Institute for Systems Research
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/4375
Browse
9 results
Search Results
Item The Design of History Mechanisms and Their Use in Collaborative Educational Simulations(1999) Plaisant, C.; Rose, A.; Rubloff, G.; Salter, R.; Shneiderman, B.; ISRReviewing past events has been useful in many domains. Videotapes and flight data recorders provide invaluable technological help to sports coaches or aviation engineers. Similarly, providing learners with a readable recording of their actions may help them monitor their behavior, reflect on their progress, and experiment with revisions of their experiences. It may also facilitate active collaboration among dispersed learning communities. Learning histories can help students and professionals make more effective use of digital library searching, word processing tasks, computer-assisted design tools, electronic performance support systems, and web navigation.This paper describes the design space and discusses the challenges of implementing learning histories. It presents guidelines for creating effective implementations, and the design tradeoffs between sparse and dense history records. The paper also presents a first implementation of learning histories for a simulation-based engineering learning environment called SimPLE (Simulated Processes in a Learning Environment) for the case of a semiconductor fabrication module, and reports on early user evaluation of learning histories implemented within SimPLE.
Item Facilitating Network Data Exploration with Query Previews: A Study of User Performance and Preference(1998) Tanin, E.; Lotem, Amnon; Haddadin, Ihab; Shneiderman, B.; Plaisant, C.; Slaughter, L.; ISRCurrent network data exploration systems which use command languages (e.g. SQL) or form fill-in interfaces fail to give users an indication of the distribution of data items. This leads many users to waste time posing queries which have zero-hit or mega-hit result sets. Query previewing is a novel visual approach for browsing huge networked information warehouses. Query previews supply data distribution information about the database that is being searched and give continuous feedback about the size of the result set for the query as it is being formed. Our within-subjects empirical comparison studied 12 subjects using a form fill-in interface, with and without query previews. We found statistically significant differences showing that query previews sped up performance by 1.6 to 2.1 times and led to higher subjective satisfaction.Item Integrated Network Management of Hybrid Networks(1996) Baras, John S.; Ball, Michael O.; Karne, Ramesh K.; Kelley, Stephen; Jang, Kap D.; Plaisant, C.; Roussopoulos, N.; Stathatos, K.; Vakhutinsky, A.; Valluri, J.; Whitefield, D.; ISR; CSHCNWe describe our collaborative efforts towards the design and implementation of a next generation integrated network management system for hybrid networks (INMS/HN). We describe the overall software architecture of the system at its current stage of development. This network management system is specifically designed to address issues relevant for complex heterogeneous networks consisting of seamlessly interoperable terrestrial and satellite networks. Network management systems are a key element for interoperability in such networks. We describe the integration of configuration management and performance management. The next step in this integration is fault management. In particular we describe the object model, issues of the Graphical User Interface (GUI), browsing tools and performance data graphical widget displays, management information database (MIB) organization issues. Several components of the system are being commercialized by Hughes Network Systems.- A revised version of this report has been published in
Proceedings of the 1st Conference of Commercial Development of Space, Part One, pp. 345-350, Albuquerque, New Mexico, January 7-11, 1996.Item Query Previews in Networked Information Systems(1995) Doan, Khoa; Plaisant, C.; Shneiderman, B.; ISR; CSHCNIn a networked information system, there are three major obstacles facing users in a querying process: network performance, data volume and data complexity. In order to overcome these obstacles, we propose a two-phase approach of dynamic query formulation by volume preview. The two phases are the Query Preview andQuery Refinement. In the Query Preview phase, users formulate an initial query by selecting desired attribute values. The volume of matching data sets is shown graphically on Query bars which aid users to rapidly eliminate undesired data sets, and focus on a manageable number of relevant data sets. Query previews also prevent wasted steps by eliminating zero-hit queries. When the estimated number of data sets is low enough, the initial query is submitted to the network, which returns the metadata of the data sets for further refinement in the Query Refinement phase. The two-phase approach to query formulation overcomes slow network performance, and reduces the data volume and data complexity problems. This approach is especially appropriate for users who prefer the exploratory method to discover data patterns and exceptions during the query formulation process. Using this approach, we have developed dynamic query user interfaces to allow users to formulate their queries across a networked environment.Item Browsing Hierarchical Data with Multi-Level Dynamic Queries and Pruning(1995) Kumar, Harsha P.; Plaisant, C.; Shneiderman, B.; ISR; CSHCNUser often must browse hierarchies with thousands