Thoughts on User Studies: Why, How and When
Robert Kosara, Christopher G. Healey, Interrante, David H. Laidlaw, Colin Ware · University of New Hampshire Scholars Repository (University of New Hampshire at Manchester) · 1993
Visualization as currently practiced is mostly a craft. Methods are often designed and evaluated by presenting results informally to potential users. No matter how efficient a visualization technique may be, or how well motivated from theory, if it does not convey information effectively, it is of little use. User studies offer a scientifically sound method to measure a visualization’s performance. Although their use has become more widespread, we believe they have the potential for a much broader impact. This article describes our experiences with user studies. We offer some examples of our own studies, talk about the pitfalls and problems we encountered, and show how the results were applied to produce successful visualizations. Although our main goal is to encourage the use of studies in visualization, we recognize that other disciplines also offer important insights into visualization design, for example, the areas of visual design or the visual arts. We conclude by discussing when knowledge from these areas might be preferable to a traditional user study.