DS Ph.D. Qualifier Presentation | Bijesh Shrestha | Tuesday, April 16th @ 2:00PM

DATA SCIENCE 

Ph.D. Qualifier Presentation

Bijesh Shrestha

Tuesday, April 16th | 2:00PM EST

Location: Higgins Labs, Room 154

Committee:

Dr. Lane Harrison, Computer Science/Data Science

Dr. Roee Shraga, Computer Science/Data Science

Dr. Nima Kordzadeh,  Business School/Data Science

Title: Visualization Beyond the Screen: A Qualitative Study on Contextual Frameworks for Visualization in High-Stakes Decision-Making

Abstract:

In high-stakes and time-sensitive environments such as cyber operations, healthcare, and emergency response, the ways that data and information are communicated greatly impact how decisions are made and the resulting outcomes. Despite having general guidelines and methodologies to design visualization systems for different domains, researchers often lack external context for how these systems are used in practice or ways to incorporate contextual insights into design. Existing methodologies tend to focus inwardly on the data and tasks, rather than outwardly on the decision-making contexts that drive how visualizations are created and communicated. To address this gap, we develop an investigative approach to provide researchers with a framework for identifying and incorporating external aspects of these complex and high-stakes environments into visualization design. We derived this approach through a thematic analysis of interviews with 15 cybersecurity practitioners working in critical contexts. Results include a three-dimensional framework with four unique work roles, four phases of operations, and six key goals used to categorize garnered insights. The investigation also reveals insights that emphasize operational context, practitioner goals, trust, and organizational dimensions, while also pointing towards future tools and practices that can be incorporated into existing visualization research and practice.