of nodes in search of those that best match their information needs. The PDQ Tree-browser (Pruning with Dynamic Queries) visualization tool was specified, designed and developed for this purpose. This tool presents trees in two tightly-coupled views, one a detailed view and the other an overview. Users can use dynamic queries, a method for rapidly filtering data, to filter nodes at each level of the tree. The dynamic query panels are user-customizable. Subtrees of unselected nodes are pruned out, leading to compact views of relevant nodes. Usability testing of the PDQ Tree- browser, done with 8 subjects, helped asses strengths and identify possible improvement. The PDQ Tree-browser was used in Network Management (600 nodes) and University Finder (1100 nodes) applications. A controlled experiment, with 24 subjects, showed that pruning significantly improved performance speed and subjective user satisfaction. Future research directions are suggested.Item User Controlled Overviews of an Image Library: A Case Study of the Visible Human(1995) North, C.; Shneiderman, B.; Plaisant, C.; ISRThis paper proposes a user interface for remote access of the National Library of Medicine's Visible Human digital image library. Users can visualize the library, browse contents, locate data of interest, and retrieve desired images. The interface presents a pair of tightly coupled views into the library data. The overview image provides a global view of the overall search space, and the preview image provides details about high resolution images available for retrieval. To explore, the user sweeps the views through the search space and receives smooth, rapid, visual feedback of contents. Desired images are automatically downloaded over the Internet from the library. Library contents are indexed by meta-data consisting of automatically generated miniature visuals. The interface software is completely functional and freely available for public use at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/.Item LifeLines: Visualizing Personal Histories(1995) Plaisant, C.; Milash, Brett; Rose, A.; Widoff, S.; Shneiderman, B.; ISRLifeLines provide a general visualization environment for personal histories that can be applied to medical and court records, professional histories and other types of biographical data. A one-screen overview shows multiple facets of the records. Aspects, for example medical conditions or legal cases, are displayed as individual time lines, while icons indicate discrete events, such as physician consultations or legal reviews. Line color and thickness illustrate relationships or significance, scaling tools and filters allow users to focus on part of the information. LifeLines reduce the chances of missing information, facilitate spotting anomalies and trends and streamline access to details, while remaining tailorable and easily sharable between applications. The paper describes the use of LifeLines for youth records of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Justice and also for medical records. User's feedback was collected using a Visual Basic Prototype for the youth record. Techniques to deal with complex records are reviewed and issues of a standard personal record format are discussed.Item Visual Information Management for Network Configuration(1994) Kumar, Harsha P.; Plaisant, C.; Teittinen, M.; Shneiderman, B.; ISR; CSHCNCurrent network management systems rely heavily on forms in their user interfaces. The interfaces reflect the intricacies of the network hardware components but provide little support for guiding users through tasks. There is a scarcity of useful graphical visualizations and decision-support tools. We applied a task-oriented approach to design and implemented the user interface for a prototype network configuration management system. Our user interface provides multiple overviews of the network (with potentially thousands of nodes) and the relevant configuration tasks (queries and updates). We propose a unified interface for exploration, querying, data entry and verification. Compact color-coded treemaps with dynamic queries allowing user- controlled filtering and animation of the data display proved well-suited for representing the multiple containment hierarchies in networks. Our Tree-browser applied the conventional node-link visualization of trees to show hardware containment hierarchies. Improvements to conventional scrollbar-browsers included tightly coupled overviews and detailed views. This visual interface, implemented with Galaxy and the University of Maryland Widget Library TM, has received enthusiastic feedback from the network management community. This application-specific paper has design paradigms that should be useful to designers of varied systems.Item The Future of Graphic User Interfaces: Personal Role Managers(1994) Shneiderman, B.; Plaisant, C.; ISRAbstract Personal computer users typically manage hundreds of directories and thousands of files with hierarchically structured file managers, plus archaic cluttered-desktop window managers, and iconic representations of applications. These users must deal with the annoying overhead of window housekeeping and the greater burden of mapping their organizational roles onto unnecessarily rigid hierarchy. An alternate approach is presented, Personal Role Manager (PRM), to structure the screen layout and the interface tools to better match the multiple roles that individuals have in an organization. Each role has a vision statement, schedule, hierarchy of tasks, set of people, and collection of documents.