sizes for high percentage values - is a valid way (according to [Few, 2004a]) to point out some data, but in this case, due to the amount of data and the usage of different gray values, it's not clear why the font sizes vary (at first view). It looks a bit unorganized. For instance, the area covered by Michigan (MI), Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY)and Tennessee (TN): At first glance, this states seem to share some information or data because the font-size used is the same for all of these states. But in fact, Michigan is the state with the lowest percentage value by comparison with the other mentioned states. The use of one distinct font size and a simple color or fill pattern for differentiation would be more than enough. 

A problem is the labeling of very small states, e.g. states like Maryland (MA) which have it's location in the nothern part of the east coast. The placement of labels in the center of states is not possible here. Choosing smaller font-sizes is not the best solution because the letters would not be readable any more. A solution could be to enlarge the whole graphic or to put - like it is realised in the graphic - some arrows or lines which point to the states. 

The use of state abbreviations instead of full names as labels is the right choice here because there would be hardly any place for long names. But in addition, for the sake of clarity it would be nice if a legend could explain the abbreviations by giving the full names of the US states - for people who do not know the US state abbreviations. 

== Improvements ==
*First thing we considered to be changed in the original graphic were the fill colors / patterns. In the "original" image, these are not consistent because solid colors and patterns were mixed up. We decided only to use solid color fills for different classes. States that are at higher risk are darker than the states in lower percentage ranges. 

*We use the same font and size for all labels to make the graphic better legible. Hence, only the color shading visualises which state is member of which class. 

*The thickness of the borders between the states are thinner than in the "original" image. In the legend at the bottom of the graphic the data is ordered by the percentage ranges (an therefore also by the color intensity). This makes the graphic easier to understand. 

*We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make it much clearer. 
 

[[Image:0708_Gruppe7_USA.jpg]]

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

References:
*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 3

2007-12-14T18:18:36Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe3.html Description of the third task]
=== Assigned Graphic ===
[[Image:Radon_Level.jpg]]
Established Percentage of Homes that Exceed EPA's Recommended Level for Radon

== Terminology ==
Edward Tufte introduced a concept that he coined the '''"data-ink ratio"''' [Tufte et al., 1999]: The data-ink ratio describes how much of a graphic represents salient data. The equation according to Tufte is as follows: '' (data-ink) / (all-ink used to print the graphic) = data-ink-ratio''. The data-ink ratio resides in the interval 0 and 1. The goal is to maximize the ratio by eliminating unnecessary and redundant data. 
{{Quotation|In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.|Antoine de Saint Exupery}}

== Critics ==

=== At First Glance ===
One of the first things that the observer sees by taking a look at the graphic is, that nearly a half of all the US states cannot be matched according to the legend. For the blank (white filled) states there is no further explanation in the legend. So, it's not clear if the states haven't been considered in this graphical representation of statistical data or if it's simply the result of a bad copy or print. 
{{Quotation|Graphics must not quote data out of context.|[Tufte et al., 1999]}}

===Colors And Fill Styles===
Because of the different font sizes of the abbreviations we assume that states with higher percentages are those that are more important to us, because they are at higher risk than the others (amount of nuclear radiation). The use of different font sizes in this graphic is not the ideal solution. A better way would be to use more saturated colors or gray values for those states we want to highlight. 

It's difficult to detect differences in the shading of two used gray values (0-10% and 25%+). Using colors or gray values that visualy seem to be different from each other would make the states more distinguishable in this graphic - concerning the fact that different statements (percentages of homes) should be related to the states. 

Additionally, for the purpose of pointing out the main message of the representation - "some countries have higher percentages than others, hence, there is more radiation and more risk" - it's very useful to use distinct color or gray values to emphasize and highlight exactly this fact. For other graphical representations it's often better to use similar color values. 

Of course, sometimes it is not possible to use colors for such graphics because of economic issues, as common daily print media for instance. 

There is a variety of fill styles (solid monochromatic fills and patterns) in the graphical representation that couldn't be easily interpreted by the observer. Each percentage range is either represented by a pattern or a solid fill color. It is not very clear, why some ranges/classes are visualised by patterns and others not. The class with the lowest percentage (0 - 10%) has a striped fill pattern. The next class (10 - 15%) has a solid color fill that is nearly black. The following class (15 - 20%) has a slightly lighter fill color than the previous one. The next one (20 - 25%) uses a pattern again whereas the following is filled with a solid color again. It would be better to choose one fill style - solid color or pattern. Otherwise an observer could misconceive the graphic as interpreting each fill style - solid color or pattern - belonging together. And this would be a wrong message given by the representation.

===Data Ink (Ratio)===
====Lines And Borders====
For the purpose of visualising the borders of the US states, relatively thick lines were used. Using thinner lines would save some data-ink and would perhaps improve a bit the reading efficiency. 

