Time Shapes - A Visualization for Temporal Uncertainty in Planning

This thesis introduces a two-dimensional visualization of temporal uncertainty in plan-
ning, which we called SOPOView. It is part of the user interface AsbruView, that supports
the understanding and manipulation of plans written in the representation language As-
bru. Asbru's primary application domain is that of medical therapy planning; however,
our solution is not restricted to that domain.
We present the basics of the language Asbru and of the user interface AsbruView,
that are necessary in order to understand the context and requirements for our own so-
lution SOPOView.
Our visualization enables a definition of uncertainty in a plan's starting time, en-
ding time, and duration. We present the underlying concept of SOPOs and our adapta-
tions and enhancements that were necessary in order to meet Asbru's requirements. We
briefly outline the process from early design to the implementation and explain the role
of usability within our approach.
We have evaluated SOPOView with eight domain experts (physicians). The fin-
dings of this evaluation are presented and discussed in detail.