CSC 581
Computer Support for Knowledge Management
Spring 2003
Points
25
Deadline
May 15
CSC 581 Computer Support for Knowledge Management
Assignment 3: Knowledge Visualization
While most knowledge is probably represented and communicated
via text and natural language, it is frequently advantageous
to present knowledge visually. Many tools for knowledge management
are either explicitly designed with a strong emphasis on visualization
(e.g. Concept Maps, Mind Maps), or at least provide support for
the visual presentation of knowledge (e.g. through graphs, trees,
fish-eye views, or other techniques).
Your task in this homework is to explore at least two different
visualization techniques with the body of knowledge that you
assembled in the previous assignment as test domain.
You can either use the whole collection, or concentrate on
a subset that is more suitable. The two techniques should be
reasonably different, and not just two variations of the same
underlying principle.
Here is a list of methods and tools that have been used for similar purposes:
This paper contributes up to 25 points to the overall assignments score.
The score will be determined by the following criteria:
scope of the presented domain knowledge
(breadth and depth of the body of knowledge)
complexity of the selected domain,
(is the collected knowledge fairly easy to capture and present, or more difficult)
body of knowledge framework
(how difficult is it for others to augment the collection of knowledge)
quality of the visualization
(do the selected techniques emphasize relevant aspects;
is the knowledge well organized and easy to follow)
evaluation of the visualization techniques used
(identification of strenghts and weaknesses;
overall suitability for the task)
presentation
(is the appearence of the material of professional quality,
e.g. without spelling or grammatical errors)
For a high score, your evaluation should probably comprise at least
two diagrams for each visualization techniques used, and
contain a discussion and evaluation of the approaches.
Submission
The deadline for this assignment is two weeks after the distribution.
It should be submitted via the Blackboard "Discussion Forum"
feature; I will set up a discussion forum for it. You should format
your document as an HTML file so that it can be viewed easily from
within BlackBoard. If you use MS Word or a similar program, please
convert it to HTML.