A Framework for Describing Visual Interfaces to Databases

In the field of HCI there exist many formalisms for analysing, describing and evaluating interactive systems. However, in developing and evaluating user interfaces to databases, we found it necessary to be able to describe presentation and interaction aspects that are catered for poorly or not at all in current formalisms. This paper presents a framework for the systematic description of data model, presentation and interaction components that together form a graphical user interface. The utility of the framework is then demonstrated by showing how it can be used to describe two existing visual query interfaces. These examples show that the framework provides a systematic method for the concise description of graphical interfaces to databases that can be used either during interface design or as a communication aid.