6DVF: A Framework for the Development and Evaluation of Mobile Data Visualisations

Abstract

Mobile apps, in particular tracking apps, rely heavily on data visualisations to empower end-users to make decisions about their health, sport, finance, household, and more. This has prompted app designers and developers to invest more effort in delivering quality visualisations. Many frameworks, including the Visualisation and Design Framework and Google Material Design, have been developed to guide the creation of informative and well-designed charts. However, our study reveals the need to incorporate additional aspects in the design process of such data visualisations to address user characterisation and needs, the nature of data to visualise, and the experience on small smart screens. In this paper, we introduce the Six-Dimensions Data Visualization Framework (6DVF), specifically designed for data visualisation on mobile devices. The 6DVF encompasses user characteristics and needs, data attributes, chart styling, interaction, and the mobile environment. We conducted two evaluation studies to measure the effectiveness and practicality of our 6DVF in guiding designers, pinpointing areas for improvement—especially in data completeness and usability for end-users.