Seven types of visual ambiguity: On the merits and risks of multiple interpretations of collaborative visualizations

The use of visuals as collaboration catalysts has recently gained attention in research on group work, knowledge management, sense making, and collaboration in general. A special feature of such visualizations (i.e., sketches, diagrams, visual metaphors, etc) is their ambiguity or their quality to be open to multiple interpretations. While such ambiguities may cause misunderstandings and lead to loosing valuable time, they also offer the potential to reveal new insights, facilitate ad-hoc discoveries, reframe issues, increase identification, or stimulate group sense making. In this article we propose that visual ambiguity in group contexts is a relational variable that depends on three elements: the properties of the image, the people interpreting the image, and the interaction. We use these categories to propose a more fine-grained categorization consisting of seven types visual ambiguity: icon, symbol, index, interpreter background, familiarity, reference and scope ambiguity. We discuss the potential advantages and disadvantages of visual ambiguity for collaboration, as well as ways of exploiting or reducing it. Our contribution sensitizes researchers and practitioners to the crucial and often overlooked role of ambiguity in visual group communication, particularly in collaborative contexts. We highlight the diverse forms of visual ambiguity and how to use this communicative challenge as a resource rather than simply a risk. A discussion of future research needs concludes the article.