Pivot Table Navigation on Small Displays Using Segmented Matrix Views
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing user interfaces for reviewing summarizations of tabular data on electronic devices with smaller displays, such as smartphones, are inadequate for efficiently navigating and viewing large pivot tables due to limited screen space, making it difficult to extract meaningful insights from data.
Innovation Solution
A method is introduced that utilizes a vertical controlling dimension and a horizontal controlling dimension to display data in a matrix format, allowing users to select and drill down into specific values, with the interface adapting to user input to optimize data presentation on smaller screens.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a pivot table displays all dimensions and data values in a traditional spreadsheet format, then complete data information is available, but the display area required exceeds the screen space of mobile devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the pivot table display into multiple navigable pages, with each page showing a subset of dimensions and data values. Users can paginate through different views to access complete data information across multiple screens, resolving the conflict between data completeness and limited display area.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a temporal dimension to the display by implementing page navigation that progresses through different data views. This transforms the static 2D spreadsheet layout into a multi-page sequential display, allowing complete data presentation within constrained mobile screen space.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a pivot table displays detailed data with multiple dimensions and values, then data analysis capability is improved, but navigation complexity increases on small screens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic page navigation that adapts to user interactions. The system dynamically determines which dimensions to display on each page based on user selections and navigation history, making the complex multi-dimensional data more manageable and easier to navigate on mobile devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces page navigation as an intermediary layer between the user and the complete pivot table data. This intermediary structure breaks down complex navigation into manageable page-level interactions, reducing the cognitive load and operational complexity while preserving full data analysis capability.
3Loss of information
If a mobile device displays a traditional pivot table with scrolling, then all data can be accessed, but user interaction efficiency decreases due to frequent scrolling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the data display into paginated views that present meaningful subsets of data on each page. This eliminates the need for continuous scrolling by organizing data into discrete, navigable units, thereby improving user interaction efficiency while maintaining full data accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables users to skip directly to specific pages or data subsets through intelligent navigation controls, rather than requiring sequential scrolling through all data. This allows users to efficiently reach their information goals by jumping over irrelevant data sections.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and computer readable media provide space-efficient user interfaces to data cubes and pivot table information. Because the user interfaces are more efficient in usage of display area, smaller displays can be used more effectively in reviewing such data. The user interfaces provide a multi-dimensional navigation approach among dimensions represented in the data, which allows users to more easily maintain context when reviewing large pivot table reports, and the like. Other user interface features that ease review of such reports on smaller devices also are disclosed.