The Language of Discovery: Designing Big Data Interactions

The Language
of Discovery
#UXLX
#languageofdiscovery

Joe Lamantia
UX Lead: Discovery Products

Oracle

@moJoe
JoeLamantia.com
Joe.Lamantia@oracle.com
http://slideshare.net/mojoe

designed many
discovery solutions

Discovery
Act or experience of seeing, ﬁnding,
learning, or solving something.
Something seen, found, learned, or solved.

search
prediction

visualization

analysis

discovery is
making sense
of the world
search
prediction

visualization

analysis

Insight
Grasping or understanding meaning,
signiﬁcance, and/or a solution.
A valuable change in perspective or understanding
that enables or guides further action.

“In the next ten
years, digital data
alone is expected
to grow 44 times.
By 2020, there
will be 4 billion
people online
creating 50
trillion gigabytes
of data.”
HP Intelligent Research

Volume: yotta, yotta, yotta
Varied data ‘materials’
social, cultural, personal, environmental, economic, scientiﬁc

Full spectrum of granularity
Real-time & historical perspectives
Commoditized infrastructure
storage, processing, distribution, publishing

Data ecosystem(s)

“The ability to take data - to be able to understand it, to
process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to
communicate it's going to be a hugely important skill in the
next decades, not only at the professional level but even at the educational level for
elementary school kids, for high school kids, for college kids. Because now we
really do have essentially free and ubiquitous data. So the
complimentary scarce factor is the ability to understand
that data and extract value from it.”

Hal Varian

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Hal_Varian_on_how_the_Web_challenges_managers_2286

Horizon of Discoverability

future

soon

present

past

urban status
http://citydashboard.org/london/

‘Cliodynamics’ is a
transdisciplinary area of
research integrating
historical macrosociology,
economic history/
cliometrics, mathematical
modeling of long-term
social processes, and the
construction and analysis of
historical databases.

“The instability of large,
complex societies is a
predictable phenomenon,
according to a new
mathematical model that
explores the emergence of
early human societies via
warfare.”

“Capturing hundreds of years of human history, the model reveals
the dynamical nature of societies, which can be difﬁcult to uncover
in archaeological data.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110119151816.htm

“What we found are the
constants that describe
every city,” he says.

I don’t know anything
about this city or even
where it is or its history, but
I can tell you all about it.

And the reason I can do that
is because every city is
really the same.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/magazine/19Urban_West-t.html

“The datasexual looks a lot like
you and me, but what’s different is
their preoccupation with personal
data.

They are relentlessly digital, they
obsessively record everything
about their personal lives, and
they think that data is sexy. In
fact, the bigger the data, the sexier
it becomes.

Their lives - from a data

data as lifestyle
perspective, at least - are perfectly
groomed.”

Discovery is the leading
emerging interaction category
of the Age of Insight

As I was waiting for a table at a
local restaurant the other day, I
flipped through a couple of the
free classified papers.

I was shocked to realize how
dependent I’ve grown on
three simple features that just
aren’t available in the analog
world: search, sort and filter.

http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2012/04/10/ui-patterns-for-mobile-apps-search-sort-filter/

Complex ecosystems:

multi-channel experiences
everyware
environments
network & service models

dynamic perspectives
ﬂuid data

How to design discovery
experiences...?

Need & context vary wildly

Patterns of form
are inadequate.

The Language of Discovery:

A concrete descriptive language for
human discovery activity in diverse
contexts.

A simple and consistent vocabulary that
is independent of domain, role,
information type, etc.

Leverages what is common
in human discovery.

Allows for what varies in
contexts of discovery

Enables understanding of
discovery needs and context

Generative tool for discovery
capability and experience

grammatical
structure & behavior

Call Centers & Maintenance Data Quality &
Knowledge Repair & Governance
Mgmt Overhaul

Claims Analysis Enterprise Search
Digital Asset & Knowledge Mgmt
Mgmt
Warranty
Analysis Field Service Operations
Financial
Analysis & Planning
Analysis
Service Measure
Customer Human Capital
Risk Analysis
Support & Plan & Management
Maintain Operate

Market Research Program & Portfolio
Pricing Sell & Develop & Mgmt
Analysis
Deliver Produce
Manufacturing
& Quality Inventory &
Inventory &
Demand Visibility
Sales & Delivery
Customer Part, Commodity
Analysis Product & Supplier
Information Analysis
Market Spend
Mgmt
Intelligence
diverse roots Analysis

User Scenarios
“Understand the quality performance of a part and module set in
manufacturing and the ﬁeld so that I can determine if I should replace
that part.”
- Engineering

“Understand a lead's underlying positions so that I can assess the
quality of the investment opportunity.”

