Visualization-specific Guidelines (Tory and Möller, 2004)

• Since users’ information needs are domain and task dependent, design must either

1. be domain and task specific or
2. look at domain-independent subtasks such as those defined by Shneiderman [Shneiderman, 1997]: overview, zoom, filter, details-on-demand, relate, history, and extract.

• To support users with different tasks and requirements, multiple visual representations of the data should be available. Several representations may be visible at once using multiple view windows. If it is not possible to render a global view of the data set in which every element is precisely represented, it is possible to combine detailed, partial representation(s) with vague, global representation(s). For example, in a medical imaging data set, slices and subvolumes of specific areas could be combined with a volume rendered overview of the entire volume.
  • Changing between representations and views should be easy.
  • Using multiple views is not always appropriate. Baldonado et al. describe a set of guidelines for when and how to utilize multiple views for visualization tasks [Baldonado et al., 2000].
  • Continuity should be maintained so the user does not get lost when switching between representations. Woods provides several design guidelines to help provide such continuity or "visual momentum" [Woods, 1984]. (For example, use graceful transitions such as animation, maintain formatting consistency across views, and provide features that are easily discernible in all views and thus act as perceptual landmarks.)

• The following variables should always be visible:
  • The set of data elements (an overview). With volume or fluid flow data, the overview contains the entire object or space being visualized.
  • Relationships between data elements. Relationships may be either explicit (e.g., links between web pages) or implicit (e.g., relative positions of objects in a scene).
  • Method of locomotion. In other words, cues should be present to help the user understand how to navigate through the display and modify display parameters.
  • Details at the current location (e.g., the value of a voxel in volume data).
  • Details of the local neighborhood.
  • Navigation history. In other words, a list of previously explored display parameters, such as transfer functions in direct volume rendering

• Data at the focus of interaction should be undistorted and represented at the highest possible resolution.

• Navigation tools should be reused to maintain consistent interaction metaphors throughout the system.

References

• [Baldonado et al., 2000] M.Q.W. Baldonado, A. Woodruff, and A. Kuchinsky, Guidelines for Using Multiple Views in Information Visualization, Proc. Working Conf. Advanced Visual Interfaces, pp. 110-119, 2000.
• [Shneiderman, 1997] B. Shneiderman, Designing the User Interface, third ed. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley 1997.
• [Tory and Möller, 2004] Melanie Tory and Torsten Möller, Human Factors in Visualization Research, IEEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 10(1):72-84, January/February 2004.
• [Woods, 1984] D.D. Woods, Visual Momentum: A Concept to Improve the Cognitive Coupling of Person and Computer, Int’l J. Man-Machine Studies, vol. 21, pp. 229-244, 1984.