The exactness of the map is another point we want to discuss. Some US states in the map have a double line as state border (such as the borders between North and South Dakota; Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois; Kansas and Oklahoma and some others). Another defect is that some states seem to be drawn upon another state because of bad drawn borders.
The missing accuracy in this graphic leads to confusion of the observer. Such defects should be avoided.

====Written Data / Labeling====
The use of larger font sizes for the abbreviations of the states according to the class they belong - small font sizes for low values and larger font sizes for high percentage values - is a valid way (according to [Few, 2004a]) to point out some data, but in this case, due to the amount of data and the usage of different gray values, it's not clear why the font sizes vary (at first view). It looks a bit unorganized. For instance, the area covered by Michigan (MI), Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY)and Tennessee (TN): At first glance, this states seem to share some information or data because the font-size used is the same for all of these states. But in fact, Michigan is the state with the lowest percentage value by comparison with the other mentioned states. The use of one distinct font size and a simple color or fill pattern for differentiation would be more than enough. 

A problem is the labeling of very small states, e.g. states like Maryland (MA) which have it's location in the nothern part of the east coast. The placement of labels in the center of states is not possible here. Choosing smaller font-sizes is not the best solution because the letters would not be readable any more. A solution could be to enlarge the whole graphic or to put - like it is realised in the graphic - some arrows or lines which point to the states. 

The use of state abbreviations instead of full names as labels is the right choice here because there would be hardly any place for long names. But in addition, for the sake of clarity it would be nice if a legend could explain the abbreviations by giving the full names of the US states - for people who do not know the US state abbreviations. 

== Improvements ==
*First thing we considered to be changed in the original graphic were the fill colors / patterns. In the "original" image, these weren't consistent because solid colors and patterns were mixed up. We decided only to use solid colors fills for different classes. States that are at higher risk are darker than the states in lower percentage ranges. 

*We decided to use the same font and size for all labels to make the graphic better legible. Hence, only the color shading visualises which state is member of which class. 

*The thickness of the borders between the states are thinner than in the "original" image. In the legend at the bottom of the graphic the data is ordered by the percentage ranges (an therefore also by the color intensity). This makes the graphic easier to understand. 

*We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make in much clearer. 
 

[[Image:0708_Gruppe7_USA.jpg]]

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

References:
*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 3

2007-12-14T18:14:08Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe3.html Description of the third task]
=== Assigned Graphic ===
[[Image:Radon_Level.jpg]]
Established Percentage of Homes that Exceed EPA's Recommended Level for Radon

== Terminology ==
Edward Tufte introduced a concept that he coined the '''"data-ink ratio"''' [Tufte et al., 1999]: The data-ink ratio describes how much of a graphic represents salient data. The equation according to Tufte is as follows: '' (data-ink) / (all-ink used to print the graphic) = data-ink-ratio''. The data-ink ratio resides in the interval 0 and 1. The goal is to maximize the ratio by eliminating unnecessary and redundant data. 
{{Quotation|In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.|Antoine de Saint Exupery}}

== Critics ==

=== At First Glance ===
One of the first things that the observer sees by taking a look at the graphic is, that nearly a half of all the US states cannot be matched according to the legend. For the blank (white filled) states there is no further explanation in the legend. So, it's not clear if the states haven't been considered in this graphical representation of statistical data or if it's simply the result of a bad copy or print. 
{{Quotation|Graphics must not quote data out of context.|[Tufte et al., 1999]}}

===Colors And Fill Styles===
Because of the different font sizes of the abbreviations we assume that states with higher percentages are those that are more important to us, because they are at higher risk than the others (amount of nuclear radiation). The use of different font sizes in this graphic is not the ideal solution. A better way would be to use more saturated colors or gray values for those states we want to highlight. 

It's difficult to detect differences in the shading of two used gray values (0-10% and 25%+). Using colors or gray values that visualy seem to be different from each other would make the states more distinguishable in this graphic - concerning the fact that different statements (percentages of homes) should be related to the states. 

Additionally, for the purpose of pointing out the main message of the representation - "some countries have higher percentages than others, hence, there is more radiation and more risk" - it's very useful to use distinct color or gray values to emphasize and highlight exactly this fact. For other graphical representations it's often better to use similar color values. 

Of course, sometimes it is not possible to use colors for such graphics because of economic issues, as common daily print media for instance. 

There is a variety of fill styles (solid monochromatic fills and patterns) in the graphical representation that couldn't be easily interpreted by the observer. Each percentage range is either represented by a pattern or a solid fill color. It is not very clear, why some ranges/classes are visualised by patterns and others not. The class with the lowest percentage (0 - 10%) has a striped fill pattern. The next class (10 - 15%) has a solid color fill that is nearly black. The following class (15 - 20%) has a slightly lighter fill color than the previous one. The next one (20 - 25%) uses a pattern again whereas the following is filled with a solid color again. It would be better to choose one fill style - solid color or pattern. Otherwise an observer could misconceive the graphic as interpreting each fill style - solid color or pattern - belonging together. And this would be a wrong message given by the representation.

