Hierarchical Data Visualization Through Tree-Based Query Aggregation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Organizations face challenges in effectively utilizing vast collections of data due to its quantity, making it difficult to leverage hierarchical data aggregation semantics for visualizations, particularly in tree-like formats, which are crucial for understanding critical business operations.

Innovation Solution

A data model and tree specification are employed to determine parent-child relationships, traverse trees, aggregate partial results, and generate responses to queries, enabling dynamic tree views that expand or collapse nodes based on user interactions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If organizations generate visualizations of vast collections of data, then understanding of business operations is improved, but the quantity of data makes it difficult to effectively utilize the collected data

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveunderstanding of business operationsVSAvoidquantity of data

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments hierarchical data into tree structures with parent-child relationships, organizing vast data collections into manageable hierarchical units that can be visualized and explored interactively through expand/collapse operations

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent transforms flat hierarchical data into multi-dimensional tree visualizations with multiple levels of hierarchy, enabling users to navigate and understand business operations through dimensional exploration rather than linear data processing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Adaptability or versatility

If tree-like visualizations with collapse-expand features are employed, then hierarchical data aggregation semantics are leveraged, but the arrangement of the underlying data store makes it difficult to provide such visualizations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehierarchical data aggregation semanticsVSAvoidarrangement of data store

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary layer that processes and structures hierarchical data from various data store arrangements, transforming them into standardized tree formats that support collapse-expand visualizations without requiring changes to the underlying data storage structure

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent creates a universal tree visualization framework that can accommodate multiple data store arrangements and hierarchical structures, making the system adaptable to different organizational data formats while maintaining consistent visualization capabilities

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS12423333B2Data processing for visualizing hierarchical data

Publication Date: 2025.09.23 TABLEAU SOFTWARE INC

AI summary

Embodiments are directed to managing visualizations of data. A provided data model may include a tree specification that declares parent-child relationships between objects in the data model. In response to a query associated with objects in the data model: employing the parent-child relationships to determine a tree that includes parent objects and child objects from the objects based on the parent-child relationships; determining a root object based on the query and the tree; traversing the tree from the root object to visit the child objects in the tree; determining partial results based on characteristics of the visited child objects such that the partial results are stored in an intermediate table; and providing a response to the query that includes values based on the intermediate table and the partial results.