“Understand a portfolio's exposures to assess portfolio-level
investment mix.”
- Portfolio Manager

“I need to understand the cost drivers for this commodity so I can
negotiate better terms with my suppliers and forecast business risk
based on market indices.”
- Procurement

Literary Modes

“a broad, but identiﬁable literary method, mood, or
manner, that is not tied exclusively to a particular
form or genre.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mode_(literature)

Argumentation
The purpose of argumentation (also called persuasive writing) is to prove the validity
of an idea, or point of view, by presenting sound reasoning, discussion, and
argument that thoroughly convince the reader.

Discovery Modes

“a broad, but identiﬁable discovery activity that is
not tied exclusively to a particular context or
domain.”

Identifying Modes
“Understand the quality performance of a part and module set in manufacturing
and the ﬁeld so that I can determine if I should replace that part.”
- Engineering

“Understand a lead's underlying positions so that I can assess the quality of the
investment opportunity.”

“Understand a portfolio's exposures to assess portfolio-level investment mix.”
- Portfolio Manager

“I need to understand the cost drivers for this commodity so I can negotiate better
terms with my suppliers and forecast business risk based on market indices.”
- Procurement

Mode = ‘Comprehend’ (understand)

Comprehending
‘To generate insight by understanding the nature or
meaning of an item or data set’
e.g. “I need to analyze and understand consumer-customer-market trends to inform
brand strategy & communications plan” – Director, Brand Image

Identifying Modes
“I need visibility into the parts my colleagues are using globally in order to ﬁnd the
best part possible for my assembly.”
- Engineering

“I need to identify customers/marketers/dealers failing & at risk of de-branding
based on performance problems.”
- Account Rep

“I need to identify problem/success areas and where to intervene and reward.”
- SVP Sales

“I need to identify the best customer/consumer/region targets for our brand/
products.”
- Brand Manager

Mode = ‘Explore’

Exploring
‘To proactively investigate or examine an item or data set
for the purpose of serendipitous knowledge discovery’

e.g. “I need to understand the cost drivers for this commodity so I can negotiate better
terms with my suppliers and forecast business risk based on market indices”
– Procurement

Modes are the verbs of
discovery scenarios.

You can explore:
people
places
events
objects
data
topics
...?

Explore something to... result or goal.

verb object predicate

Locate
Verify
Monitor
Compare
9 distinct Comprehend
modes Explore
Analyze
Evaluate
Synthesize

Modes seem to be
internalized & common.

domain independent
scale independent
structurally consistent
semantically distinct
each
orthogonal
mode is... conceptually
connected
sequencable
combinable

you said they
work like music?

scenario analysis: multiple /
sequential modes

1. Replace a problematic part
(from sourcing, cost or technical
perspective)

2. ...with an equivalent or better
part

3. ...without compromising quality
and cost.

Analyze
perspective)

part Compare

Evaluate
and cost.

Comparison–driven Search
Analyze
perspective)

part Compare

Evaluate
and cost.

1. Analyze

2. and understand gaps between
current cost of commodity

3. versus best in class
manufacturing costs.

1. Analyze
Analyze

Compare

manufacturing costs. Evaluate

Comparison- Analyze Compare Evaluate
driven Search

Exploration-
Explore Analyze Evaluate
driven Search

Strategic Analyze Comprehend Evaluate
Insight

Strategic Monitor Analyze Evaluate
Oversight

Comparative Analyze Compare Synthesize
Synthesis


Analyze Compare Evaluate

Identify parts used for same function as candidates for commonization and complexity reduction - Core Engineer

Replace a problematic part (from sourcing, cost or technical perspective) with an equivalent or better part without
compromising quality and cost. - Engineering

Compare our module set teardowns with competitive teardown information to see if we’re staying competitive for cost,
quality and functionality. - Engineering

Compare a lead's performance claims with relevant benchmarks to assess the lead's claims - Portfolio Manager

See the difference between what we are spending and what we should be spending to maximize savings (between
actual PO and should costs). - Procurement

Analyze & understand gaps between current costs of commodity versus best in class manufacturing costs - Cost
Estimators

Strategic Oversight

Monitor Analyze Evaluate

Monitor how well we are tracking to revenue and margin targets by division - SVP Sales

Monitor and grade incoming incidents; close incidents, add incident close codes - Supervisor/Inspector