===Data Ink (Ratio)===
====Lines And Borders====
For the purpose of visualising the borders of the US states, relatively thick lines were used. Using thinner lines would save some data-ink and would perhaps improve a bit the reading efficiency. 

The exactness of the map is another point we want to discuss. Some US states in the map have a double line as state border (such as the borders between North and South Dakota; Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois; Kansas and Oklahoma and some others). Another defect is that some states seem to be drawn upon another state because of bad drawn borders.
The missing accuracy in this graphic leads to confusion of the observer. Such defects should be avoided.

====Written Data / Labeling====
The use of larger font sizes for the abbreviations of the states according to the class they belong - small font sizes for low values and larger font sizes for high percentage values - is a valid way (according to [Few, 2004a]) to point out some data, but in this case, due to the amount of data and the usage of different gray values, it's not clear why the font sizes vary (at first view). It looks a bit unorganized. For instance, the area covered by Michigan (MI), Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY)and Tennessee (TN): At first glance, this states seem to share some information or data because the font-size used is the same for all of these states. But in fact, Michigan is the state with the lowest percentage value by comparison with the other mentioned states. The use of one distinct font size and a simple color or fill pattern for differentiation would be more than enough. 

A problem is the labeling of very small states, e.g. states like Maryland (MA) which have it's location in the nothern part of the east coast. The placement of labels in the center of states is not possible here. Choosing smaller font-sizes is not the best solution because the letters would not be readable any more. A solution could be to enlarge the whole graphic or to put - like it is realised in the graphic - some arrows or lines which point to the states. 

The use of state abbreviations instead of full names as labels is the right choice here because there would be hardly any place for long names. But in addition, for the sake of clarity it would be nice if a legend could explain the abbreviations by giving the full names of the US states - for people who do not know which abbreviation belongs to which state. 

== Improvements ==
*First thing we considered to be changed in the original graphic were the fill colors / patterns. In the "original" image, these weren't consistent because solid colors and patterns were mixed up. We decided only to use solid colors fills for different classes. States that are at higher risk are darker than the states in lower percentage ranges. 

*We decided to use the same font and size for all labels to make the graphic better legible. Hence, only the color shading visualises which state is member of which class. 

*The thickness of the borders between the states are thinner than in the "original" image. In the legend at the bottom of the graphic the data is ordered by the percentage ranges (an therefore also by the color intensity). This makes the graphic easier to understand. 

*We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make in much clearer. 
 

[[Image:0708_Gruppe7_USA.jpg]]

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

References:
*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 3

2007-12-14T18:08:11Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe3.html Description of the third task]
=== Assigned Graphic ===
[[Image:Radon_Level.jpg]]
Established Percentage of Homes that Exceed EPA's Recommended Level for Radon

== Terminology ==
Edward Tufte introduced a concept that he coined the '''"data-ink ratio"''' [Tufte et al., 1999]: The data-ink ratio describes how much of a graphic represents salient data. The equation according to Tufte is as follows: '' (data-ink) / (all-ink used to print the graphic) = data-ink-ratio''. The data-ink ratio resides in the interval 0 and 1. The goal is to maximize the ratio by eliminating unnecessary and redundant data. 
{{Quotation|In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.|Antoine de Saint Exupery}}

== Critics ==

=== At First Glance ===
One of the first things that the observer sees by taking a look at the graphic is, that nearly a half of all the US states cannot be matched according to the legend. For the blank (white filled) states there is no further explanation in the legend. So, it's not clear if the states haven't been considered in this graphical representation of statistical data or if it's simply the result of a bad copy or print. 
{{Quotation|Graphics must not quote data out of context.|[Tufte et al., 1999]}}

===Colors And Fill Styles===
Because of the different font sizes of the abbreviations we assume that states with higher percentages are those that are more important to us, because they are at higher risk than the others (amount of nuclear radiation). The use of different font sizes in this graphic is not the ideal solution. A better way would be to use more saturated colors or gray values for those states we want highlight. 

It's difficult to detect differences in the shading of two used gray values (0-10% and 25%+). Using colors or gray values that visualy seem to be different from each other would make the states more distinguishable in this graphic - concerning the fact that different statements (percentages of homes) should be related to the states. 

Additionally, for the purpose of pointing out the main message of the representation - "some countries have higher percentages than others, hence, there is more radiation and more risk" - it's very useful to use distinct color or gray values to emphasize and highlight exactly this fact. For other graphical representations it's often better to use similar color values. 

Of course, sometimes it is not possible to use colors for such graphics because of economic issues, as common daily print media for instance. 

There is a variety of fill styles (solid monochromatic fills and patterns) in the graphical representation that couldn't be easily interpreted by the observer. Each percentage range is either represented by a pattern or a solid fill color. It is not very clear, why some ranges/classes are visualised by patterns and others not. The class with the lowest percentage (0 - 10%) has a striped fill pattern. The next class (10 - 15%) has a solid color fill that is nearly black. The following class (15 - 20%) has a slightly lighter fill color than the previous one. The next one (20 - 25%) uses a pattern again whereas the following is filled with a solid color again. It would be better to choose one fill style - solid color or pattern. Otherwise an observer could misconceive the graphic as interpreting each fill style - solid color or pattern - belonging together. And this would be a wrong message given by the representation.

