Beyond Knowledge Visualization Usability: Toward a Better Understanding of Business Diagram Adoption

Information visualization research typically focuses on the formal aspects of specific graphic solutions in terms of their thinking and/or communication support. This type of analysis often focuses on quantitative diagrams and emphasizes their attributes for specific tasks. Our contribution, by contrast, focuses on qualitative visual solutions and the factors that contribute to their wider diffusion. As many knowledge visualization solutions have not achieved wider use, the question of which factors foster diagram adoption seems to be a particularly relevant but under- researched topic. In this paper we develop and discuss three dimensions that foster knowledge visualization adoption: perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and perceived authority. We base our analysis on the Technology Adoption Model by Davis and the Perceived Characteristics of Innovations by Rogers. We illustrate these dimensions and their items through examples of business diagrams that have received wide recognition and we contrast them with negative examples.