A visual modeling of knowledge for decision-making

Data mining technology plays an important role in uncovering hidden and interesting patterns. Actually the discovering of models and relationships concealed in data extends the possibilities to support decision-making. The objective of this paper is to investigate how decision makers obtain knowledge from the extracted patterns representation. We aim to design an efficient visual tool to articulate the knowledge produced by these patterns. The methodological proposal is applied to existing data mining patterns aiming at assisting physicians in the fight against nosocomial infections in the Intensive Care Units. The usability evaluation of the developed knowledge visualization technique shows that the decision-maker gains better insight in the patterns representation and knowledge acquiring by increasing positive perception and observation from the participants.