===Data Ink (Ratio)===
====Lines And Borders====
For the purpose of visualising the borders of the US states, relatively thick lines were used. Using thinner lines would save some data-ink and would perhaps improve a bit the reading efficiency. 

The exactness of the map is another point we want to discuss. Some US states in the map have a double line as state border (such as the borders between North and South Dakota; Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois; Kansas and Oklahoma and some others). Another defect is that some states seem to be drawn upon another state because of bad drawn borders.
The missing accuracy in this graphic leads to confusion of the observer. Such defects should be avoided.

====Written Data / Labeling====
The use of larger font sizes for the abbreviations of the states according to the class they belong - small font sizes for low values and larger font sizes for high percentage values - is a valid way (according to [Few, 2004a]) to point out some data, but in this case, due to the amount of data and the usage of different gray values, it's not clear why the font sizes vary (at first view). It looks a bit unorganized. For instance, the area covered by Michigan (MI), Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY)and Tennessee (TN): At first glance, this states seem to share some information or data because the font-size used is the same for all of these states. But in fact, Michigan is the state with the lowest percentage value by comparison with the other mentioned states. The use of one distinct font size and a simple color or fill pattern for differentiation would be more than enough. 

A problem is the labeling of very small states, e.g. states like Maryland (MA) which have it's location in the nothern part of the east coast. The placement of labels in the center of states is not possible here. Choosing smaller font-sizes is not the best solution because the letters would not be readable any more. A solution could be to enlarge the whole graphic or to put - like it is realised in the graphic - some arrows or lines which point to the states. 

The use of state abbreviations instead of full names as labels is the right choice here because there would be hardly any place for long names. But in addition, for the sake of clarity it would be nice if a legend could explain the abbreviations by giving the full names of the US states - for people who do not know which abbreviation belongs to which state. 

== Improvements ==
*First thing we considered to be changed in the original graphic were the fill colors / patterns. In the "original" image, these weren't consistent because solid colors and patterns were mixed up. We decided only to use solid colors fills for different classes. States that are at higher risk are darker than the states in lower percentage ranges. 

*We decided to use the same font and size for all labels to make the graphic better legible. Hence, only the color shading visualises which state is member of which class. 

*The thickness of the borders between the states are thinner than in the "original" image. In the legend at the bottom of the graphic the data is ordered by the percentage ranges (an therefore also by the color intensity). This makes the graphic easier to understand. 

*We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make in much clearer. 
 

[[Image:0708_Gruppe7_USA.jpg]]

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

References:
*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 3

2007-12-14T18:05:14Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe3.html Description of the third task]
=== Assigned Graphic ===
[[Image:Radon_Level.jpg]]
Established Percentage of Homes that Exceed EPA's Recommended Level for Radon

== Terminology ==
Edward Tufte introduced a concept that he coined the '''"data-ink ratio"''' [Tufte et al., 1999]: The data-ink ratio describes how much of a graphic represents salient data. The equation according to Tufte is as follows: '' data-ink / all-ink (used to print the graphic) = data-ink-ratio''. The data-ink ratio resides in the interval 0 and 1. The goal is to maximize the ratio by eliminating unnecessary and redundant data. 
{{Quotation|In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.|Antoine de Saint Exupery}}

== Critics ==

=== At First Glance ===
One of the first things that the observer sees by taking a look at the graphic is, that nearly a half of all the US states cannot be matched according to the legend. For the blank (white filled) states there is no further explanation in the legend. So, it's not clear if the states haven't been considered in this graphical representation of statistical data or if it's simply the result of a bad copy or print. 
{{Quotation|Graphics must not quote data out of context.|[Tufte et al., 1999]}}

===Colors And Fill Styles===
Because of the different font sizes of the abbreviations we assume that states with higher percentages are those that are more important to us, because they are at higher risk than the others (amount of nuclear radiation). The use of different font sizes in this graphic is not the ideal solution. A better way would be to use more saturated colors or gray values for those states we want highlight. 

It's difficult to detect differences in the shading of two used gray values (0-10% and 25%+). Using colors or gray values that visualy seem to be different from each other would make the states more distinguishable in this graphic - concerning the fact that different statements (percentages of homes) should be related to the states. 

Additionally, for the purpose of pointing out the main message of the representation - "some countries have higher percentages than others, hence, there is more radiation and more risk" - it's very useful to use distinct color or gray values to emphasize and highlight exactly this fact. For other graphical representations it's often better to use similar color values. 

Of course, sometimes it is not possible to use colors for such graphics because of economic issues, as common daily print media for instance. 

