Complementary Minimap for IT System Context Awareness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Administrators of complex information technology systems face challenges in maintaining the global context while navigating detailed views, as existing graphical visualization systems fail to provide adequate context for the relationships between system elements.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that display a complementary, high-level graphical representation using a primary visualization module, minimap module, and navigation module, which include a primary visualization, an abstracted minimap, and demarcation within the minimap to support user navigation and context awareness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a detailed graphical visualization of a subset of elements is displayed, then the administrator can locate and manage specific elements, but the administrator loses the global context of the entire information technology system
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a minimap as a nested miniaturized representation of the entire information technology system within the graphical user interface. This minimap contains all system elements in a condensed view, allowing administrators to see the global context while simultaneously viewing detailed views of specific subsets of elements in the main visualization area. The nested structure enables both detailed element management and global system awareness to coexist.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a spatial dimension to the visualization by introducing the minimap as a separate, scaled-down dimensional layer. Instead of forcing the administrator to switch between different detailed views, the minimap provides an additional dimensional perspective that shows all elements simultaneously in a compact form, thereby preserving global context while maintaining detailed view capabilities.
2Loss of information
If the graphical visualization displays all elements of the enterprise information technology system, then the administrator maintains global context, but the detail and clarity of individual element representation decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the visualization into two distinct functional areas: the minimap for global context and the main visualization area for detailed element representation. The minimap displays all elements in a condensed, aggregated manner to maintain global context, while the main area provides enlarged, detailed views of selected subsets. This segmentation allows each area to optimize for its specific purpose without compromising the other.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different levels of detail and representation quality to different parts of the interface. The minimap uses a simplified, low-detail representation suitable for showing all elements at once, while the main visualization area provides high-detail, high-clarity representation for the selected subset. This local quality differentiation ensures that global context is maintained without sacrificing the clarity needed for element management.
3Ease of operation
If the administrator focuses on a specific subset of elements, then element management tasks become easier, but the relationship of those elements to the overall system becomes unclear
Solution Approach 1:
The minimap serves as a continuous feedback mechanism that shows the administrator how the selected subset of elements relates to the overall system. As the administrator interacts with elements in the main visualization area, the minimap continuously displays the updated selection context, providing feedback about which elements are currently being managed and their position within the full system hierarchy.
Solution Approach 2:
The minimap acts as an intermediary between the detailed element views in the main area and the overall system context. It mediates the relationship by showing how the selected subset fits within the complete information technology system, bridging the gap between focused element management and global system awareness.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for displaying a complementary, high-level graphical representation of an enterprise information technology system. A primary visualization module displays a primary visualization that is a schematic representation of one or more elements of a selected portion of an enterprise information technology system. A minimap module displays a minimap that is an abstracted, high-level schematic representation of the enterprise information technology system. A navigation module demarks a primary visualization representation within the minimap that corresponds to the primary visualization. In one embodiment, the navigation module modifies the primary visualization representation and the corresponding primary visualization in response to a user input directed to the demarked primary visualization representation within the minimap.