Monitor global commodity use in relation to plan/guidelines to identify gaps that require corrective action - Core
Engineer

Monitor how well we are tracking to revenue and margin targets by division - District Manager

Monitor & evaluate how our brand is performing in re: revenue, margin, and market share targets - Brand Manager

Financial Analyst: Monitor & assess commodity status against strategy/plan/target

Exploration-driven Search


Identify opportunities to optimize use of tooling capacity for my commodity/parts - Core Engineer

Identify sales opportunities and targets (increased key customer market share across categories/brands; upsell-cross
sell; promotional targets - District Manager

Evaluate & optimize our product portfolio: Which products should we de-list and retire? What new products should we
be making/selling? - Category Manager

Identify the best customer/consumer/region targets for our brand/products - Brand Manager

Determine suppliers to use for parts in my program and execute sourcing agreements - Core Buyer

Identify customers/marketers/dealers failing & at risk of de-branding based on performance problems - Program
Administrator

Strategic Insight

Analyze Comprehend Evaluate

Track module cost versus functionality over time to determine trends. - Engineering

Understand the quality performance of a part and module set in manufacturing and the ﬁeld so that I can determine if I
should replace that part. - Engineering

Understand a lead's underlying positions so that I can assess the quality of the investment opportunity - Portfolio
Manager

Understand a portfolio's exposures to assess portfolio-level investment mix - Portfolio Manager

I need to understand the cost drivers for this commodity so I can negotiate better terms with my suppliers and forecast
business risk based on market indices. - Procurement

Comparison–driven Synthesis

Analyze Compare Synthesize

Analyze and understand consumer-customer-market trends to inform brand strategy & communications plan -
Director, Brand Image

Find out how many parts I have in my module set of parts and ﬁnd ways to reduce cost across them - Engineering

Formulate scope & strategy for sourcing and gap closure - Core Buyer

Analyze and understand a market: marketer network, competitive position, customer sat, & share, etc. to inform brand
strategy and communications plan - Brand Image Analyst

Mode Networks

Verify

Analyze Comprehend Synthesize

Compare Evaluate

Monitor Analyze

Explore

When I use the tool, I can...
Monitor

...currently popular colors over useful
intervals

Explore

...currently popular colors, or colors
popular in the past

Verify

That a color is popular now or in the
past

As a user, I can...

Analyze 1. Analyze the popularity
and importance of colors
over time to see patterns

2. Compare colors in terms
Compare
of importance and
popularity at various
cycles, trends, and
moments.

3. Evaluate colors vs. their
Evaluate
current and historic
importance and popularity.

Comparison-driven Search ...of colors I may use for my purposes

As a reader, I can...

Monitor

...articles to see what is new and
available.

Explore

...available articles and topics to
identify those of interest to me.

Locate
... and read articles of interest,
supporting information, and
related materials.

As a reader, I can...

Analyze 1. Analyze events and topics
using the data and tools
provided

Comprehend 2. Understand the events
and topics using the
Guardian’s perspective
and my own.

Evaluate 3. Evaluate all perspectives,
as well as the actions and
decisions based on them.

Strategic Insight into events & actions of government & society

As a reader, I get...

Analyze 1. Analyze the causes,
participants and events of
the UK riots

2. Compare suggested
Compare
causes, insights and
explanations into the
events.

Synthesize 3. Synthesize these insights
into a coordinated
perspective on the riots

Comparative synthesis of all insights into the causes of the UK riots

My twitter home page allows me to...
Monitor

...the tweets of people I follow, my
followers, community interactions.

Explore

...trends and active topics, and
suggestions for people to follow.

Locate

..tweets, people, hashtags / topics

Synthesize
...new tweets via composition,
retweet, or favorite tweets.

The proﬁle snapshot lets me...
Evaluate

...the author of a tweet to decide if I
am interested in them

Locate

...the proﬁle and homepage of the
author of a tweet

A twitter proﬁle page lets me...

Explore
...the authors proﬁle to learn more
about them

Evaluate
...their activity, followers, tweets,
relevance to me

Comprehend

...the author’s interests, point of view,

Twitter Proﬁle viewers can...

Explore 1. Explore the author’s
profile, activity and
community interactions.

2. Analyze the author’s
Analyze followers, activity, tweets,
community interaction,
who they follow.

Evaluate 3. Evaluate the author to
decide their relevance and
value.

