Methodology for context-sensitive system design by mapping internal contexts into visualization mechanisms

Visualization implies the internal mental processes of constructing internal images to interpret the world and make decisions in a situation. It is important for designers to consider users' internal processes when creating visualization tools. This research introduces the methodology of Context-Sensitive Visualization (CSV) which incorporates users' internal contexts into interactive product design by mapping out information onto the context models. In order to implement the CSV methodology, 1) representation of context models and 2) layer-based visualization mechanisms are suggested. A case study focusing on car navigation devices is conducted. A car navigation simulator with two different versions, non-CSV-based and CSV-based, is developed by utilizing the suggested methods. Usability tests are conducted to demonstrate and evaluate the proposed methodology.