Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Mar 5, 2024
Open Peer Review Period: Mar 5, 2024 - Apr 30, 2024
Date Accepted: Sep 24, 2024
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Towards Guidelines for Designing Holistic Integrated Information Visualisations [HI-viz] for Time-Critical Contexts: A Systematic Review
ABSTRACT
Background:
The need for quick, holistic processing of information is critical in multiple domains and particularly in healthcare. Whilst numerous guidelines exist for a range of visualisation representations, there are currently no guidelines for the design of holistic integrated information visualisations enabling quick information processing and holistic comprehension, of multi-dimensional data, in time critical contexts.
Objective:
To establish a theoretical underpinning to the argument that holistic integrated visualisations are a distinct type of visualisation for time critical contexts and identifying applicable design principles and guidelines which can be used to design for such cases.
Methods:
We systematically searched the literature for peer-reviewed research on visualisation strategies, guidelines and taxonomies. The literature selection followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol. The search was performed using six databases: ACM, Google Scholar, IEEE Xplore, PubMed, SCOPUS and Web of Science (WoS). The search was up to March 2023 using the terms (“visualisations” OR “visualizations) AND (“guidelines OR “taxonomy” OR “taxonomies”), with studies restricted to the English language.
Results:
Out of a total of 863 papers, 46 were included in the final review. 22 papers related to visualising complexity to provide an overview or holistic understanding of multi-dimensional data; 13 papers focused on integrated presentation; integrating or combining multi-dimensional data into a single visual representation; and 16 papers pertained to time and designing for rapid information processing. 30 papers presented general information visualisation or visual communication guidelines and principles. At present no specific guidelines or principles exist wholly for holistic, integrated visualisations in time-critical contexts.
Conclusions:
Holistic integrated information visualisation (HI-viz) in time-critical domains is a unique use-case requiring a unique set of design guidelines. We propose 5 main guidelines, derived from existing design theories and guidelines, that can serve as a starting point to enable both holistic and rapid processing of information, facilitating better informed decisions in time-critical contexts.
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