Lecture slides in IFI7156 Interaction Design Methods course, Tallinn University, 12 February 2015

1. Concept Mapping in Interaction Design
IFI7156 Interaction Design Methods

2. Novak, J. D. (2010). Learning, Creating, and Using
Knowledge: Concept Maps as Facilitative Tools in Schools
and Corporations. New York, NY: Routledge.

3. (CmapTools, n.d.)

4. Elements of a concept map
• Focus question
• Concept terms
• Linking lines
• Labels

5. Role in interaction design
• Summarizing design sessions
• Establishing user interface vocabulary
• Building a common understanding in a project team
• Providing input for information architecture

6. Process
1. Identify a focus question
2. Write down main concepts
3. Choose the most general concept and categorize other
concepts under that
4. Connect concepts with linking lines and choose
appropriate labels
5. Introduce intermediate concepts when you have more
than 4 concepts under any concept

7. (CmapTools, n.d.)

8. Types of links
• causal (leads to, produces)
• explanation (is a reason for)
• nominal (known as)
• property (consists of, has)
• procedure (results in, done by, way to do)
• probable (likely, always)
• event (comes before)
(Loganathan, 2010)

9. Concept mapping software
• CmapTools: http://cmap.ihmc.us
• Visual Understanding Environment: http://vue.tufts.edu

10. Why not mind maps?
• Only one central concept
• No linking labels
• Typically only linear structure
(Nicoguaro, 2011)

11. Examples

12. (Leinonen et al, 2010)

13. (Põldoja & Väljataga, 2010)

14. (Põldoja et al, 2014)

15. References
• CmapTools (n.d.). http://cmapskm.ihmc.us/rid=1064009710027_1483270340_27090/CmapTools
%20-%20Concept%20Map%20About%20Concept%20Maps.cmap
• CmapTools (n.d.). http://cmapskm.ihmc.us/rid=1064009710027_279131382_27088/CmapTools
%20-%20Bulding%20a%20Concept%20Map.cmap
• Leinonen, T., Purma, J., Põldoja, H., & Toikkanen, T. (2010). Information Architecture and Design
Solutions Scaffolding Authoring of Open Educational Resources. IEEE Transactions on Learning
Technologies, 3(2), 116–128. doi:10.1109/TLT.2010.2
• Loganathan, M. (2010). Concept map vs mind map. http://www.slideshare.net/muralidharanl/
concept-map-vs-mind-map-6287765
• Nicoguaro (2011). Mind map guidelines. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MindMapGuidlines.svg
• Põldoja, H., & Väljataga, T. (2010). Externalization of a PLE: Conceptual Design of LeContract. In
The PLE 2010 Conference Proceedings. Barcelona: Citilab.
• Põldoja, H., Väljataga, T., Laanpere, M., & Tammets, K. (2014). Web-based self- and peer-
assessment of teachers’ digital competencies. World Wide Web, 17(2), 255–269. doi: 10.1007/
s11280-012-0176-2

16. Photos
• Aaron E. Silvers, http://www.flickr.com/photos/silvers/6269204209/

17. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0
International License. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Hans Põldoja
hans.poldoja@tlu.ee
Interaction Design Methods
http://ifi7156.wordpress.com
Tallinn University
Institute of Informatics