Exploration-driven search ... for valuable people streams to follow

MICRO view - visual art

data: 25 canonical paintings representing
transition from realism to modernism,
1849-1916

Insight

Synthesis

Insight

Analyze

Synthesize

Explore

Compare
Comprehend

Cultural Analytics software running on HIPerSpace (May 2009)

Synthesis

To inform the core principles for the user
experience of the product

To coordinate the design of product
features and functions across channels
and form-factors
product
To evaluate the quality and success of
strategy, product designs, in terms of usability,
engagement, value, etc.

deﬁnition
To establish a roadmap for the product's
& design evolution and determine development
efforts

To shape strategy for a portfolio of
products by understanding the value
proposition of current and potential new
products

To guide the deployment of the product as
part of a solution for customers
solution identifying needs via scenarios and
other solution speciﬁcation tools
design for crafting functional requirements and

product interaction designs for deployed
applications

customers To describe and publish patterns and best
practices in implementation of the product
- workspace, application, application suite

application Supply Chain Planning and Management

template

Role / Persona Scenarios & Goals
•
Create and update accurate forecasts on a weekly basis at a very detailed level, such as
the number of packs of each product SKU needed for a single store. Forecasts evolve
through several iterations before reaching their final state, allowing and requiring Planners
to incorporate data on sales, inventory, customer activity, etc. as it accumulates in real
Planner / Analyst
time.
•
Improve the accuracy of forecasts and forecasting methods by understanding the nature,
degree, and source of forecasting errors in reference to a large number of defined metrics
and performance measures
•
Analyze and understand changes in the factors affecting forecast accuracy, and enhance
forecasting methods to reflect these changes

•
Monitor and review the accuracy of Planners’ forecasts to assess individual and team
performance
•
Determine the specific metrics and performance measurements that Planning teams use
Planning Manager for reference, based on the long-term goals of the organization.
•
Evaluate and improve the effectiveness of forecasting practices and tools used by
planning teams

•
Achieve 100% forecast accuracy
•
Maintain forecast accuracy over time, and in all situations.

Planning Team

Role / Persona Modes & Mode Chains
Planners needing to create new forecasts based on previous forecasts and newly identified causal factors will
follow the Comparison-driven Synthesis chain (Analyze-Compare-Synthesize): this involves analyzing their
previous forecasts and comparing them to accuracy baselines and the expected impact of known causal and
correlating factors such as seasonal events or weather, then creating (synthesizing) new forecasts that
Planner / Analyst reflect insights realized from these activities.

Comparative
Synthesis

Planners working to improve forecasting accuracy will follow the Strategic Insight chain (Analyze –
Comprehend – Evaluate), when they review previous forecasts to understand their accuracy and identify
possible sources of error: analyzing cumulative and historical accuracy and error rates to understand the
factors affecting those forecasts, then evaluating the relevance and usefulness of newly identified causal
factors by retrospectively including them in previous forecasts.

Strategic
Insight

Planning Managers will follow the Strategic Oversight chain (Monitor – Analyze – Evaluate) when assessing
the performance of Planners: monitoring the accuracy of forecasts made by individual analysts and the team,
analyzing forecasts for patterns and trends in variance and accuracy, and evaluating the effectiveness of
analysts, and forecasting methods.
Planning Manager

Strategic
Oversight

Role / Persona Chains & Sequences
Planners will follow the Strategic Oversight chain for visibility into the status of their published ﬁnal forecasts
vs. actual activity in the supply chain; when errors or variances beyond an acceptable threshold emerge in
one or more forecasts, they will switch to the Strategic Insight chain in order to understand the new
situation; they will move on to the Comparison-driven Synthesis chain to revise their forecasts to reﬂect
their newly generated insights and improved understanding; they will then switch back to Strategic
Planner / Analyst Oversight to maintain ongoing awareness of the accuracy and effectiveness of their revised forecasts over
time.

Strategic Strategic Comparison-driven Strategic
Oversight Insight Synthesis Oversight

Planning Managers seeking to improve the forecasting practices and methods of their teams will employ a
sequences of mode chains that begins with Exploration-driven Search, to identify exemplars of particularly
strong or weak forecasts and forecasting practices; they will move to Strategic Insight to understand how
and why these practices exhibit strength or weakness; Comparison-driven Synthesis will help Managers
Planning Manager formulate new or improved measurements and forecasting practices; and they will rely on Strategic
Oversight to gauge the effectiveness of new or enhanced practices once in effect.

