The Role of Aesthetics and Perception in Raising Situation Awareness: Lessons from SpringRain

• Published in: International journal of human-computer interaction Vol. 32; no. 4; pp. 308 - 324
• Main Authors: Promann, Marlen, Wei, Shuang, Qian, Zhenyu Cheryl, Chen, Yingjie Victor
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Norwood Taylor & Francis 02.04.2016; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc
• Subjects: Aesthetics; Computer networks; Control rooms; Data visualization; Design analysis; Displays; Feedback; Iterative methods; Network control; Networks; Perception; Perceptions; Rainfall; Redesign; Risk; Risk assessment; Scientific visualization; Screens; Situational awareness; Three dimensional motion; Two dimensional analysis; Visualization
• ISSN: 1044-7318; 1532-7590; 1044-7318
• DOI: 10.1080/10447318.2016.1140951

In the face of increased cyber risks, we present our iterative design process and the resulting principles of SpringRain, an information visualization (infoVis) display design concept for large screens in network control rooms (NOCs). It aims to raise team situation awareness by visualizing large-scale multidimensional computer network data sets as a live "rainfall." We used aesthetic principles and theories of perception to prototype this ambient, yet data-dense, visualization. By applying multiple data dimensions to different properties of a line segment, such as length, motion, and color, the two-dimensional visualization offers analytical affordances (i.e., graphic qualities that make it clear how the display should be "read") that can be processed pre-attentively (i.e., under 200 ms). This grants that time-sensitive anomalies in the network can be noticed, processed, and addressed in a timely manner. Our design approach was driven by theories rather than existing design works in the hope of encouraging more user-centered theories-driven infoVis designs that are better suited to user needs and requirements. Expert reviewers' feedback from the VAST 2013 Challenge committee confirmed the novelty of the design and pointed to opportunities for improvements. We discuss three redesign attempts to address some of the identified limitations.