Mind maps and causal models: using graphical representations of field research data

  • Authors:
  • David R. Millen;Audrey Schriefer;Diane Z. Lehder;Susan M. Dray

  • Affiliations:
  • AT&T Labs, Murray Hill, NJ;AT&T Labs, Murray Hill, NJ;AT&T Labs, Holmdel, NJ;Dray & Associates, Minneapolis, MN

  • Venue:
  • CHI EA '97 CHI '97 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
  • Year:
  • 1997

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Abstract

We recently completed a series of field visits to understand how workers use the Internet in their daily work activities. At each site, the team used traditional field research methods such as work observations, artifact walk-throughs, and contextual inquiry. An innovative debrief process was developed to understand, summarize and document each visit. In addition to a structured debrief questionnaire, the team created graphical summary notes using "mind maps." These mind maps efficiently captured a nonlinear, graphical clustering of key ideas. A "causal loop diagram" was also developed to document the team's understanding of the internal and external driving forces for each organization. Taken together, the debrief questionnaire, the mind maps, and the causal loop diagrams provided a rich multimedia representation of the field data.