Diagrams Preso

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Why Diagrams are Worth a Thousand Words Clark Quinn, Ph.D.

description

My presentation on the cognitive principles of diagrams for VizThink09

Transcript of Diagrams Preso

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Why Diagrams are Worth a Thousand Words

Clark Quinn, Ph.D.

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• ...DesignWare…...DesignWare…

• ...UCSD......UCSD...

• ...UNSW......UNSW...

• ......QuinnovationQuinnovation

Independent ConsultancyIndependent Consultancy

Making organizations smarterMaking organizations smarter

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Why do we use diagrams?

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Diagrams

Map conceptual relationships to spatial relationships (using our robust visual processing system to support comprehension)

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Communication Roles of Media

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Aside: the importance of models•Mental Models•Conceptual Models•Conceptual Relationships

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How do diagrams work?

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Diagrams work...“In the representations we call diagrammatic, information is organized by location, and often much of the information needed to make an inference is present and explicit at a single location. In addition, cues to the next logical step in the problem may be present at an adjacent location. Therefore problem solving can proceed through a smooth traversal of the diagram, and may require very little search or computation of elements that had been implicit.”

- Larkin, J.H., & Simon, H.A. Why a Diagram is (Sometimes) Worth Ten Thousand Words. Cognitive Science, 11, 1.

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Diagrams work...

• information is organized by location

• much of the information needed to make an inference is present and explicit at a single location

• cues to the next logical step in the problem may be present at an adjacent location

• require very little search or computation of elements

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Location & Flow

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Three Types:

• Spatial

• Conceptual

• Graphs & Charts

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Conceptual

“these take a collection of items and relationships between them, and express them by giving each item a 2D position, while the relationships are expressed as connections between the items or overlaps between the items” - Wikipedia

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Graphs/Charts

“which display a relationship between two variables that take either discrete or a continuous ranges of values” - Wikipedia

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Diagrams

Map conceptual relationships to spatial relationships (using our robust visual processing system to support comprehension)

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Conceptual Elements

Human Information Processing

•Sensory Store

•Short Term Memory (STM)

•Long Term Memory (LTM)

•Motor System

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HIP Stores

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And their relationships

Information Processing

•Attention

•Rehearsal

•Elaboration

•Recall

•Recognition

•Action

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HIP System

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Principles

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Cognitive Analysis

• Appropriateness - minimalism

• Naturalness - model/rep match

• Matching - to task

• Congruence - visual/mental match

• Apprehension - quick perception

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“A designer knows he has achieved perfectionnot when there is nothing left to add,

but when there is nothing left to take away.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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Cognitive Load

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Cognitive Load

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Cognitive Load

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External Representation

• Computational offloading

• Re-representation

• Graphic constraining

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Computational offloadingThey found that while subjects would rate the analogies, from best to worst, as literally similar, true analogy, mere appearance, and false analogy, their recall for stories, from best to worst, was literally similar, mere appearance, true analogy, and false analogy.

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Re-representation

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Graphic Constraints

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Semiotics

•Icon•Index•Symbol

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Scanning

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Attention

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TopDown & BottomUp

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Processing

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Additional Dimensions

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“Tuning is nine-tenths of the effort”

Will Wright

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Evolution

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Re-Representation

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Designing a Diagram?

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Designing a Diagram?1.Identify Task/Goal

2.Choose Model

3.Choose Components

a.Identify Elements

b.Identify Relationships

c.Choose Additional Dimensions

4.Choose Representation

a.Choose Element Representation

1.Choose Relationship Representation

2.Choose Dimension Coding

5.Place Elements

a.Add Relationships

b.Layer Additional Dimensions

c.Tune

1.(Graphic Design)

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Designing a Diagram?

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Diagrams

Map conceptual relationships to spatial relationships (using our robust visual processing system to support comprehension)

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Action!

•Use Models•Design DiagramsAccelerate Learning & Performance!

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Diagrams can be worth 1000 words!