A Task Taxonomy for Temporal Graph Visualisation

By extending and instantiating an existing formal task framework, we define a task taxonomy and task design space for temporal graph visualisation. We discuss the process involved in their generation, and describe how the design space can be `sliced and diced´ into multiple overlapping task categories, requiring distinct visual techniques for their support. The approach addresses deficiencies in the task literature, offering domain independence, greater task coverage, and unambiguous task specification. The taxonomy and design space capture tasks for temporal graphs, and also static graphs, multivariate graphs, and graph comparison, and will be of value in the design and evaluation of temporal graph visualisation systems.