Attributed Visualization of Collaborative Workspaces Mao Lin Huang, Quang Vinh Nguyen and Tom Hintz Faculty of Information Technology University of Technology, Sydney, Australia

Presentation Outline Attributed visualization Collaborative workspaces The framework of attributed visualization Graphical mapping for node attributes Graphical mapping for edge attributes Demonstration Conclusion

Attributed Visualization Not concern in traditional graph visualization  Use a graph model to represent data items and their relations.  Represent nodes as small rectangles,  Represent edges as connected links. Not sufficient to visualize complex real domains  Data objects and relations many associated domain specific attributes. Typical attributed visualization applications  Network data visualization, bibliographic citations visualization, web transaction visualization, etc,

Collaborative Workspaces Collaborative workspaces  Provide computer-based virtual environments supporting collaboration among organizational members,  Share documents or artifacts,  Communicate through discussion forums, text chats and audio/video conferences,  Define and enact work processes.  Increasingly become part of current work practice, especially in large and distributed organizations. LiveNet collaborative workspaces  Provide the flexibility to customize workspaces by adding roles and artifacts, assigning permissions, adding actions, etc.  Based on a meta-model that is stored as a relational database.

Research Objective Provide an effective visual representation of domain-specific attributes associated with collaborative objects. Provide an effective visual representation of domain-specific attributes associated with collaborative relations. Provide a concurrent display of multiple relations with associated attributes in the same visualization. Provide an effective interactive visual interface which a user can view, navigate and manipulate the collaborative objects and their relations.

The Framework of Attributed Visualization Is a navigational visual interface Display entire or focused workspace of a user Provide a visual environment for viewing, navigating and manipulating collaborative objects and relations Provide a view of domain-specific attributes associated with objects and relations Represent the relational structure of the entire collaborative workspace Consist a set of nodes and edges A Node represents a collaborative element An edge represents a relation between to objects Consist a set of domain-specific attributes or properties Node attributes represent properties of collaborative objects Edge attributes represent properties of relationships among objects The attributes are dynamically retrieved and updated from the server- side to client-side and vice versa Final representation of the visualization Structural mapping Map geometrical layout of the entirely collaborative workspaces Use EncCon layout algorithm Graphical mapping Map all graphical properties to nodes and edges Use shape, size, color, brightness, edge thickness, and other.

The Framework of Attributed Visualization (cont) An original graph visualization of a collaborative workspace An attributed visualization of the same workspace

Graphical Mapping For Node Attributes Node-Size  Represent the hierarchical level of an object in the collaborative workspace.  Size of a deeper level node is smaller than a higher level node. Node-Color  Represent the category of a collaborative object.  Two major categories: one for all activities, sub- activities and artifacts; one for all member groups.

Graphical Mapping For Node Attributes (cont) Node-Brightness  Represent the degree importance or the weight of an object.  Darker color node is more important than a brighter color node. Node-Icon and Node-Shape  Represent the type of a collaboration object.  The user can easily switch the display between the iconic mode and the regular mode

Graphical Mapping For Node Attributes (cont) An attributed visualization of a large workspace The same visualization using iconic mode

Graphical Mapping For Edge Attributes: Edge-Color Represent the types of a relation. Four colors used corresponding to four types of relations. Categorizing relation  Represent the nature ordering/grouping of the collaborative objects  Gray color Accessing relation  Represent the relationship between a artifact and an activity  Sandy-brown color Participating relation  Represent the relationship between an activity and a role  Blue color Sharing relation  Represent the relationship between two objects that share the common properties  Green color

Graphical Mapping For Edge Attributes: Edge-Thickness Represent the connectivity strength between two objects. The strength of each type of connection is defined by:  Connectivity between two groups/subgroups Defined by the frequency of accessing to a particular group or subgroup.  Connectivity between two activities/sub-activities Defined by the frequency of accessing to a particular activities or sub-activities  Connectivity between an activity and a group Defined by the frequency that a member from the group access to the activity  Connectivity between two artifacts Defined by the weight of sharing information between two artifacts

Demonstration

Conclusion Present a new approach for visualizing domain- specific attributes of objects and relations in collaborative workspaces Use a rich graphical elements to present the attributes Provide a clear structural view of the workspace where a user is focusing Provide a new of some important attributes associated with the collaborative objects and relations  Easily identify the important features of collaborative objects and their relations