A Multi-Dimensional Data Model for Personal Photo Browsing

Digital photo collections—personal, professional, or social— have been growing ever larger, leaving users overwhelmed. It is therefore increasingly important to provide effective browsing tools for photo collections. Learning from the resounding success of multi-dimensional analysis (MDA) in the business intelligence community for On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) applications, we propose a multi-dimensional model for media browsing, called M, that combines MDA concepts with concepts from faceted browsing. We present the data model and describe preliminary evaluations, made using server and client prototypes, which indicate that users find the model useful and easy to use.