Breaking the Eyes: How Do Users Get Started with a Coordinated and Multiple View Geovisualization Tool?

Maps are frequently combined with data displays in the form of coordinated and multiple views (CMV). Although CMV are valuable geovisualization tools, novice users may find them complex and thus require explanation. However, no tutorial guidelines have been developed that indicate what is helpful in understanding CMV geovisualization tools. We therefore conducted a study on the learnability of a CMV tool, informed with eye-tracking data, talk-aloud and interaction logs. We have investigated how untrained users work with a CMV geovisualization tool. The study revealed that: (1) despite their initial confusion, users found the tested tool pleasant to play with while getting to grips with how dynamic brushing works, (2) when examining the tool’s interface, participants mainly looked freely at explanatory elements, such as labels and the legend, but they explored interactive techniques only to a limited degree. We conclude with tips about tutorial design and layout design for CMV tools. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.