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. [http://apppm.man.dtu.dk/index.php/The_Gantt_chart_and_the_usage_nowadays gantt] or [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Program_evaluation_and_review_technique 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 <ref name="What is visualization">Visualization and Visual Communication. [online] https://eagereyes.org/criticism/definition-of-visualization. [Accessed 20. September 2015].</ref>: | 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>: | ||
# Based on data. The purpose of a visualization is to communicate data, thus the data arrives from something that is not immediately visible. | # Based on data. The purpose of a visualization is to communicate data, thus the data arrives from something that is not immediately visible. | ||
Revision as of 17:59, 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]:
- Based on data. The purpose of a visualization is to communicate data, thus the data arrives from something that is not immediately visible.
- The result must be readable and recognizable. A visualization must enable actors to learn something about the data.
- 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
- ↑ Multimedia and graphics glossary - Visualization. [online] http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/visualization. [Accessed 20. September 2015].
- ↑ Visualization and Visual Communication. [online] https://eagereyes.org/criticism/definition-of-visualization. [Accessed 20. September 2015].
