A Highly Customizable Information Visualization Framework

Abstract

The human brain can quickly become overwhelmed by the amounts of data computers can process. Consequently, data abstraction is necessary for a user to grasp information and identify valuable patterns. Data is usually abstracted in a pictorial or graphical format. Nowadays, users demand more personalization from the systems they use. This work proposes a user-centered framework that aims to ease creating visualizations for the developers of a platform while offering the end-user a highly customizable experience. The conceptualized solution was prototyped and tested to ensure the information about the data is transmitted to the user in a quick and effective manner. The results of a user study showed that users are pleased with the usability of the prototype and prove that they desire control over the configuration of their visualizations. This work not only confirmed the usefulness of previously explored personalization options for visual representations, but also explored promising new personalization options.