Human-Centered Interactivity of Visualization Tools: Micro- and Macro-level Considerations

Abstract

Visualization tools can support and enhance the performance of complex cognitive activities such as sense making, problem solving, and analytical reasoning. To do so effectively, however, a human-centered approach to their design and evaluation is required. One way to make visualization tools human-centered is to make them interactive. Although interaction allows a user to adjust the features of the tool to suit his or her cognitive and contextual needs, it is the quality of interaction that largely determines how well complex cognitive activities are supported. In this chapter, interactivity is conceptualized as the quality of interaction. As interactivity is a broad and complex construct, we categorize it into two levels: micro and macro. Interactivity at the micro level emerges from the structural elements of individual interactions. Interactivity at the macro level emerges from the combination, sequencing, and aggregate properties and relationships of interactions as a user performs an activity. Twelve micro-level interactivity elements and five macro-level interactivity factors are identified and characterized. The framework presented in this chapter can provide some structure and facilitate a systematic approach to design and evaluation of interactivity in human-centered visualization tools.