Patent Grant
7827499
The rapid growth of data collection over recent years has led to the availability of a large number of information technology (IT) services. Transforming collected raw data into valuable information is an important task. However, due to the vast amounts of data, analysts have difficulties in finding relationships within the data.
Visualization tools are used to understand collected data and correlations therein. Such visualization tools commonly use scatter plot diagrams to visualize operational data. Other tools use Slice and Dice Tree Map diagrams. These diagrams, and others, are difficult for use in perceiving data correlations, patterns, and exceptions. Further, these diagrams, and the methods behind them, do not provide flexible display options.
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the inventive subject matter may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice them, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural, logical, and electrical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the inventive subject matter.
The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limited sense, and the scope of the inventive subject matter is defined by the appended claims.
The functions or algorithms described herein are implemented in hardware, software or a combination of software and hardware in one embodiment. The software comprises computer executable instructions stored on computer readable media such as memory or other type of storage devices. Further, such functions correspond to modules, which are software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. Multiple functions are performed in one or more modules as desired, and the embodiments described are merely examples. The software is executed on a digital signal processor, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), microprocessor, or other type of processor operating on a system, such as a personal computer, server, a router, or other device capable of processing data including network interconnection devices.
Some embodiments implement the functions in two or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and data signals communicated between and through the modules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Thus, the exemplary process flow is applicable to software, firmware, and hardware implementations.
The inventive subject matter provides a new visualization approach for multi-attribute, time-series hierarchical datasets. This approach is more flexible and more general than existing techniques. Provided are, among other things, visualization aids not only for viewing large datasets, but also for discovering correlations, patterns, and exceptions in a dataset. Thus, the inventive subject matter is useful in supporting visual data mining.
Some embodiments include partitioning an output area, such as a monitor screen or printer paper, depending on the tree structure of a multi-attribute, time-series hierarchical dataset and a user's demands. Because the user may want different layouts for different purposes, the inventive subject matter keeps the tree structure of the hierarchical dataset separate from the visual layout to provide endless possibilities for adapting the visual layout to meet the exact user needs.
The system 100 is a computing device. The computing device, in various embodiments, includes a personal computer, a terminal computing device, a personal digital assistant, a mobile telephone with data communications capabilities, or other such devices including, or couplable to, an output device 108.
The processor 102 of the system 100 embodiment of
The memory 104 represents one or more mechanisms for storing data. For example, the memory 104, in various embodiments, includes one or more of a read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and/or other volatile and non-volatile machine-readable media. In other embodiments, the memory includes any appropriate type of storage device or memory 104. Although only one memory 104 is shown, multiple memories 104 of various types and multiple types of storage devices can be present.
The output device 108 represents one or more mechanisms for outputting data. In some embodiments, the output device 108 is a monitor for visually displaying data. In other embodiments, the output device 108 is a printer. In further embodiments, the output device 108 is the network interface, over which data is communicated for use on another device.
In embodiments of the system 100 including a network interface, the network interface is couplable to a network. The network interface includes a device such as a wireless or wired Ethernet card, or other similar devices. The network, in various embodiments includes a local area network, a wide area network, an intranet, the Internet, or other network capable of carrying data to and from the system 100.
The software 106 stored in the memory 104 is operable on the processor 102 to cause the system to receive multi-attribute, time-series hierarchical datasets and to generate adaptable visualizations of the datasets allowing for fast comparison of data from different hierarchy levels. Visualizations generated by the software 106 further allow for quick identification of relationships, patterns, and trends within the dataset and animations of changes in the dataset over time. Stated differently, the software 106 generates a dashboard view for multi-attribute, time-series hierarchical datasets.
A multi-attribute, time-series hierarchical dataset used by the software 106 includes data collected over time and stored in any number of data structures. Some such data structures include one or more of relational database tables, flat files, a Resource Description Framework Schema (RDFS), or virtually any other type of data structure allowing for child data items that depend directly or indirectly from one or more parent data items. Some hierarchical dataset include data from disparate sources assembled using retrieval arguments or user parameters to define the hierarchy relationships therein.
