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A Data-Driven Platform for the Coordination of Independent Visual Analytics Tools

Published: 01 August 2022 Publication History

Abstract

Visual analysis of unknown data requires the combined use of various functions that are often part of standalone visual analytics (VA) tools. Performing cross-tool visual analysis with standalone VA tools, however, is a challenging and cumbersome endeavor. Some dedicated frameworks address this issue, yet in order to utilize any of them, a visual analytics tool needs to support their required API or architecture. Contrary to most existing frameworks, we present an approach that does not rely on a single predefined interchange mechanism for the entire ensemble of VA tools. Instead, we propose using any available channel for data exchange between two consecutive VA tools. This allows mixing and matching of different data exchange strategies over the course of a cross-tool analysis. In this paper, we identify the challenges associated with establishing such tool chaining platform for data-driven coordination. We further describe the structure and capabilities of data exchange and explain various functionalities of our platform in detail. Based on a demonstrating example, we discuss the limitations of our approach and elaborate new insight for the coordination of the visual output of multiple VA tools.

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Highlights

We provide an in-depth investigation on different aspects for the coordination of independent Visual Analytics (VA) tools that lead to the development of the the Analytical Process Constructor (AnyProc).
We address issues from related work regarding data exchange, UI integration and analytic process support and propose first solution ideas based on our conceptual preliminary work.
We discuss the idea of pairwise data exchange mechanisms for VA tool coordination in domain workflows and present design principles to deal with persisting challenges.
Our main contribution is the introduction of our platform for the coordination of independent VA tools. We describe its features in detail especially regarding different solutions to the implementation of data exchange mechanisms.
We demonstrate the use of our platform for an example scenario in the healthcare sector and link its video presentation from our original submission at the EuroVA 2021.
We discuss our recent advances regarding UI layouts and conclude by summarizing our findings and suggesting entry points for future research.

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        Published In

        cover image Computers and Graphics
        Computers and Graphics  Volume 106, Issue C
        Aug 2022
        305 pages

        Publisher

        Pergamon Press, Inc.

        United States

        Publication History

        Published: 01 August 2022

        Author Tags

        1. Human-centered computing
        2. Visualization systems and tools
        3. Information systems
        4. Data exchange

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