The document discusses exploratory computing and the design of systems to support discovery-driven user experiences. It proposes the FELIS framework which includes knowledge representation, querying, faceted exploration widgets, and information visualization strategies. FELIS uses a query language called FELISQL to represent structured data from multiple sources. The interface allows users to navigate and analyze items according to their properties and transform queries by adding or modifying constraints. Visualizations include tag clouds, histograms and multi-dimensional charts to provide insight into correlations and changes during exploration.

1. DIPARTIMENTO DI ELETTRONICA E INFORMAZIONE
PhDAY 2011
Exploratory computing
designing engines for discovery-driven user
experiences
Luigi Spagnolo: spagnolo@elet.polimi.it

2. Exploration vs. search
DIPARTIMENTO DI ELETTRONICA E INFORMAZIONE
• E.g. a website presenting a research lab
• Search task:
§ "find recent significant publications on a certain
argument and/or by certain authors"
• Exploratory user experience:
§ understand the research interests of the lab (and
of its members) and how they evolved over time.
§ Evaluate the quality of research in terms of
publications and of collaboration with other
universities.

3. Exploration: a definition
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• Moving into a information space
representing a certain domain
§ The purpose: discovering additional information
the properties (the facets) of the objects in it
§ A sort of user-centred, interactive data mining
§ The query is not aimed at finding a set of objects,
but rather…
§ At defining the target set of objects whose
properties are observed and analysed
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4. My proposal: FELIS
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• Faceted Exploration for Leverage of
Information Systems
• A comprehensive framework for exploratory
user experiences, covering:
§ knowledge representation and querying
§ widgets and interaction patterns for
semantic faceted explorations
§ information visualization strategies to
highlight the correlation between
properties, supported by exploration
metrics
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5. FelisQL
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• A language for knowledge representation and
querying
§ An extension to LISQL (Ferré 2011, University of Rennes I)
§ Can be seen either as a different notation for RDF/SPARQL
or as an autonomous, high level query language
• User and application centred perspective:
§ High expressive power
§ Queries easily represented in the interface
§ Uniform way of describing resources coming from different
sources (e.g. mash-ups) and of different kind (controlled
vocabularies, ontologies, folksonomies, text mining data)
§ Simplified exchange of structured data between client and
server in rich internet applications
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6. FelisQL: a query
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a publication
and author:
(an associate professor and affiliation: ‘Politecnico di Milano’)
at position: “first” or “second”,
(a researcher and affiliation: (an university and country: not ‘Italy’))
Publications having as first or second author an
associate professor from Politecnico di Milano, and as
as additional author a researcher that is affilated to an
university that is not in Italy

7. The interface | 1
DIPARTIMENTO DI ELETTRONICA E INFORMAZIONE
• Facet widgets allow to navigate and analyse items
according to a specific property (e.g. author)
• Hyperlinks allow for query trasformations
§ Add new constraints (existential restrictions) on specific
properties and (the facets)
§ Add alternatives on the existing filters
• Focus: any sub-expression of the query
§ The point at which a new filter is “appended” à allows to
build full-Boolean queries of arbitrary depth
§ A different point of view on the target of the exploration
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8. The interface | 2
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9. The interface | 3
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10. Information visualization | 1
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• Tag clouds and histograms to represent
the relevance of facet values
• Possible measures of relevance
§ E.g. given the query a Publication and author: (an ‘Associate
Professor’ and the restriction subject: “exploratory interfaces”
§ Count: how may publications that are authored by an associate
professor have also “exploratory interfaces” as subject?
§ Recall: how many of those that have “exploratory interfaces” as
subject are also authored by an associate professor?
§ Other “custom measures”: e.g. average impact factor of
publications having “exploratory interfaces” as subject
• Multi-dimensional views for query results: charts,
maps, etc.
• Metrics for measuring “changes in explorations”
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11. Information visualization | 2
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An interactive map of venues
of archaeologic interest in Italy
with location: “Northern Italy”
selected
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12. Information visualization | 3
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Shift to
location: “Southern Italy”
the colors indicate the
increase/decrease of
relevance of ancient
civilizations in this area
w.r.t. to North
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13. DIPARTIMENTO DI ELETTRONICA E INFORMAZIONE
Thank you for your kind
attention!
For questions and details, write me at spagnolo@elet.polimi.it
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