Treemap Visualization for Hierarchical Data Counting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional treemaps fail to accurately represent the hierarchical structure of common and inclusive hierarchies, requiring users to repeatedly interact with the UI to understand and compare the depth of hierarchical structures and the number of actual items associated with each box.
Innovation Solution
The method involves generating and displaying category-counted treemaps, where the size of each box representing a parent node is determined based on the total number of descendant nodes, including both parent nodes and leaf nodes, allowing for a more accurate visual representation of hierarchical datasets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional algorithms compute box size based only on leaf nodes, then the treemap can be generated quickly, but the hierarchical structure is not accurately represented
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter used for computing box size from counting only leaf nodes to counting all descendant nodes (including both leaf nodes and parent nodes). This parameter change enables the box size to accurately reflect the total number of items in the hierarchical structure, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and productivity by providing accurate hierarchical representation that users can immediately understand without repeated interactions.
2Loss of information
If users repeatedly interact with the property panel to understand hierarchical depth, then accurate information can be obtained, but user time and efficiency are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The treemap visualization serves itself by automatically encoding hierarchical depth information in the visual representation through box size and nesting. Users can immediately understand the hierarchical structure and depth by viewing the treemap without needing to repeatedly interact with property panels, thus eliminating information loss while minimizing time loss through self-explanatory visualization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary computation of the total number of descendant nodes for each parent node before generating the treemap. This preliminary action embeds the hierarchical depth information directly into the box size calculation, so that when the treemap is displayed, all hierarchical information is already prepared and immediately visible to users, eliminating the need for repeated property panel interactions.
3Measurement precision
If box size represents only leaf node count, then the treemap is simple to generate, but it cannot accurately represent inclusive hierarchies where categories are also items
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the counting parameter from exclusively leaf nodes to all descendant nodes. This single parameter change enables the same treemap generation algorithm to accurately represent both common hierarchies (where categories are only organizational elements) and inclusive hierarchies (where categories are both organizational elements and items). The algorithm complexity remains manageable as it uses the same recursive traversal approach, merely changing what is counted at each node.
Data Source
AI summary
A technique for generating and displaying treemaps representing tree hierarchies, including receiving, via a treemap user interface, a user selection to view a treemap of a tree hierarchy, determining, for a first parent node included in a plurality of nodes of the tree hierarchy, a total number of descendent nodes of the first parent node within the tree hierarchy, computing, for the first parent node, a first size of a first box based on the total number of descendent nodes of the first parent node, and displaying to the user, via the treemap user interface, the treemap that represents the tree hierarchy and includes the first box, wherein the first box represents the first parent node and has the first size.