A combined visualization of multiple relational structures in shared collaborative workspaces

This paper presents a new approach for visualizing multiple relationships among collaborative objects in shared workspaces. Our new visualization provides users with a graphical user interface (GUI) for viewing, analyzing and manipulating collaborative objects through the visual navigation of multiple relational structures above the collaborative objects. The new visualization consists of five main properties: 1) an modified ENCCON layout algorithm, 2) a semitransparence viewing technique, 3) a clustered viewing technique, 4) an animated focus+context navigation and interaction technique, and 5) a set of rich graphical properties, including a variety of icons, pop-up windows, shapes, colors, etc. The combination of these properties achieves the effective visualization of multiple relational structures on the same display window. This visualization is built into a GUI prototype that provides users with not only a 2D graphical visual interface for direct data manipulation, but also a combined view of multiple relationships among the collaborative objects in shared workspaces.