A Comparative Evaluation of Design Structure Matrix (DSM) and Node-link Diagram Focused on Engineering Design Use

Abstract

The objective of this research is to evaluate typical visualization techniques for given engineering design and changes. Specifically, this study attempts (1) to determine the comparative attributes of visualization techniques for engineering design, and (2) to scrutinize the difference and efficiency between different visualization techniques based on defined attributes. A visualization technique in engineering design can be described as a user interface between engineering information and an engineer. Engineers can be affected by the way information is presented during engineering design tasks. A user test was conducted to discover which visualization technique is better in certain engineering design contexts. During the research, we found that there is a difference between two visualizations in terms of some aspects. It is expected that our research procedure can be applied to compare or evaluate visualization techniques for engineering design. It also has raised many questions in need of further research, such as aesthetics, data usability, and domain knowledge.