Optimize the user experience of Linked Data visualization

Abstract: The use of Linked Data to model and visualize complex information entails usability challenges and opportunities to improve the user experience. This study seeks to enhance the user experience of a product information tool which is developed with Linked Data approach. The research was carried out in an industrial setting and follows the case study paradigm. It consists of 1) user research and literature review to define design requirements, 2) prototyping, and 3) usability testing. The user research produced a list of user experience issues which were in turn translated into design requirements by reflecting on related research and following the user's needs and goals. The design requirements formed the design elements which are embedded into the development of low- and high-fidelity prototypes. Next, usability evaluation of the final high-fidelity prototype examined the extent to which the design decisions could optimize the Linked Data visualization. The results show that several design decisions, such as adding interaction dynamics and the use of rich color representation, could indeed improve it. Also, in terms of general information and visual notation, the shift from UML diagram to node-links diagram received positive feedback from the users. But both node-links diagram and UML diagram received similar scores for the effectiveness and efficiency.