There is a variety of fill styles (solid monochromatic fills and patterns) in the graphical representation that couldn't be easily interpreted by the observer. Each percentage range is either represented by a pattern or a solid fill color. It is not very clear, why some ranges/classes are visualised by patterns and others not. The class with the lowest percentage (0 - 10%) has a striped fill pattern. The next class (10 - 15%) has a solid color fill that is nearly black. The following class (15 - 20%) has a slightly lighter fill color than the previous one. The next one (20 - 25%) uses a pattern again whereas the following is filled with a solid color again. It would be better to choose one fill style - solid color or pattern. Otherwise an observer could misconceive the graphic as interpreting each fill style - solid color or pattern - belonging together. And this would be a wrong message given by the representation.

===Data Ink (Ratio)===
====Lines And Borders====
For the purpose of visualising the borders of the US states, relatively thick lines were used. Using thinner lines would save some data-ink and would perhaps improve a bit the reading efficiency. 

The exactness of the map is another point we want to discuss. Some US states in the map have a double line as state border (such as the borders between North and South Dakota; Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois; Kansas and Oklahoma and some others). Another defect is that some states seem to be drawn upon another state because of bad drawn borders.
The missing accuracy in this graphic leads to confusion of the observer. Such defects should be avoided.

====Written Data / Labeling====
The use of larger font sizes for the abbreviations of the states according to the class they belong - small font sizes for low values and larger font sizes for high percentage values - is a valid way (according to [Few, 2004a]) to point out some data, but in this case, due to the amount of data and the usage of different gray values, it's not clear why the font sizes vary (at first view). It looks a bit unorganized. For instance, the area covered by Michigan (MI), Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY)and Tennessee (TN): At first glance, this states seem to share some information or data because the font-size used is the same for all of these states. But in fact, Michigan is the state with the lowest percentage value by comparison with the other mentioned states. The use of one distinct font size and a simple color or fill pattern for differentiation would be more than enough. 

A problem is the labeling of very small states, e.g. states like Maryland (MA) which have it's location in the nothern part of the east coast. The placement of labels in the center of states is not possible here. Choosing smaller font-sizes is not the best solution because the letters would not be readable any more. A solution could be to enlarge the whole graphic or to put - like it is realised in the graphic - some arrows or lines which point to the states. 

The use of state abbreviations instead of full names as labels is the right choice here because there would be hardly any place for long names. But in addition, for the sake of clarity it would be nice if a legend could explain the abbreviations by giving the full names of the US states - for people who do not know which abbreviation belongs to which state. 

== Improvements ==
*First thing we considered to be changed in the original graphic were the fill colors / patterns. In the "original" image, these weren't consistent because solid colors and patterns were mixed up. We decided only to use solid colors fills for different classes. States that are at higher risk are darker than the states in lower percentage ranges. 

*We decided to use the same font and size for all labels to make the graphic better legible. Hence, only the color shading visualises which state is member of which class. 

*The thickness of the borders between the states are thinner than in the "original" image. In the legend at the bottom of the graphic the data is ordered by the percentage ranges (an therefore also by the color intensity). This makes the graphic easier to understand. 

*We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make in much clearer. 
 

[[Image:0708_Gruppe7_USA.jpg]]

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

References:
*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 3

2007-12-14T18:04:01Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe3.html Description of the third task]
=== Assigned Graphic ===
[[Image:Radon_Level.jpg]]
Established Percentage of Homes that Exceed EPA's Recommended Level for Radon

== Terminology ==
Edward Tufte introduced a concept that he coined the '''"data-ink ratio"''' [Tufte et al., 1999]: The data-ink ratio describes how much of a graphic represents salient data. The equation according to Tufte is as follows: '' data-ink / all-ink = data-ink-ratio''. The data-ink ratio resides in the interval 0 and 1. The goal is to maximize the ratio by eliminating unnecessary and redundant data. 
{{Quotation|In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.|Antoine de Saint Exupery}}

== Critics ==

=== At First Glance ===
One of the first things that the observer sees by taking a look at the graphic is, that nearly a half of all the US states cannot be matched according to the legend. For the blank (white filled) states there is no further explanation in the legend. So, it's not clear if the states haven't been considered in this graphical representation of statistical data or if it's simply the result of a bad copy or print. 
{{Quotation|Graphics must not quote data out of context.|[Tufte et al., 1999]}}

===Colors And Fill Styles===
Because of the different font sizes of the abbreviations we assume that states with higher percentages are those that are more important to us, because they are at higher risk than the others (amount of nuclear radiation). The use of different font sizes in this graphic is not the ideal solution. A better way would be to use more saturated colors or gray values for those states we want highlight. 

It's difficult to detect differences in the shading of two used gray values (0-10% and 25%+). Using colors or gray values that visualy seem to be different from each other would make the states more distinguishable in this graphic - concerning the fact that different statements (percentages of homes) should be related to the states. 

Additionally, for the purpose of pointing out the main message of the representation - "some countries have higher percentages than others, hence, there is more radiation and more risk" - it's very useful to use distinct color or gray values to emphasize and highlight exactly this fact. For other graphical representations it's often better to use similar color values. 

