An Evaluation of a "Time Tunnel" Display Format for the Presentation of Temporal Information

Abstract

The time tunnel display design technique combines the benefits of configural displays (salient visual properties corresponding to critical domain semantics) with the benefits of temporal information (i.e., the value of variables and properties over time). In Experiment 1 a baseline configural display and a time tunnel display were evaluated using real-time measures of system control, fault detection, and state estimation in a simulated process control task. The results provided little evidence in support of the time tunnel format. In Experiment 2 access to the temporal context was limited: Participants performed the detection and estimation tasks with static "snapshots" of system states that had been generated in Experiment 1. The overall pattern of results indicates that the time tunnel display was more effective for state estimation tasks than was the baseline configural display and or a trend display. Issues in the design of temporal displays are discussed, including representational formats and the choice of temporal time frames. Issues in the evaluation of temporal displays are also discussed, including the role of temporal information and the critical nature of participants' access to this information. Actual or potential applications of this research include design techniques for improving graphical displays and methodological insights to guide future evaluations.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bennett, K. B. , & Flach, J. M. (1992). Graphical displays: Implications for divided attention, focused attention, and problem solving. Human Factors, 34, 513-533.

Bennett, K. B. , Nagy, A. L. , & Flach, J. M. (1997). Visual displays. In G. Salvendy (Ed.), Handbook of human factors and ergonomics (2nd ed., pp. 659-696). New York: Wiley.

Bennett, K. B. , Toms, M. L. , & Woods, D. D. (1993). Emergent features and configural elements: Designing more effective configural displays. Human Factors, 35, 71-97.

Bennett, K. B. , & Zimmerman, J. (2001). A preliminary investigation of the time tunnels display design technique. Displays, 22, 183-199.

Haley, P. H., & Woods, D. D. (1988). U.S. Patent Number 4,770,841.

Hansen, J. P. (1995). An experimental investigation of configural, digital, and temporal information on process displays. Human Factors, 37, 539-552.

Lovie, P. (1986). Identifying outliers. In A. D. Lovie (Ed.), New developments in statistics for psychology and the social sciences (pp. 44-69). London: British Psychological Society/Methuen.

Pawlak, W. S. , & Vicente, K. J. (1996). Inducing effective operator control through ecological interface design. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 4, 653-688.

Pomerantz, J. R. (1986). Visual form perception: An overview. In H. C. Nusbaum , & E. C. Schwab (Eds.), Pattern recognition by humans and machines: Volume 2. Visual perception (pp. 1-30). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

10.

Roth, E. M. , & Woods, D. D. (1988). Aiding human performance: I. Cognitive analysis. Le Travail Humain, 51, 39-64.

11.

Schutz, H. G. (1961). An evaluation of formats for graphic trend displays: Experiment II. Human Factors, 3, 99-107.

12.

Spenkelink, G. P. J. (1990). Aiding the operator's anticipatory behaviour: The design of process state information. Applied Ergonomics, 21, 199-206.

13.

Vicente, K. J. (1991). Supporting knowledge-based behavior through ecological interface design (EPRL-91-02). Urbana-Champaign: University of Illinois, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Psychology Research Laboratory.