A Methodological Framework for Researching the Usability of the Space-Time Cube

In recent years, an increased interest in the use of the Space-Time Cube (STC) to visualize movement data can be witnessed. However, little is known about whether the cube is truly efficient and effective to satisfactorily display complex movement datasets. The limited usability research that has been done did not lead to details on how the STC content should be designed and whether the cartographic design influences the exploration process. The conceptual framework that is proposed in this paper offers an approach to the evaluation of the STC content with special attention for design aspects and the environment in which the STC has to function. Systematic usability studies have to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the STC under different conditions. Therefore, the framework contains phased studies in which real-world data of four use cases of different complexity are used.