Of course, sometimes it is not possible to use colors for such graphics because of economic issues, as common daily print media for instance. 

There is a variety of fill styles (solid monochromatic fills and patterns) in the graphical representation that couldn't be easily interpreted by the observer. Each percentage range is either represented by a pattern or a solid fill color. It is not very clear, why some ranges/classes are visualised by patterns and others not. The class with the lowest percentage (0 - 10%) has a striped fill pattern. The next class (10 - 15%) has a solid color fill that is nearly black. The following class (15 - 20%) has a slightly lighter fill color than the previous one. The next one (20 - 25%) uses a pattern again whereas the following is filled with a solid color again. It would be better to choose one fill style - solid color or pattern. Otherwise an observer could misconceive the graphic as interpreting each fill style - solid color or pattern - belonging together. And this would be a wrong message given by the representation.

===Data Ink (Ratio)===
====Lines And Borders====
For the purpose of visualising the borders of the US states, relatively thick lines were used. Using thinner lines would save some data-ink and would perhaps improve a bit the reading efficiency. 

The exactness of the map is another point we want to discuss. Some US states in the map have a double line as state border (such as the borders between North and South Dakota; Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois; Kansas and Oklahoma and some others). Another defect is that some states seem to be drawn upon another state because of bad drawn borders.
The missing accuracy in this graphic leads to confusion of the observer. Such defects should be avoided.

====Written Data / Labeling====
The use of larger font sizes for the abbreviations of the states according to the class they belong - small font sizes for low values and larger font sizes for high percentage values - is a valid way (according to [Few, 2004a]) to point out some data, but in this case, due to the amount of data and the usage of different gray values, it's not clear why the font sizes vary (at first view). It looks a bit unorganized. For instance, the area covered by Michigan (MI), Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY)and Tennessee (TN): At first glance, this states seem to share some information or data because the font-size used is the same for all of these states. But in fact, Michigan is the state with the lowest percentage value by comparison with the other mentioned states. The use of one distinct font size and a simple color or fill pattern for differentiation would be more than enough. 

A problem is the labeling of very small states, e.g. states like Maryland (MA) which have it's location in the nothern part of the east coast. The placement of labels in the center of states is not possible here. Choosing smaller font-sizes is not the best solution because the letters would not be readable any more. A solution could be to enlarge the whole graphic or to put - like it is realised in the graphic - some arrows or lines which point to the states. 

The use of state abbreviations instead of full names as labels is the right choice here because there would be hardly any place for long names. But in addition, for the sake of clarity it would be nice if a legend could explain the abbreviations by giving the full names of the US states - for people who do not know which abbreviation belongs to which state. 

== Improvements ==
*First thing we considered to be changed in the original graphic were the fill colors / patterns. In the "original" image, these weren't consistent because solid colors and patterns were mixed up. We decided only to use solid colors fills for different classes. States that are at higher risk are darker than the states in lower percentage ranges. 

*We decided to use the same font and size for all labels to make the graphic better legible. Hence, only the color shading visualises which state is member of which class. 

*The thickness of the borders between the states are thinner than in the "original" image. In the legend at the bottom of the graphic the data is ordered by the percentage ranges (an therefore also by the color intensity). This makes the graphic easier to understand. 

*We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make in much clearer. 
 

[[Image:0708_Gruppe7_USA.jpg]]

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

References:
*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 3

2007-12-14T18:02:11Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe3.html Description of the third task]
=== Assigned Graphic ===
[[Image:Radon_Level.jpg]]
Established Percentage of Homes that Exceed EPA's Recommended Level for Radon

== Terminology ==
* Edward Tufte introduced a concept that he coined the '''"data-ink ratio"''' [Tufte et al., 1999]: 
The data-ink ratio describes how much of a graphic represents salient data. 
The equation according to Tufte is as follows: '' data-ink / all-ink = data-ink-ratio''. 
The data-ink ratio recides in the interval 0 and 1. The goal is to maximize the ratio by eliminating unnecessary an redundant data. 
{{Quotation|In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.|Antoine de Saint Exupery}}

== Critics ==

=== At First Glance ===
One of the first things that the observer sees by taking a look at the graphic is, that nearly a half of all the US states cannot be matched according to the legend. For the blank (white filled) states there is no further explanation in the legend. So, it's not clear if the states haven't been considered in this graphical representation of statistical data or if it's simply the result of a bad copy or print. 
{{Quotation|Graphics must not quote data out of context.|[Tufte et al., 1999]}}

===Colors And Fill Styles===
Because of the different font sizes of the abbreviations we assume that states with higher percentages are those that are more important to us, because they are at higher risk than the others (amount of nuclear radiation). The use of different font sizes in this graphic is not the ideal solution. A better way would be to use more saturated colors or gray values for those states we want highlight. 

It's difficult to detect differences in the shading of two used gray values (0-10% and 25%+). Using colors or gray values that visualy seem to be different from each other would make the states more distinguishable in this graphic - concerning the fact that different statements (percentages of homes) should be related to the states. 

