Abstract
Sketching is integral to information systems design. Designers need to become fluent in translating verbal descriptions of systems to a variety of kinds of sketches, notably sequential and logical, and to translate among the kinds. Here, we investigated these cognitive skills in design students, asking them to design a system configuration starting from either a sequential diagram or a sequential description. Although the two source descriptions were logically equivalent, the diagram led to designs that corresponded more closely to the source description – that is, designs with fewer omissions of crucial components and links. Text descriptions led to more variable and less accurate designs, most likely because they require more cognitive steps from problem representation to problem solution.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Nickerson, J.V., Corter, J.E., Tversky, B., Zahner, D., Rho, Y.: Diagrams as Tools in the Design of Information Systems. In: Third International Conference on Design Computing and Cognition (DCC 2008). LNCS, Springer, Berlin (2008)
Zhang, J., Norman, D.A.: A Representational Analysis of Numeration Systems. Cognition 57, 271–295 (1995)
Hayes, J.R., Simon, H.A.: Psychological Differences Among Problem Isomorphs. In: Castellan, N.J., Pisoni, D.B., Potts, G.R. (eds.) Cognitive Theory, vol. 2, pp. 21–41. Erlbaum, Hillsdale (1977)
Taylor, H.A., Tversky, B.: Descriptions and Depictions of Environments. Memory and Cognition 20, 483–496 (1992)
Fowler, M.: UML Distilled: A Brief Guide to the Standard Object Modeling Language. Addison-Wesley, Reading (2004)
Egenhofer, M., Franzosa, R.: Point-Set Topological Spatial Relations. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems 5, 161–174 (1991)
Egenhofer, M., Mark, D.: Naive Geography. In: Frank, A., Kuhn, W. (eds.) COSIT 1995. LNCS, vol. 988, pp. 1–15. Springer, Heidelberg (1995)
Stevens, A., Coupe, P.: Distortions in Judged Spatial Relations. Cognitive Psychology 10, 422–437 (1978)
Nickerson, J.V.: Teaching the Integration of Information Systems Technologies. IEEE Transactions on Education 49, 1–7 (2006)
Sanfeliu, A., Fu, K.S.: A Distance Measure Between Attributed Relational Graphs for Pattern Recognition. IEEE Trans. Systems, Man, and Cybernetics 13, 353–362 (1983)
Bergamaschi, S., Castano, S., Vincini, M.: Semantic Integration of Semistructured and Structured Data Sources. SIGMOD Rec. 28, 54–59 (1999)
Rosander, A.C.: The Use of Inversions as a Test of Random Order. Journal of the American Statistical Association 37, 352–358 (1942)
Suwa, M., Tversky, B.: What do Architects and Students Perceive in their Design Sketches? A Protocol Analysis. Design Studies 18, 385–403 (1997)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Tversky, B., Corter, J.E., Nickerson, J.V., Zahner, D., Rho, Y.J. (2008). Transforming Descriptions and Diagrams to Sketches in Information System Design. In: Stapleton, G., Howse, J., Lee, J. (eds) Diagrammatic Representation and Inference. Diagrams 2008. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 5223. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-87730-1_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-87730-1_23
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-87729-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-87730-1
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)