Abstract:
Current interfaces for common information visualizations such as bar graphs,
line graphs, and scatterplots usually make use of the WIMP (Windows, Icons,
Menus and a Pointer) interface paradigm with its frequently discussed
problems of multiple levels of indirection via cascading menus, dialog boxes,
and control panels. Recent advances in interface capabilities such as the
availability of pen and touch interaction challenge us to re-think this and
investigate more direct access to both the visualizations and the data they
portray. We conducted a Wizard of Oz study to explore applying pen and touch
interaction to the creation of information visualization interfaces on
interactive whiteboards without implementing a plethora of recognizers. Our
wizard acted as a robust and flexible pen and touch recognizer, giving
participants maximum freedom in how they interacted with the system. Based on
our qualitative analysis of the interactions our participants used, we
discuss our insights about pen and touch interactions in the context of
learnability and the interplay between pen and touch gestures. We conclude
with suggestions for designing pen and touch enabled interactive
visualization interfaces.