Participatory Design of Visual Analytics Tools for Different Target Groups | TU Wien

Information

Publication Type: Journal Paper (without talk)
Workgroup(s)/Project(s): not specified
Date: May 2025
DOI: 10.24138/jcomss-2025-0009
ISSN: 1846-6079
Journal: Journal of Communications Software and Systems
Number: 2
Open Access: yes
Pages: 10
Volume: 21
Publisher: Croatian Communications and Information Society
Pages: 240 – 249
Keywords: Participatory Design, Visualization design and evaluation methods, Visual Analytics, Data Quality

Abstract

This paper reflects on the software engineering process behind the development of data visualization and analytics technologies tailored to the needs of diverse user groups. These considerations, introduced in our earlier work, are briefly revisited here. We focused on two use cases: one tailored to the needs and preferences of practitioners (data analysts), and the other directed towards meeting the requirements of nonprofessional, volunteer-based participants engaged in participatory citizen science. In both scenarios, we employed participatory methods, actively involving the target users in conceptualization and implementation phases. We observed diverse requirements and preferences concerning data visualization choices, additional functionalities, and analytical measures. To assess the effectiveness of these tools, in the current paper, we conducted a taskbased evaluation with selected participants, asking them to perform specific tasks such as identifying faults in the data, patterns, or detecting outliers. This was supplemented with qualitative feedback gathered through interviews and surveys, providing insights into user satisfaction, perceived challenges, and suggestions for improvement. The evaluation process revealed several areas for improvement from non-practitioners, particularly in the visual clarity of visualizations and the explanations regarding their usage, while practitioners responded more positively, noting no critical issues in software design and function.

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BibTeX

@article{vuckovic-2025-pdo,
  title =      "Participatory Design of Visual Analytics Tools for Different
               Target Groups",
  author =     "Milena Vuckovic and Dawid Wolosiuk and Johanna Schmidt",
  year =       "2025",
  abstract =   "This paper reflects on the software engineering process
               behind the development of data visualization and analytics
               technologies tailored to the needs of diverse user groups.
               These considerations, introduced in our earlier work, are
               briefly revisited here. We focused on two use cases: one
               tailored to the needs and preferences of practitioners (data
               analysts), and the other directed towards meeting the
               requirements of nonprofessional, volunteer-based
               participants engaged in participatory citizen science. In
               both scenarios, we employed participatory methods, actively
               involving the target users in conceptualization and
               implementation phases. We observed diverse requirements and
               preferences concerning data visualization choices,
               additional functionalities, and analytical measures. To
               assess the effectiveness of these tools, in the current
               paper, we conducted a taskbased evaluation with selected
               participants, asking them to perform specific tasks such as
               identifying faults in the data, patterns, or detecting
               outliers. This was supplemented with qualitative feedback
               gathered through interviews and surveys, providing insights
               into user satisfaction, perceived challenges, and
               suggestions for improvement. The evaluation process revealed
               several areas for improvement from non-practitioners,
               particularly in the visual clarity of visualizations and the
               explanations regarding their usage, while practitioners
               responded more positively, noting no critical issues in
               software design and function.",
  month =      may,
  doi =        "10.24138/jcomss-2025-0009",
  issn =       "1846-6079",
  journal =    "Journal of Communications Software and Systems",
  number =     "2",
  pages =      "10",
  volume =     "21",
  publisher =  "Croatian Communications and Information Society",
  pages =      "240--249",
  keywords =   "Participatory Design, Visualization design and evaluation
               methods, Visual Analytics, Data Quality",
  URL =        "https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/publications/2025/vuckovic-2025-pdo/",
}