An interactive sensemaking framework for mobile visual analytics

Increasing mobility for modern life requires people to access information and make decisions "on the go". Mobil applications place special constraints that challenge the existing ways of visual analytic design where relatively stable and interaction-rich contexts are assumed. In tasks like learning unfamiliar places, current visualizations on mobile devices are not capable of helping users to form a good cognitive map of the environment. How can we take advantage of rich physical environmental cues and supplement with computational power to help people make sense of the environment? In this paper, we present a framework of sensemaking to model how people get insight into the environment as they navigate around. Based on this framework, we present design guidelines for mobile visual analytics that could enhance the spatial awareness of the navigator and analyze several existing designs through the discussion.