Exploration-driven Strategic Comparison-driven Strategic
Search Insight Synthesis Oversight

Application Structure

3 screen types

each composed of deﬁned components
visualization, navigation, tabular data,
search, context management, alerts, etc.

apps have multiple instances of screen types
each populated by differing data ‘content’

supports

Dashboard Screen Type
The Dashboard screen is designed primarily to enable the
Strategic Oversight (Monitor-Analyze-Evaluate) chain, by
presenting an overview of the major areas of supply chain
activity. Individual Planners use the Dashboard to Monitor
the accuracy of their own forecasts compared with
established baselines and targets. Planning Managers use
the Dashboard screen to Monitor the accuracy of all the
forecasts made by the Planning team.

One pane enables monitoring of each major area of supply
chain activity, such as Inventory or Capacity, providing
summaries of the status of processes via KPIs and
measurements using a component from our library, as well
as a chart presenting historical values of these measures for
Analysis via visualization component.

A list of alerts provides a guide to notable changes across
the supply chain, allowing Planners and Managers to
monitor, analyze, and evaluate notable events and changes
as part of a steady ﬂow of information.

The Dashboard enables Planners and Managers to execute
the Strategic Oversight chain by following the linked data
points in charts, metrics and alerts ‘deeper’ into the
information for analysis.

Strategic
Oversight
Planner / Analyst Planning Manager

Trends Screen Type

Planning teams use the Trends screen to explore and understand the
state of the supply chain, and the accuracy of their forecasts over time.

For this purpose, the Trends screen is primarily designed to support the
Exploration-driven Search (Explore-Analyze-Evaluate) and
Comparison-driven Synthesis (Analyze-Compare-Synthesize) chains,
in which Planners and Managers seek to identify new patterns in time
and supply chain activity and suggest potential causal factors.

The value of the Trends screen is best understood in the context of
sequences of mode chains, such as Strategic Oversight in companion
with Comparison-driven Synthesis or Exploration Driven Search in
companion to Strategic Insight.

Exploration-driven
Search

Comparative
Planner / Analyst Planning Manager Analyze Compare Synthesize
Synthesis

Analysis Screen Type
The Summary and Analysis screen is designed to support the Strategic
Insight (Analyze-Comprehend-Evaluate), and Comparison-driven
Synthesis (Analyze-Compare-Synthesize) mode chains. Each Analysis
screen in the template is focused on one sub-function of the supply chain.
This Analysis screen focuses on the forecasts and activity for ‘restocking’
of products in retail settings and various stages of the supply chain.

On the left side, the Search, Breadcrumb, and Faceted Navigation
components allow the user to manage the data that is presented in the
tables, charts, and lists to the right, by exploring the underlying information
space. They also communicate this context to users to keep them oriented.

At the top of the screen there is a ‘metric summary’, which follows on from
the performance indicators identiﬁed on the Dashboard, providing visibility
into the smaller scale measures that determine the status of the supply
chain; speciﬁcally, the accuracy of forecasts.

Below the summary, a group of components presents a visualization and
data grid of a single metric grouped by one or more variables (e.g. quantity
by product type) to enable analysis. These ‘metric breakouts’ help
Planners and Managers comprehend the factors contributing to the status
of each metric. This combination facilitates a wider range of analysis
methods than either presentation method supports alone.

At the bottom of the template, tables provide lists of the individual
transactions for detailed analysis and evaluation.

Strategic
Insight

Planner / Analyst Planning Manager
Comparative
Synthesis

Discovery Proﬁle
Data Science
Locate Team

Verify
Monitor
Compare
Comprehend
Explore
Analyze
Evaluate
Synthesize

Collaborative Discovery

Data Science Data Science Data Science
Team Team Team

Locate

Verify

Monitor

Compare

Comprehend

Explore

Analyze

Evaluate

Analysis Cluster

Discovery Capability Model

Locate
Verify
Monitor
Compare
Comprehend
Explore
Analyze
Evaluate
Synthesize

Language of Discovery
References & Resources

Resources
The sensemaking process and leverage points for analyst technology as identified through cognitive task
analysis, Pirolli, P., & Card, S. (2005)
https://analysis.mitre.org/proceedings/Final_Papers_Files/206_Camera_Ready_Paper.pdf

Exploratory search: from finding to understanding, Gary Marchionini, Communications of the ACM, Volume
49 Issue 4, April 2006
http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~i385t-sw/readings/Marchionini-2006-Exploratory_Search.pdf

Lamantia, Joe. “Goal Based Information Retrieval Experiences” JoeLamantia.com, (June 20, 2006).
http://www.joelamantia.com/informationarchitecture/goalbasedinformationretrievalexperiences

