Mapping the Users' Problem Solving Strategies in the Participatory Design of Visual Analytics Methods

Especially in ill-defined problem spaces, more than one exploration way leads to a solution. But often visual analytics methods do not support the variety of problem solving strategies users might apply. Our study illustrates how knowledge on users' problem solving strategies can be used in the participatory design process to make a visual analytics method more flexible for different user strategies. In order to provide the users a method which functions as a real scaffold it should allow them to choose their own problem solving strategy. Therefore, an important aim for evaluation should be to test the method's flexibility.