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Publication Date

8-2013

Type of Culminating Activity

Thesis - Boise State University Access Only

Degree Title

Master of Science in Computer Science

Department

Computer Science

Supervisory Committee Chair

Alark Joshi, Ph.D.

Abstract

To effectively design and develop visualizations for tablets, one must consider the unique challenges and opportunities associated with tablets. Two such challenges include the relatively small screen size and limited user interaction capabilities, while one opportunity is the ability to provide a truly tactile interface.

We present several visualizations for tablets that allow a user to focus on a region of interest while simultaneously maintaining context. Context is provided via aggregation, fisheye-style, and overview+detail techniques, and is intended to help a user extract interesting information from or discern patterns in the data.

We evaluated the efficacy of our visualizations against standard, interactive visualizations on a tablet, and found that one of our bar graph visualizations (BG2) resulted in the fewest errors, the lowest user frustration level, and required the least amount of time. Similarly, one of our scatter plot visualizations (SP3) resulted in the fewest errors, the lowest user frustration level, and required the least amount of time. Our results also showed that users preferred context-providing techniques over traditional bar graphs and scatter plots, which include pinch-and-zoom and fling-based scrolling capabilities.

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