A User Centered Approach for the Design and Evaluation of Interactive Information Visualization Tools

The proposed focus of this chapter is to discuss the design and evaluation of interactive Information Visualization (InfoVis) tools. The approach we take is based on our view of users’ interaction within the context of InfoVis as an experience. As a result of this we propose a user centered approach to the design and evaluation of InfoVis tools, which is a common practice in HCI but not in the field of InfoVis. In this proposal, we briefly explain what interaction in the context of InfoVis means, followed by a brief overview of the user centered methodical approach we propose for designing and evaluating interactive visualization tools. The approach we generated resulted from our experiences of working with and designing an academic literature visualization tool. From these experiences, we conclude that understanding the users’ subjective experiences within the domain of interest should be considered the primary step in the design and evaluation process of interactive InfoVis tools. Throughout the chapter we will give detailed examples at the various stages of the design and evaluation process from our experience of building the academic literature visualization tool. In addition, at each of the design and evaluation stages we intend to explain how these concepts can be generalized for designing and evaluating interactive InfoVis tools. Each section in this proposal gives a brief overview of some of the main concepts we intend to explain in detail in the chapter.