Additionally, for the purpose of pointing out the main message of the representation - "some countries have higher percentages than others, hence, there is more radiation and more risk" - it's very useful to use distinct color or gray values to emphasize and highlight exactly this fact. For other graphical representations it's often better to use similar color values. 

Of course, sometimes it is not possible to use colors for such graphics because of economic issues, as common daily print media for instance. 

There is a variety of fill styles (solid monochromatic fills and patterns) in the graphical representation that couldn't be easily interpreted by the observer. Each percentage range is either represented by a pattern or a solid fill color. It is not very clear, why some ranges/classes are visualised by patterns and others not. The class with the lowest percentage (0 - 10%) has a striped fill pattern. The next class (10 - 15%) has a solid color fill that is nearly black. The following class (15 - 20%) has a slightly lighter fill color than the previous one. The next one (20 - 25%) uses a pattern again whereas the following is filled with a solid color again. It would be better to choose one fill style - solid color or pattern. Otherwise an observer could misconceive the graphic as interpreting each fill style - solid color or pattern - belonging together. And this would be a wrong message given by the representation.

===Data Ink (Ratio)===
====Lines And Borders====
For the purpose of visualising the borders of the US states, relatively thick lines were used. Using thinner lines would save some data-ink and would perhaps improve a bit the reading efficiency. 

The exactness of the map is another point we want to discuss. Some US states in the map have a double line as state border (such as the borders between North and South Dakota; Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois; Kansas and Oklahoma and some others). Another defect is that some states seem to be drawn upon another state because of bad drawn borders.
The missing accuracy in this graphic leads to confusion of the observer. Such defects should be avoided.

====Written Data / Labeling====
The use of larger font sizes for the abbreviations of the states according to the class they belong - small font sizes for low values and larger font sizes for high percentage values - is a valid way (according to [Few, 2004a]) to point out some data, but in this case, due to the amount of data and the usage of different gray values, it's not clear why the font sizes vary (at first view). It looks a bit unorganized. For instance, the area covered by Michigan (MI), Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY)and Tennessee (TN): At first glance, this states seem to share some information or data because the font-size used is the same for all of these states. But in fact, Michigan is the state with the lowest percentage value by comparison with the other mentioned states. The use of one distinct font size and a simple color or fill pattern for differentiation would be more than enough. 

A problem is the labeling of very small states, e.g. states like Maryland (MA) which have it's location in the nothern part of the east coast. The placement of labels in the center of states is not possible here. Choosing smaller font-sizes is not the best solution because the letters would not be readable any more. A solution could be to enlarge the whole graphic or to put - like it is realised in the graphic - some arrows or lines which point to the states. 

The use of state abbreviations instead of full names as labels is the right choice here because there would be hardly any place for long names. But in addition, for the sake of clarity it would be nice if a legend could explain the abbreviations by giving the full names of the US states - for people who do not know which abbreviation belongs to which state. 

== Improvements ==
*First thing we considered to be changed in the original graphic were the fill colors / patterns. In the "original" image, these weren't consistent because solid colors and patterns were mixed up. We decided only to use solid colors fills for different classes. States that are at higher risk are darker than the states in lower percentage ranges. 

*We decided to use the same font and size for all labels to make the graphic better legible. Hence, only the color shading visualises which state is member of which class. 

*The thickness of the borders between the states are thinner than in the "original" image. In the legend at the bottom of the graphic the data is ordered by the percentage ranges (an therefore also by the color intensity). This makes the graphic easier to understand. 

*We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make in much clearer. 
 

[[Image:0708_Gruppe7_USA.jpg]]

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

References:
*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html

Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07 - Aufgabe 3

2007-12-14T18:01:19Z

UE-InfoVis0708 0125193:

== Assignment description ==
[http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/infovis_ue_aufgabe3.html Description of the third task]
=== Assigned Graphic ===
[[Image:Radon_Level.jpg]]
Established Percentage of Homes that Exceed EPA's Recommended Level for Radon

== Terminology ==
* Edward Tufte introduced a concept that he coined the '''"data-ink ratio"''' [Tufte et al., 1999]: 
The data-ink ratio describes how much of a graphic represents salient data. The equation according to Tufte is as follows: 
'' data-ink / all-ink = data-ink-ratio''. 
The data-ink ratio recides in the interval 0 and 1. The goal is to maximize the ratio by eliminating unnecessary an redundant data. 
{{Quotation|In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.|Antoine de Saint Exupery}}

== Critics ==

=== At First Glance ===
One of the first things that the observer sees by taking a look at the graphic is, that nearly a half of all the US states cannot be matched according to the legend. For the blank (white filled) states there is no further explanation in the legend. So, it's not clear if the states haven't been considered in this graphical representation of statistical data or if it's simply the result of a bad copy or print. 
{{Quotation|Graphics must not quote data out of context.|[Tufte et al., 1999]}}

===Colors And Fill Styles===
Because of the different font sizes of the abbreviations we assume that states with higher percentages are those that are more important to us, because they are at higher risk than the others (amount of nuclear radiation). The use of different font sizes in this graphic is not the ideal solution. A better way would be to use more saturated colors or gray values for those states we want highlight. 