Lamantia, Joe. “10 Information Retrieval Patterns” JoeLamantia.com, (June 29, 2006).
http://www.joelamantia.com/information-architecture/10-information-retrieval-patterns

Lamantia, Joe. “Discovering User Goals / IR Goal Definitions” JoeLamantia.com, (June 24, 2006).
http://www.joelamantia.com/information-architecture/discovering-user-goals-ir-goal-definitions

Spencer, D. 2006. “Four Modes of Seeking Information and How to Design for Them”. Boxes & Arrows:
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/four_modes_of_seeking_information_and_how_to_design_for_them

Bates, Marcia J. 1979. "Information Search Tactics." Journal of the American Society for Information Science
30: 205-214

Bates, Marcia J. 1989. "The Design of Browsing and Berrypicking Techniques for the Online Search
Interface." Online Review 13: 407-424.

Broder, A. 2002. A taxonomy of web search, ACM SIGIR Forum, v.36 n.2, Fall 2002

Resources
Cool, C. & Belkin, N. 2002. A classiﬁcation of interactions with information. In H. Bruce (Ed.), Emerging
Frameworks and Methods: CoLIS4: proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Conceptions of
Library and Information Science, Seattle, WA, USA, July 21-25, 2002, (pp. 1-15).

Glaser, B. & Strauss, A. 1967. The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. New
York: Aldine de Gruyter.

Jarvelin, K. and Ingwersen, P. 2004. “Information seeking research needs extension towards tasks and
technology”, Information Research, Vol. 10, No. 1. (October 2004)

Kuhlthau, C. C. 1991. Inside the information search process: Information seeking from the user's perspective.
Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 42, 361-371.

Marchionini, G. 2006. Exploratory search: from ﬁnding to understanding. Commun. ACM 49(4): 41-46

Norman, Donald A. 2006. Logic versus usage: the case for activity centered design. Interactions 13, 6

O'Day, V. and Jeffries, R. 1993. Orienteering in an information landscape: how information seekers get from
here to there. INTERCHI 1993: 438-445

Rose, D. and Levinson, D. 2004. Understanding user goals in web search, Proceedings of the 13th
international conference on World Wide Web, New York, NY, USA

Salton, G. 1989. Automatic Text Processing: The Transformation, Analysis, and Retrieval of Information by
Computer. Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.

Sutcliffe, A.G. and Ennis, M. 1998. Towards a cognitive theory of information retrieval. Interacting with
Computers, 10:321–351.

Mode Definitions

Comparing
‘To examine two or more items to identify similarities and
differences’
e.g. “I need to compare our module set teardowns with competitive teardown
information to see if we’re staying competitive for cost, quality and functionality”
– Engineer

Locating
‘To find a specific (possibly known) item’
e.g. “I need to find a new part with particular technical attributes and then source it from
the most qualified supplier”

– Engineer

Verifying
‘To confirm or substantiate that an item or set of items
meets some specific criterion’
e.g. “How can I determine if I am looking at the latest information for a part or supplier?”
– Supply Chain Specialist

Monitoring
‘To maintain awareness of the status of an item or data set
for purposes of management or control’
e.g. “I need to monitor at risk/failing customers/dealers so I can prompt my Account
Reps to fix the problems”

– Sales Manager

Analyzing
‘To critically examine the detail of an item or data set to
identify patterns & relationships’
e.g. “I need to know the cost drivers for a part such as materials that impact cost. Is the
relationship a correlation or step function for a part cost driver?”

– Engineering

Evaluating
‘To use judgement to determine the significance or value
of an item or data set with respect to a specific benchmark
or model’
e.g. “I need to determine my current state in my prints so I can evaluate if I have price
variation to negotiate a better price”

– Procurement

Synthesizing
‘To generate or communicate insight by integrating diverse
inputs to create a novel artifact or composite view’
e.g. “I need to prepare a weekly report for my boss (sales mgr) of how things are going”

– Account Rep

Mode Chains & Sequences

Comparative Synthesis


Analyze and understand consumer-customer-market trends to inform brand strategy & communications plan -
Director, Brand Image

Find out how many parts I have in my module set of parts and ﬁnd ways to reduce cost across them - Engineering

Formulate scope & strategy for sourcing and gap closure - Core Buyer

Analyze and understand a market: marketer network, competitive position, customer sat, & share, etc. to inform brand
strategy and communications plan - Brand Image Analyst

The Language of Discovery: Designing Big Data Interactions

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