Finding your way in chronoland: Visual metaphors for orientation of temporal data explorers

With their deeper procedural knowledge, experts are superior to beginners in solving ill-defined problems. To support beginners, we suggest using a method for presenting complex, heterogeneous data that can serve as a good basis for visualizing its inherent information. To demonstrate this approach, we conducted focus group interviews with temporal data analysts to identify their problem solving strategies. To make the results usable as a scaffold for beginners in the domain, we designed a visualization based on a metaphor of the flow of time and water – Chronoland. By providing a landscape-like decision support system, experts and beginners alike are assisted on their path towards a problem’s solution.