It's difficult to detect differences in the shading of two used gray values (0-10% and 25%+). Using colors or gray values that visualy seem to be different from each other would make the states more distinguishable in this graphic - concerning the fact that different statements (percentages of homes) should be related to the states. 

Additionally, for the purpose of pointing out the main message of the representation - "some countries have higher percentages than others, hence, there is more radiation and more risk" - it's very useful to use distinct color or gray values to emphasize and highlight exactly this fact. For other graphical representations it's often better to use similar color values. 

Of course, sometimes it is not possible to use colors for such graphics because of economic issues, as common daily print media for instance. 

There is a variety of fill styles (solid monochromatic fills and patterns) in the graphical representation that couldn't be easily interpreted by the observer. Each percentage range is either represented by a pattern or a solid fill color. It is not very clear, why some ranges/classes are visualised by patterns and others not. The class with the lowest percentage (0 - 10%) has a striped fill pattern. The next class (10 - 15%) has a solid color fill that is nearly black. The following class (15 - 20%) has a slightly lighter fill color than the previous one. The next one (20 - 25%) uses a pattern again whereas the following is filled with a solid color again. It would be better to choose one fill style - solid color or pattern. Otherwise an observer could misconceive the graphic as interpreting each fill style - solid color or pattern - belonging together. And this would be a wrong message given by the representation.

===Data Ink (Ratio)===
====Lines And Borders====
For the purpose of visualising the borders of the US states, relatively thick lines were used. Using thinner lines would save some data-ink and would perhaps improve a bit the reading efficiency. 

The exactness of the map is another point we want to discuss. Some US states in the map have a double line as state border (such as the borders between North and South Dakota; Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois; Kansas and Oklahoma and some others). Another defect is that some states seem to be drawn upon another state because of bad drawn borders.
The missing accuracy in this graphic leads to confusion of the observer. Such defects should be avoided.

====Written Data / Labeling====
The use of larger font sizes for the abbreviations of the states according to the class they belong - small font sizes for low values and larger font sizes for high percentage values - is a valid way (according to [Few, 2004a]) to point out some data, but in this case, due to the amount of data and the usage of different gray values, it's not clear why the font sizes vary (at first view). It looks a bit unorganized. For instance, the area covered by Michigan (MI), Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY)and Tennessee (TN): At first glance, this states seem to share some information or data because the font-size used is the same for all of these states. But in fact, Michigan is the state with the lowest percentage value by comparison with the other mentioned states. The use of one distinct font size and a simple color or fill pattern for differentiation would be more than enough. 

A problem is the labeling of very small states, e.g. states like Maryland (MA) which have it's location in the nothern part of the east coast. The placement of labels in the center of states is not possible here. Choosing smaller font-sizes is not the best solution because the letters would not be readable any more. A solution could be to enlarge the whole graphic or to put - like it is realised in the graphic - some arrows or lines which point to the states. 

The use of state abbreviations instead of full names as labels is the right choice here because there would be hardly any place for long names. But in addition, for the sake of clarity it would be nice if a legend could explain the abbreviations by giving the full names of the US states - for people who do not know which abbreviation belongs to which state. 

== Improvements ==
*First thing we considered to be changed in the original graphic were the fill colors / patterns. In the "original" image, these weren't consistent because solid colors and patterns were mixed up. We decided only to use solid colors fills for different classes. States that are at higher risk are darker than the states in lower percentage ranges. 

*We decided to use the same font and size for all labels to make the graphic better legible. Hence, only the color shading visualises which state is member of which class. 

*The thickness of the borders between the states are thinner than in the "original" image. In the legend at the bottom of the graphic the data is ordered by the percentage ranges (an therefore also by the color intensity). This makes the graphic easier to understand. 

*We have tried to follow the data-ink ratio model and to eliminate all unnecessary visual elements from the original graphic in order to make in much clearer. 
 

[[Image:0708_Gruppe7_USA.jpg]]

== Links ==

* [[Teaching:TUW_-_UE_InfoVis_WS_2007/08|InfoVis:Wiki UE Homepage]]

* [http://ieg.ifs.tuwien.ac.at/~aigner/teaching/infovis_ue/index.html UE InfoVis]

*[[Teaching:TUW - UE InfoVis WS 2007/08 - Gruppe 07|Gruppe 07]]

References:
*[Few, 2004a] Elegance Through Simplicity. Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://www.intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml
*[Few, 2004b] Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Analytics Press, 2004, Chapter 7 - General Design for Communication.
*[Tufte et al., 1999] Tufte Design Principle, Retrieved at: December 09, 2007. http://ldt.stanford.edu/ldt1999/Students/mizuno/Portfolio/Work/reports/tufte/ed229c-tufte-outline.html