The Impact of Information Visualization

Information visualization is a process of transforming large quantity data and information, which are not inherently spatial, into a visual form that allows users to perceive visually the meaning of the information instead of using their cognitive powers to figure it out otherwise. The massive non-spatial data can be found in many business domains. Researchers have pointed out the potential directions on using computer graphics for decision support [DeSanctis 84]. There are also research results on how humans classify visual information [Lohse 94]. To date, however, few research has resulted in actually developing effective information visualizations of massive data to support the entire human decision-making processes. Little is known on how such information visualization, if any, may affect human problem solving performance.