A method to analyze visualizations in project management as boundary objects

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==Introduction==
 
==Introduction==
 
In project management different forms of visualizations are widely used e.g. gantt or PERT charts. A visualization can be defined as ''"The process of representing abstract business or scientific data as images that can aid in understanding the meaning of the data"''<ref name="visualization-definition">Multimedia and graphics glossary - Visualization. [online] http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/visualization. [Accessed 20. September 2015].</ref>.
 
In project management different forms of visualizations are widely used e.g. gantt or PERT charts. A visualization can be defined as ''"The process of representing abstract business or scientific data as images that can aid in understanding the meaning of the data"''<ref name="visualization-definition">Multimedia and graphics glossary - Visualization. [online] http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/visualization. [Accessed 20. September 2015].</ref>.
In this article I will define a visualization by three minimal criteria that it has to UDFYLDE to be considered a visualization <ref name="What is visualization">Visualization and Visual Communication. [online] https://eagereyes.org/criticism/definition-of-visualization. [Accessed 20. September 2015].</ref>
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In this article I will define a visualization by three minimal criteria <ref name="What is visualization">Visualization and Visual Communication. [online] https://eagereyes.org/criticism/definition-of-visualization. [Accessed 20. September 2015].</ref>:
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# Based on data. The purpose of a visualization is to communicate data, thus the data arrives from something that is not immediately visible.
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# The result must be readable and recognizable. A visualization must enable actors to learn something about the data.
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# Produce an image. Seemingly obvious a visualization must produce an image. In addition the visual must be the primary mean of communication, thus it’s not considered a visualization if the image is only a small part of the process.
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How well a visualization ‘performs’ will in this article be explained as the ‘’quality’’ of the visualization, meaning that visualizations of higher quality performs better for a given situation and certain actors. Arguing that visualizations are of different quality begs the question: What constitutes a visualization of good quality (for the specific context)?
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I propose analyzing the quality of project management visualizations with boundary objects as the framework.
  
  

Revision as of 17:42, 20 September 2015

Abstract

Introduction

In project management different forms of visualizations are widely used e.g. gantt or PERT charts. A visualization can be defined as "The process of representing abstract business or scientific data as images that can aid in understanding the meaning of the data"[1]. In this article I will define a visualization by three minimal criteria [2]:

  1. Based on data. The purpose of a visualization is to communicate data, thus the data arrives from something that is not immediately visible.
  2. The result must be readable and recognizable. A visualization must enable actors to learn something about the data.
  3. Produce an image. Seemingly obvious a visualization must produce an image. In addition the visual must be the primary mean of communication, thus it’s not considered a visualization if the image is only a small part of the process.

How well a visualization ‘performs’ will in this article be explained as the ‘’quality’’ of the visualization, meaning that visualizations of higher quality performs better for a given situation and certain actors. Arguing that visualizations are of different quality begs the question: What constitutes a visualization of good quality (for the specific context)? I propose analyzing the quality of project management visualizations with boundary objects as the framework.


References

  1. Multimedia and graphics glossary - Visualization. [online] http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/visualization. [Accessed 20. September 2015].
  2. Visualization and Visual Communication. [online] https://eagereyes.org/criticism/definition-of-visualization. [Accessed 20. September 2015].
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