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The Challenge of Interdisciplinarity at the Intersection of Groundwater Management and Visualization Research
Summary
Researchers conducted a design study developing an interactive visualization prototype for temporal and spatial hydrogeological data, created in close collaboration with hydrogeological researchers to support model calibration and industry communication. Key findings from the iterative design process showed that enabling scientists to visualize their own data dramatically increased engagement among initially skeptical users, and rapid prototyping tools proved essential for unlocking the practical value of visual analytics in groundwater management.
This design study presents an analysis and abstraction of temporal and spatial data, and workflows in the domain of hydrogeology and the design and development of an interactive visualization prototype. Developed in close collaboration with a group of hydrogeological researchers, the interface supports them in data exploration, selection of data for their numerical model calibration, and communication of findings to their industry partners. We highlight both pitfalls and learnings of the iterative design and validation process and explore the role of rapid prototyping. Some of the main lessons were that the ability to see their own data changed the engagement of skeptical users dramatically and that interactive rapid prototyping tools are thus powerful to unlock the advantage of visual analysis for novice users. Further, we observed that the process itself helped the domain scientists understand the potential and challenges of their data more than the final interface prototype.
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