The software 106 processes a dataset to generate geometric nodes for at least some data items within the dataset. The geometric nodes can be of any shape such as rectangles, triangles, circles, polygons, or any other shape. Nodes corresponding to different levels of the hierarchical dataset can be of different geometric shapes. Some embodiments further include nodes represented by graphics such as pictures.
The software 106 then arranges the nodes within an output area. Nodes for each level of the hierarchical dataset are represented and aligned within an output of the software 106. Child nodes are generated within their respective parent nodes.
Within the graphical representation 200, the conformance percentage data for each hour within a day for each service level guarantee for each provider is similarly situated and aligned. This arrangement of data provides a dashboard view of the hierarchical data for quick correlation and identification of conformance patterns, trends, violations, anomalies, and other characteristics of the data.
Further note that other types of data can be represented similarly to the graphical representation 200 of
In some embodiments, the method 300 further includes receiving user preferences and generating the parent and child display areas according to the user preferences. User preferences include instructions, such as retrieval arguments specifying data to request that is subsequently received. Some user preferences include instructions as to how data from disparate sources is to be arranged as a multi-attribute, time-series hierarchical dataset. Other user preferences include display preferences for displaying the data in the dashboard view. Display preferences, in various embodiments, include a starting level and a number of levels of a multi-attribute, time-series hierarchical dataset to display and data specifying shapes, pictures, and colors to use in displaying one or more levels of the hierarchical data.
Other display preferences include representation preferences. Representation preferences include types of representations used to represent various levels of the data. For example, the conformance percentage data level of graphical representation 200, as shown in
In some embodiments, the user preferences are received in two vectors. One such vector includes a vector specifying how the data in a received multi-attribute, time-series hierarchical dataset is to be arranged in a hierarchical fashion. The other vector specifies how the various levels of the multi-attribute, time-series hierarchical dataset are to be displayed.
In some embodiments, aligning child node display areas of like data across the parent node display areas 410 includes aligning child node display areas by time of day or date at which the data represented in the child node display areas was measured. In some such embodiments, the method further includes generating an animation of the data set over a period of time. This animation includes displaying measured values at intervals displayed in the graphical representation and changing the graphical representation to show a time-elapsed view of the measured values over time. Another embodiment includes regenerating the graphical representation upon passage of a period of time to show newly measured values. In some such embodiments, the period at which to regenerate the graphical representation is specified as a user preference.
The method 400, in some embodiments, further includes providing the ability to drill down within a dataset to obtain a more detailed visualization of the data. This includes receiving a selection of a child node and obtaining child data of the selected child node. The method further includes dividing the selected child node display area amongst the obtained child data and displaying a representation of the obtained child data within the display area of the selected child node. In these embodiments, the data of the selected child node is parent data to the obtained child data.
The data displayed in the second portion 504 is selected by a user by interacting with the graphical representation 500 when displayed on a monitor of a system. Clicking with a mouse, or otherwise selecting, an area of the first area 502 causes more detailed data to be displayed in the second area. Some such embodiments allow a user to drill down further into the hierarchical dataset of the graphical representation to gain more detail within the data. In some such embodiments, the more detailed data is displayed in the second portion 504. In other embodiments, the more detailed data is displayed in the first portion 502 upon receipt of command from a user. When such a command is received to display more detailed data in the first portion 502, more detailed data is displayed for all parent nodes within the first portion 502.
It is emphasized that the Abstract is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. ยง1.72(b) requiring an Abstract that will allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.
In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are grouped together in a single embodiment to streamline the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments of the invention require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.
It will be readily understood to those skilled in the art that various other changes in the details, material, and arrangements of the parts and method stages which have been described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of this inventive subject matter may be made without departing from the principles and scope of the inventive subject matter as expressed in the subjoined claims.
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